The Porsche 911 is the water of the car world. It sounds absurd, but hear me out. We take it for granted and it’s so omnipresent we barely notice it, yet we couldn’t live without it. See what I’m getting at?
But unlike water, Porsche has improved the 911. Almost none of the mid-life changes the regular 997 Carreras received – seamless PDK transmission and direct injection primarily – have made it onto the latest GT3, which leaves me wondering just how much Porsche could actually do to enhance what was, on balance, our favourite 911. Possibly ever…
First impressions aren’t that good. The sheer functionality of the GT3’s interior means that you are encouraged to just get on and drive the thing, rather than wallowing in eye-catching but superfluous detail, or daft novelty. There is no daft novelty in a 911.
So we drive, but even here there’s an unexpected irritation: I can’t heel-and-toe in this thing. I know that makes me sound like some UKIP-voting codger with an Austin-Healey, but it means I can’t get into a proper flow on these sorts of roads. It’s a weird anomaly in a car whose controls are usually so perfectly calibrated.
The rest is just as you’d expect. We loved the previous GT3 for its linearity, precision, and astonishing composure over even the choppiest roads.
There’s revised front suspension geometry and adaptive engine mounts on this car, so it handles the worst I can throw at with real ease. There’s new aero too, so it feels more tied down.
And the engine – derived from the unit that helped propel Porsche to victory in Le Mans in 1998 – has grown from 3.6 to 3.8 litres, has improved breathing with Variocam on intake and exhaust, and now revs to 8500rpm with an insatiable hunger.
On a dry road, nothing turns into a corner or exits in such a dramatically undramatic way as this 911 GT3.
On the track? Given that it’s ready to race – in Clubsport-spec you get a roll cage at no extra cost – it monsters the opposition.
No surprise there.
What is a bit surprising is the GT3’s duality. Rookies can lap quickly in it without scaring themselves, enjoying the chassis’ balance and the mighty brakes. The more expert can coax huge, controllable drifts out of it, for the same reasons.
What a car. Better, even, than water.
Read the Aston Martin V12 Vantage blog.
Read the KTM X-Bow blog.
Read the Ferrari 599 HGTE blog.
Read the Audi R8 V10 blog.
It’s still uglier than an oyster..
The only 911 I like… even if it has a whale tail at the back.
boring car for boring peoples!!
its a good car but to my mind it has the same problem as the boxster. Now that Porsche have claimed that the GT3 RS is actually the ultimate 911, how can a normal GT3 hope to surpass that?
The problem with the boxster was that it sat in the middle of the range a little too well, but you got the impression that Porsche deliberately didn’t make it faster than a 911, because then, what would be the point in having a 911?
sadly, i think that’s what has happened here again. Don’t get me wrong, i think its a great car, it looks fantastic and if that lap is anything to go by it goes like the clappers as well. But i just get the impression that the Gt3 Rs willl always be the better car
They deliberately keep it positioned under the RS, as they do with the Boxter/Cayman vs. the 911. For shame, ‘cos I think (don’t lynch me) that the midengined Cayman is probably a better driving car than the 911. And I’m one of the few who likes the way the Cayman looks, it makes the 911 look prehistoric.
I don’t understand why there’s a GT3 with rollbar when there’s a GT3 RS around for the job.
Lastly: I always thought that this was the 998. Isn’t it?
It’ll probably depend on whether you’re willing to spend a bit more to get the GT3 RS, whenever the newer 3.8 version comes out.
The previous GT3 and GT3 RS (which were 3.6 litres) both had the same power output of 415bhp, and on paper, their 0-60 times and top speeds were near enough the same. The only difference is the appearances and weight of the two cars and the £15,000 price difference.
this is so stupid! just tell us how fast the lap was!
My favorite 911!!
Only its also the least practical 911… and 911 are popular for their practicality.
@7 you’ld probably have to buy the magazine for that…
It looked around 1:28 if the vids real time. But there should be a real time timer on the bottom right or something so we actually know how fast it was.
Sorry I meant 1:27.0
It’s so good that it’s boring.
I can’t think of any sports car that I wouldn’t be excited to see on the road: Astons, Ferraris, Lambos, Masers, hell – even R8s and M3s put a smile on my face. They’re cars that, regardless of what you would personally buy, you love to see and hear about.
Then you have Porsches – about as exciting to see and hear about as a high school physics text book.
Young boys don’t dream about Porsches anymore and that’s a real shame.
the car world needs a brand new porsche
I’m rather disappointed by this review. This review could have emphasised the strengths in a more profound and forceful manner. The ‘water’ analogy was simply too contrived.
