Porsche’s GT3 line began with the 996-generation 911 back in 2009. Now, more than two decades later, we get behind the wheel of a new 992 GT3 equipped with manual transmission
For Porsche’s continued dominance of GT racing, the 911 GT3 was created as a means to an end. But over the course of the past two decades, the GT3 badge has become synonymous with the 911 range in dealer showrooms, captivating a cohort of enthusiasts in search of the purest Porsche. GT3s haven’t always been the prettiest cars in the 911 stable, though. After all, this is a Stuttgart sports machine for which form usually plays second fiddle to function. Even so, the 911 GT3 has a huge following and, since its inception in the late 1990s, has exuded a glorious, captivating sense of single-mindedness. Put simply, the 911 GT3 has always had a stubborn determination to be the best driver’s car it can possibly be.
Based on the 992-generation 911, the latest GT3 (revealed almost a year ago, in February 2021) is now available to buy in the UK. We sampled a PDK-equipped version of the car in September’s edition of 911 & Porsche World and put the new GT3 Touring through its paces two issues later. Now, we get to sample the new GT3 in the ultimate purist format: loaded with a six-speed manual gearbox. And as much as we hate a spoiler (unless it’s attached to a 911), this thing is utterly, utterly brilliant. But then, it should be — Andreas Preuninger, boss of Porsche’s GT product line, has gone to great lengths to ensure this is the case.
At a glance, it’s obvious the new GT3 is a different beast, with the extra intakes, vents and wings marking it out as a track weapon. These details have been deliciously engineered. Would we have noticed the difference if Porsche had mounted the rear wing in the conventional manner? Probably not, but the wizards in Weissach chose a swan-neck design to keep air flowing smoothly over the lower surface of the part, thereby creating slightly more downforce. Then there’s the weight-shedding. Despite being bigger than its predecessor and having more technical gizmos, the new GT3 weighs just 1,418kg in this manual guise. Opting for a PDK double-clutch automatic gearbox ups that figure by seventeen kilos, but even then, the new GT3 is roughly the same weight as the second-gen 991 variant. This feat has been achieved with the help of lighter glass in the windows and the appointment of forged alloy wheels, as well as a special sports exhaust system said to cut an impressive ten kilograms from kerb weight. As before, there are no rear seats, just an oddly shaped parcel shelf. There’s also a carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic frunk lid hiding 132 litres of luggage space. Just remember, if you put a ten-kilo weekend bag in there, all Preuninger’s good work on the exhaust system will be for nought. Then again, you aren’t likely to take your luggage on a track day, are you?!
Back in the cabin, motorsport heritage is still in evidence, but the GT3 hasn’t entirely forgotten its role as a luxurious GT car. Yes, there’s plenty of Porsche’s beloved Race-Tex material on show — most notably on the steering wheel and gear lever — but it follows the same basic design as found in the standard 992 Carrera. You’ll also find digital screens either side of the rev counter, plus a central 10.9-inch touchscreen with navigation and smartphone pairing tech. Keyless engine start, cruise control and an eight-speaker sound system act as reminders this is still a 911 you can use every day, but the yellow accents on the rev counter and gear knob, as well as the instrument cluster’s new trackday setting (which reduces the digital displays to deliver simple tyre pressure, oil pressure and oil temperature indicators, plus fuel level and a water temperature readings), remind you of this potent Porsche’s origins.
Our test car’s cabin was topped off by the gorgeous ‘full bucket’ race seats, which are essentially plush leather pads on a beautifully sculpted carbon-fibre frames. They really are a work of art, and the blue contrast stitching complementing our car’s Shark Blue paintwork made them look even better. Mind you, sliding into the seats isn’t especially comfortable, not least because the solid bolsters cut across the backs of your legs, but once you’re in, you’re in, held in place brilliantly. Those pretty slimline pads (which look wholly inadequate from outside the car) suddenly feel about
twice as thick as they first appeared. All of this all means driving a 992 GT3 for hours is anything but a hardship, allowing you to concentrate on that delectable engine and working the fabulous six-speed manual transmission.
There were fears Porsche would resort to turbocharging the 992 GT3 in a bid to get even more power from the four-litre flat-six, but Weissach’s finest haven’t bothered. Let’s not forget, the engine was derived from the GT3 R race car powerplant. Instead, Porsche’s engineers have simply squeezed out an extra ten ponies, taking the total to 503bhp, and left it at that. With this much power and pedigree, of course, the new GT3 was never going to be slow.
