New Porsche 911 GT3. DRIVEN. Revolution?

 

Engine Power Torque 0-100kph Top speed Weight Basic price
Inline 6-cyl, 3799cc 468bhp @ 8250rpm 325lb ft @ 6250rpm 3.5 secs 315kph 1430kg (332bhp/ton) $133,817

Many have knocked Porsche’s decision to take the electronic steering route, but the GT3 demonstrates just how hard the team has worked to perfect it. There’s buckets of feel, solid heft and sharper feedback from the front wheels – coupled with a fully variable e-differential – allowing me to place the front end exactly where I want it. Somehow – and I’m really not sure how – there’s much more feel through the wheel than the 911 Carrera, the car remaining planted as I experiment with speeds through long and tight corners alike.

As well as Porsche’s Torque Vectoring System, which now comes as standard on the GT3, another nifty addition is active rear-wheel steering, a system that through two electro-mechanical actuators either side of the rear axle shortens or lengthens tracking rods by up to 15 percent. This steers the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the fronts, ensuring a tighter turning circle than the older generation, though not at the expense of feel through the wheel. It’s a very clever system, one that can be used at up to 80kph and which keeps the rear wheels in-check. Turn off the traction control and they will start to step out – which is always fun – but solid work from the 305 rear Sport Cup tyres means they’re still difficult to break. Throw in a 20 percent improvement in downforce over the previous model – thanks to the new more aerodynamically savvy body – and grip in the GT3 is beyond belief. The suspension really earns its money in the new Porsche, and for only the most hardcore of rack days run will you feel normal suspension settings are insufficient compared with Sport.

Overall the GT3 is a big step forward from the previous car. As a performance machine it’s as impressive as we expected, thanks to clever engineering and a few nifty new additions to the drivetrain and chassis. It remains one of the few cars you can drive to the track, thrash all day long, and then drive home during your weekend. And yet as a daily driver on the commute to the office, the new GT3 is more versatile than its predecessor, offering plenty of room (for 2), a comfortable driving position and an intelligent (and responsive) PDK gearbox no longer requiring a knackering workout for the left leg.

I feel sure that the new Porsche 911 GT3 will alienate the purists – a curse most new Porsches have to bear – but am also confident that the sportscar will attract a wider audience due to its usability. Indeed, the lack of a manual transmission takes nothing away from the thrill of driving. On the contrary, I think it allows for a greater focus on driving and overall enjoyment of the car.

Without doubt, this is one of the best sportscars crankandpiston has driven in a quite a while. That is a revolution.

Porsche 911 GT3 (2014)
Engine: Inline 6-cyl / 3799cc
Power: 468bhp @ 8250rpm
Torque: 325lb ft @ 6250rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed Doppelkupplung (PDK) with controlled rear axle differential lock and PTV Plus
Front suspension: Strut suspension (MacPherson type Porsche optimised) with wheels independently suspended by transverse links / longitudinal links and struts / cylindrical coil springs with internal dampers / electromechanical power steering / Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) with electro- nically controlled dampers / two manually selectable maps
Rear suspension: Multi-link suspension with wheels independently suspended on five links / cylindrical coil springs with coaxial internal dampers / active rear-wheel steering / Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) with electro- nically controlled dampers / two manually selectable maps
Brakes: Dual-circuit brake system with separate circuits for front and rear axles / Porsche Stability Management (PSM) / vacuum brake booster / electric duo-servo parking brake / auto-hold function / monobloc brake callipers perforated and internally ventilated brake discs / six-piston aluminium 380mm x 34mm (front) / four-piston aluminium 380mm x 30mm (rear)
Wheels: 9 J x 20 (front) / 12 J x 20 (rear)
Tyres: 245/35 ZR 20 (front) / 305/30 ZR 20 (rear)
Weight (kerb) 1430kg
Power-to-weight: 332bhp/ton
0-100kph: 3.5sec
Top speed: 315kph
Price: $133,817

Categories: Editor’s Picks,Road

,,

Comments are closed