Plus there are ‘daft novelties’ in some 911s: e.g. the analogue sport chrono timer on the dashboard, downloading lap times to a PC, the standard exhaust on a 997.1 C2S has 2×2 tubes but 2 of them are cosmetic only.
I suspect most people commenting here may never have driven a 911 let alone a 997.2 GT3 so their opinions surely count for little.
Those who keep claiming a Cayman is better than a 911 are deluding themselves. While it is mid-engined, only the facelifted Cayman gets an essential rear LSD option. The first gen Cayman was badly flawed as a result (and underpowered).
The Cayman provides a predictable and ultimately less challenging (and therefore less rewarding) experience that one can (and will) tire of.
The 911 is a unique experience. 62% of the car’s weight is on the rear axle. In the authentic 911 experience (i.e. rear wheel drive) all the power is at the rear. This provides something unique: enormous traction out of corners with an incredibly light and communicative steering feel.
All 911s have this but the GT3 gives this experience in its most concentrated, visceral form.
When one considers that this car can take the repeated strain of lapping tracks (especially the Nordschleife) comfortably in its stride due to its supreme reliability, no other car can do what it does as effortlessly too.
@7: The time for the GT3 was 1:23.1
Introducing the newest way to travel backwards through a hedge whilst on fire.
AMV12 please
The 911 GT3 is the best 911 ever created. It’s so much easier to drive than it’s GT2 sister and is much more track-focused than the 911 turbo. It’s also get some ridiculous options such as the lightweight bucket seats with leather costing £4,850 or seat brackets with paint to match the exterior of you GT3 costing £845! Also it’s rivals have superior beauty and glamour. Let me explain.
A Carrera S would be far superior around a track than an Aston V8 Vantage, especially with the Ceramic brakes, but the Aston is biblically more glamorous than the bug-eyed 911. Given the choice i’d have a Aston over a 911 any day. However if i was going to use it for track days only, i’d have a 911 and it’s this 911 i’d have.
The GT3 is way more lovable than a GT2, even though the GT2 isn’t really lovable at all. The GT3 is also better around a track than the 911 turbo and yet it’s cheaper than both the turbo and the GT2. However it’s rare that you’ll ever hear someone say: ‘I’m not going to have a beautiful and lovable Aston i’m going to have a ugly, bug-eyed, German, track-day monster for everyday use instead’.
Don’t get me wrong the GT3 is an astonishing car, but if your going to pay around £100,000 for a supercar you might as well get one which makes you happy, and at the end of the day it’s an Aston Martin which puts the biggest smile on your face.
What I find intriguing is that the 997-Mk2 GT3 posted a laptime is 1:23:1 mins (it is documented in the magazine) yet 5 years earlier, in 2004, a 996-GT3RS posted a laptime of 1:22:1 mins (just check the power laps online). Progress?
LOOK!!! If you read the mag, then it perfectly illustrates the point that because they only had the car for a limited amount of time, the Stig was not able to have the amount of practice runs he usually has when the Top Gear series is on. So all these cars could very well be faster if the Stig had more time.
Porshe can either re-style the 911 or drop it completely
So what you are saying is that the Stig, a professional racing driver, needs more practice runs on the top gear track at Dunsfold Park? He needs to get used to the ‘terribly uncommon’ 911? The above review’s main point is that very little has changed in terms on the car itself, only that it is more controllable/predictable. So while the Stig may have needed more time with some of the less common vehicles tested, I doubt very much whether this applies to the GT3.
Anyone who thought the time was 1:27/1:28 needs to have a rethink. The Cayman did it in 1:26. Come on lads, be sensible.
simply the best car ever, no wonder every car company tries to imitate the performance of the 911, and i say “tries” because no one can match the knowledge and experience of this company when it comes to making cars
I don’t agree with this, I think Porsche should stop making the 911′s they are just getting boring and don’t have enough character for me, I would rather have a G whiz!
For The Less How Much That Costs You Could Get A Used Gallardo, Or Even The Murcielago!
Now Which One Of The Cars Would You Have?
Not a great review.
In my mind, the GT3 has always represented the understated sports car. It’s not as out there as ferrari, lambo, aston, but is incredibly competent. It’s easy for people to rubbish a car they’ve never driven. It does have an unmistakable shape, but why mess with a successful formula. I would agree with some of the negative comments if Porsche hadn’t made the car work. But they have…and it’s very well priced against the cars against which it’s so often compared.
It’s hard to appreciate the experience without having driven these cars. It’s easy to form opinions just reading reviews. I’ve driven a lot of these cars and have formed my view based on what I think is the most rewarding car. I currently drive a GT3
Okay then, go buy a g whiz, and leave serious comments about cars to those with useful opinions.
What are you on about, I live without one just fine.