With the manual gearbox on board, the sprint to 62mph from rest is more about the driver’s ability than the power of the engine behind them. Porsche says it should be possible to achieve the run in 3.9 seconds dead, romping on to a top speed of 199mph, but it’s important to remember the quoted acceleration figure is something of a worst-case scenario. Whatever you do, don’t try this on a public road, but the combination of a dry racetrack, a decent driver and fresh rubber will almost certainly be able to beat that time. Admittedly, it’s probably easier to swap into a PDK-equipped GT3 if you want to better the brochure — with the model’s seven-speed, double-clutch transmission, Porsche reckons the GT3 is half a second faster to 62mph and just 1mph slower flat-out. With this in mind, the argument for saying the manual gearbox has had its day would appear to strengthen. It would be churlish to ignore the fact F1 teams all moved away from H-pattern gearshift in the 1990s, and the 911s in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup are all fitted with semi-automatic transmissions.
In many ways, the stick-shift gearbox is a dinosaur in such cutting-edge machines, but this isn’t the point of the GT3. Perhaps in the GT3 RS (the GT3’s even more hardcore sibling) that position might have some merit, but not here. Preuninger says he wants to be “completely immersed in driving” when he’s behind the wheel of a GT3. We can only assume this manual version must be his idea of petrol-powered Valhalla.
At normal, everyday speeds, the GT3 feels almost as usable as any other 911. A little stiffer, perhaps, and definitely louder, but still a 911 at heart. On the public road, the motorsport-honed suspension feels a little too firm, and every single lump and bump — let’s face it, there are plenty of those on Britain’s famously uneven asphalt — is transmitted from the wheel to your backside or hands. When you start to press on, however, this minor irritation becomes a blessing. There’s an unbelievable amount of feel for what the car is doing, whether you receive this information from the steering wheel, the carbon-fibre of the seat beneath you or from the alloy pedals. Every single touchpoint feels alive and communicative, allowing the driver to build a pristine picture of what’s going on between the massive tyres and the surface beneath them.
It sounds alive, too, with the four-litre engine howling and growling away in the background. It’s a deep, ominous sound at lower speeds, with the gravelly quality of Louis Armstrong and just as much soul. But when the revs build, it begins to buzz and fizz like a very large, very noisy and very angry swarm of bees. And it’s every bit as savage. With plenty of torque and the ability to pick your gear well in advance, the manual GT3 will throw you towards the horizon at eye-widening speed. There’s a roaring cacophony from somewhere behind your left ear, the verge goes all blurry and the rev counter sways towards the 9,000rpm limiter. Then you shift up and start the whole process again. Even the supposedly simple act of changing gear becomes moreish, with a shorter gear lever than you’d find in the standard Carrera and one fewer ratio —the Carrera and Carrera S make use of a surprisingly intuitive seven-speed.
This car doesn’t just immerse you in driving, it threatens to drown you in it, and once you’ve got the hang of things, it has a heart of gold. Like an excitable dog, it isn’t trying to irritate or annoy, it just wants nothing more than your full attention. And when you give it, you’re rewarded in spades. Once again, the public road is not the best place to explore this car’s limits.
Although it has the flexibility to use all six gears while remaining on the right side of the law, to do so would only extract a mere fraction of what the GT3 can do. But it’s like a devil on your shoulder, egging you on. In other words, if you value your driving licence, head to your nearest track. There, the GT3 will introduce you to a game I like to call ‘upshift chicken’. Once you climb above around 6,000rpm, there’s an understandable temptation to call it a day, shift up a cog and start the whole process of noise and acceleration all over again. Don’t. Stick with it, let it howl on for another couple of thousand, then change up.
Or, if the straight is short, you’ll have to stand on those beefy brakes with their composite discs and their red-painted callipers. Measuring 408mm at the front and 380mm at the back, and with a total of twenty pistons across the four calipers, they provide plenty of stopping power. At this point, you get to enjoy another feature of the manual gearbox. Where changing down in the PDK GT3 would be as simple as tapping a paddle — or even letting the car sort shifting for you — the manual version puts the emphasis on the driver. Slip down through the gears perfectly and you’ll feel like a hero. Bungle it and you’ll be desperate to practice until it’s second nature. And therein lies the addictive quality of this car. It’s so engaging, so visceral and so rewarding, you never want to stop driving. Even after a long, hot session on a racetrack, when sweat is pouring into the Race-Tex, you’ll be desperate to get back behind the wheel, desperate to find a slightly quicker way around that corner or to nail that gear change. It’s exactly how Weissach’s engineers hoped it would be.
This quality doesn’t just make the new GT3 great fun, it elevates it to one of the best GT3s to date, which makes it one of the best 911s, period. Quite how Preuninger and his pals do this on such a regular basis, we don’t quite know, but trust us when we say the 992 GT3 will go down in history as one of the all-time greats. And, as our time with different versions of this car demonstrates, it’s best experienced through the medium of a six-speed manual gearbox.
Paderborn: Germany, Porsche 911 GT3 on April, 12, 2021, (Photo by Hoch Zwei) 
