Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 Touring road test: Fast, fine-tuned fun at your fingertips

The National

29-01-2025

No other offering holds a candle to Porsche's visceral 911 GT3. Eschewing turbochargers, hybrid systems and unnecessary computerised complexities, the GT3 has an unfiltered, organic quality that sets it apart from the pack. Porsche started the GT3 dynasty in 1999 with the 996-generation 911 GT3, and it has preserved the undiluted high-performance ethos with each successive iteration of the car. Marking the 25th anniversary of the GT3 is the 992.2 edition of the sports car, with Porsche breaking from tradition by launching the GT3 and GT3 with Touring Package simultaneously. The latter foregoes the regular GT3's enormous protruding rear wing in lieu of an integrated active wing that recedes into the bodywork, creating a more understated look. As before, at the heart of the GT3 is a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six power plant that joyfully sings its way to 9,000rpm. Porsche also stands alone in offering customers a choice of manual and dual-clutch auto transmissions. Although retaining the essence of its 992 predecessor, the 992.2 edition of the GT3 gains a substantially reworked power train, along with revised aero, 8 per cent shorter overall gearing in both manual and PDK versions and fettled steering and suspension that makes for even sharper and more tactile responses. Also new is the optional Weissach Package, which offers even more custom configuration for track use. And, fulfilling a long-standing customer request, rear seats are available as an option for the first time, albeit specifically with the Touring Package. The GT3 and GT3 Touring are now available to order in the UAE, priced from Dh801,800, but I tried out the pair at the international media launch in Valencia, Spain. I first slotted into a white GT3 with the Weissach Package, with the tight and twisty Circuit Ricardo Tormo beckoning. The event programme only allowed for five laps each, but there's a beautiful tactility to the 992.2 GT3 and a level of communicativeness that makes its dynamic envelope very quickly accessible. It's pure joy. The GT3 feels like a living being connected to your fingertips, soles of your feet and torso. There's an aliveness to every element, so much so that pedalling it hard is an almost sacred experience. No one does electrically assisted power steering better than Porsche, and that reaches a new high in the GT3, which serves up the most nuanced feedback to your fingertips imaginable. You feel every surface change and minute undulation in the tarmac below. As the cornering and braking thresholds are approached, I could feel the GT3 begin to subtly dance and squirm under hard braking in the way that only 911s do. There is a lovely adjustability to the car, which means you can use the brakes, throttle and steering to set up your line through corners, even if you might have dived into the bend a little bit hot. The huge carbon-ceramic discs provide powerful stopping power and, in the 992.2 GT3, the front ball joint of the lower trailing arm sits lower on the front axle to create an anti-dive effect that reduces pitching under braking. Back in the pit paddock after my five-lap track quota, it was time to hit the road in the GT3 with Touring Package. I nabbed a six-speed manual to see how that would gel as a real-world proposition. Shift action in the three-pedal car was meaty and satisfying, but one of the manual's limitations soon became apparent. Out on the motorway, even a 100kph cruise in sixth gear had the flat-six engine spinning raucously at almost 3,000rpm. Even though Porsche has attached a Touring suffix to this car, realistically you may not entertain it for any cross-continent touring experiences as the flat-six motor busily working away behind you at middling revs becomes intrusive. I should also point out that the car's low-speed ride is distinctly jiggly and there is some noticeable gear whine in the manual as I pootled slowly through Spanish villages in third or fourth gears. Other than these minor annoyances, the GT3 and GT3 Touring are hugely entertaining on racetracks and winding mountain roads. Nothing else out there matches them for pure driver engagement and raw, unfiltered feedback.