I do love Porsches, and the GT3 might be one of the best, but certainly not the one I’d buy… in the first place
It’s a car for the track, which is fine, but for me, a 911 is the only reliable car in sport category, and it’s also practical. A 911 is an everyday car, and that’s why they selling so much.
A GT3 should be the second Porsche in my garage. For track days.
i want a rs version
water is still prettier than it though… i actually can’t think of things that are uglier than it. the G-wiz gives it a go. and Wayne Rooney/Shreck.. and thats about all!
Porsche’s lineup of cars is like Microsofts lineup of Windows: Basic (911), Home (911 Carrera), Professional (911 RS), Ultimate (911 GT3), etc, etc, etc… zzzzzzz
A 911 will always be a tuned beetle. Maybe it’s fast, maybe it corners well but it’s the kind of sportscar that’s driven by bankers and lawyers…
@32 True, I feel. Blame the market: just owning a nice sportscar isn’t individualistic enough anymore, your typical punter nééds a special of a ltd edition with added useless bits, otherwise his friends might not recognise him for the worldleader he imagines himself to be. Like what JC said: today it’s finally cool to own an M3, because the posers all drive Audis now.
In my hometown I once saw a brandnew M6 softtop automatic with 22in chrome. And a lot of subwoofers I imagine, since the street wobbled a bit. I still don’t know why suchs things are allowed to exist.
PORSCHE is still one of my dream cars because it can make you feel in a way that no other car can!!!
its just perfect as the FERRARI, LAMBORGHINI, ASTON MARTIN and AUDI too!!!!
For those who dont understand the exist of 911 let me help you!!
its the same story with the VW Golf
you buy it and you dont thing about anything else!!
its just practical!!!!!
Practical and sportscar in one sentence…. aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh
Use your wife’s car if you want to go shopping.
I never used to like the look of Porshe 911′s but this one looks fabulous and set the second fastest lap time around the TopGear test track in the supercar showdown (TopGear issue 195.) Still don’t like it as much as the Audi R8 V10 though.
I find the problem with these cars is that they have not changed much from when I was a kid. It seems that the designers are afraid of letting their hair down regarding car design. As competent cars go, the 911 is in a league of its own, but as a supercar, NO. It may beat other vehicles in its class for everyday use and some degree of practicality, but that does not make it special. The shape is old, there is nothing really new about this car, and having driven an old 911, with a proper manual box, this new variant is simply not in that league. Roll on the days when Porsche design and make something new, and not just tweaked to death.
Rather have the Datsun GTR which is more practical and more to the point, new
The 911 GT3 is a great car and it looks good but don’t you think people would turn their heads more at an aston martin, it looks better and sounds better. the 911 GT3 just doesn’t do the job as well as a DB9, which is more practical and looks better.
And the price range is very steep so if you wanted a cheap fast car when not go for the Nisan GTR which is more fun than the porsche at just a fracion of the cost, i just don’t understand the popularity of the Porsche.
@39:
Have you ever driven one? when you do, you will understand.
I’m not saying it’s not beautiful, because it is and one of the iconic best but I really hate the fact that Porsche kept on updating, revising, slight facelifting the 911 for ages now and have not spent anytime to actually design and build something different during those years… don’t even mention these cars are different: Cayenne, Cayman, Boxter and Panamera because they all carry the 911 gene-pool. I do wish new owners Volkswagen will do something positively different for the brand.
I’m not a great fan of 911′s, I still think they need a design change. For £100,000 you could get prettier cars, more practical and maybe even faster, The M5 springs to mind
@40:
I totally agree. I’ve driven both and the GTR gets boring quickly. It’s not about going fast, but engagign the driver. Sounds stupid, but it’s sooo true. Can’t really explain it unless you’ve owned both and driven them over a period of time.
porsche designers are the laziest in the world!
But it has brilliant performance and unbelieveable handling.{it’s also a bargain]
Looked at the first picture and thought it was a Corvette – I’ve never made that mistake before. Porsches and Corvettes have nothing in common. Maybe it’s my eyes going bad? Or maybe it doesn’t matter if it’s a Porsche or a Corvette. It is unlikely that I would ever have one. I like my current car.
@Tak. I agree on the Cayman; no lynching required. And on that bombshell I’d like to ask TopGear to deliver a letter to the North Pole next time they are heading that way. I’d like to see a new Ferrari Dino. Instead, Ferrari is positioning themselves more and more into cock territory. It used to be a gentleman/playboy’s means of transportation (Persuaders). Back to Porsche and the Cayman – it’s not so serious and more playful. A rich hair dresser’s TT. 911 on the other hand; icon.
I agree. The 911 is an icon. Some people say that because the basic design hasn’t changed since the 60s it looks stupid, but I don’t. Porsche have spent 40 years honing its looks. It has heritage and can trace its history way back. Which is why I’d have one over an R8, even the V10 any day.
Awesome car technically and mechanically, cant fault porsche. yes, the styling isnt great but the driving experience is outstanding.
Everyday race car for the road. cant argue with that !
I really can’t be bothered with 911′s because they all look the same, they’re not that fast and thier overpriced.
the only reason hammond baught his morgan is because its the only car he can fit in!!!!!
well said beardy……
all porches to day r d same take d 911,911turbo,carrera,boxt er,boxter S. They all hav d same looks. bt if you go back to the early years of porche their were allways certain features that were unique to that car like the 944 and 928………………………
has any one else seen the clear problem with porches to day???????
i firmly beileve that the Audi TT is a hair dressers car
I think porsche should make a new shaped car, not the same old round lights. Who agrees with me?
i like the 911 but the gt3 is just not powerful enough, it is priced to compete with the R8 V10 and you can get two nissan gtr for the price of it, making it uncompetative. If you want a hardcore porsche, go for the GT2 or the GT3 RS
The Roses.
Is it possible that we have become so obsessed with the notion, that unless change is the visual equivalent of the Zambezi River rapids, it cannot possibly be any better? Have we stopped for a moment to consider the greatest master of evolution – nature?
She demands only the most minuscule of change to the facade; each tiny increment being the product of an array of iterations of absolute excellence. Are we missing the point or has Porsche stopped to smell the roses…
LOL I need someone to explain me why this is a boring car? What are you guys driving? I mean, bring me to a track with a 435 bhp rear-engined race car that has plenty of grip and I’d be REALLY-not-bored. I know it doesn’t have the “passion” and engine sound of a Ferrari or Lambo but the GT3 is WAY cheaper. I love how it looks too.
e fantastica la guiderei tutti i giorni se oh i soldi per la benzina.
I’m a GT3 club sport owner – but a 996 2004 Mk11
– totaly raw – as no electronic aids per a 997 GT3. Top Gear car of the year in 2003 I think?
so – yes, am biased, but some naive comments have been made here.
1 – the shape/style – the 911 is the perfect example of evolution over 40 years – nature doesnt get it wrong.
no bling, wasted blah, just real & raw.
2 – why is it also that just about every new sports/GT car review still compares it to a 911?
3 – if u havn’t driven a GT3 – con yr local dealer into letting u – then comment – not b4!
4 – best – be brave -& buy a 996 GT3 instead of the new 997 GT3. You will never get bored of it – unlike others – it is a continual learning experience. Nothing delivers its power like a GT3 – aka corners & torque.
So – if u want look at me & fashion statements – go elsewhere.
If u just want real, unadulterated driving – do a GT3. BUT – be careful – there are a handfull – so only for a real, track enthusiast.
cheers
Well, after reading all your comments it’s clear that “each to their own” is indeed a valid saying.
For me it’s all about reality. I love the secure feel of alcantara, the need to only look at one dial for revs/speed and most importantly, the way the GT3 tangibly feels.
Of course, knowing that there will be less than 300 Gen 2 GT3′s in the country, and that nothing is engineered like a Porsche, will only make me smile when i throw a friendly wave to R8 and Vantage drivers…as i overtake them on a twisty road of course
Oh FFS I got half way through the comments before falling asleep. There are people who own cars because they think it makes them cool, or maybe even a good driver. Then there are those that love automobiles and can appreciate the form and function of a variety of cars. I’m completely biased, my 1st car was a 68 beetle that I loved to drive for over 10 years. I’ve had a few flash cars in between but have just acquired a beautiful 80 911 SC and I’m totally engaged! I must say I drove everything from the 996 to the 3.0 carrera and the SC was the best of the bunch for the smile it puts on the dial.
What I can’t stand is fools with great opinions that have never spent a day with a car they have an opinion on. Have your say on looks, I don’t particularly like Ferrari’s but damn I appreciate what they do. My old 911 doesn’t get as many looks as my lovely 78 VW Kombi as people seem to like other things these days, this suits me fine as I drive it for me not for others. Someone mentioned the old “bankers” car crap, well if I were a banker I might have bought a GT3 too, again silly income jealousies. I’ve loved cars since a kid but never been jealous of a car owner that has something I may never own. Well for me if I want it I’ll just work harder!
I have heard the 997 and 998 are getting back to the “drivers car” that porsche used to be but can’t comment as I’m not into borrowing large amounts of cash to support a frivolous love. I do appreciate from afar though.
I´m also a GT3 RS Owner and i do thik that this car is fabolous. Please have a look at my cars and tell me what possibilities of tuning them are given.
have a good one all of you
http://www.monaco911.de