Latest news with #911GT3
Globe and Mail
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
Taking Porsche's new Toronto-area driver's playground for a test-drive
Speed demons and Porsche fans rejoice: the company is opening a sprawling automotive playground just east of Toronto where drivers can go wild without fear of seeing cops in the rearview mirror. Porsche Experience Centre (PEC) Toronto, the brand's 10th such centre in the world and first in Canada, will open its doors on June 18. When it does, drivers who feel the need (the need for speed) will be able to sample the company's wares, putting pedal to metal, burning rubber and drifting around on a series of purpose-built tracks, for a fee. Prices range from $140 for demo laps riding shotgun with a professional driver behind the wheel – an experience not for the faint of stomach – to 90-minute test-drives in the latest Porsche models. Prices for the latter start at $850 for the Macan SUV and climb up to $1,700 for a turn behind the wheel of the Holy-Grail 911 GT3. Alternatively, if you purchase certain Porsche models – the 911 sports car range starts at an eye-watering $160,000 – the company is kind enough to throw in a 90-minute Experience Centre session for free. While it may seem ludicrous, Porsche is charging money for test-drives – which, yes are typically free at your local dealership – bear in mind your dealership doesn't have a two-kilometre handling track that mimics famous circuits including California's Laguna Seca and Germany's Nürburgring, nor does your dealership have a drag strip or (my personal favourite) a low-grip handling track that mimics the feel of driving on ice. There's also a cadre of professional instructors who offer driving tips and help you help Porsche by keeping its cars from becoming too cozy with the guardrails. Ahead of the official opening, Porsche invited a small group of reporters and social media influencers to experience the Porsche Experience. The main building is suitably posh, albeit situated in an industrial part of Pickering, Ont. The coffee is excellent, the cars are fast and the driving instructors are very, very brave to ride shotgun with everybody. The main circuit is a thrilling rollercoaster ride and so narrow it makes overtaking on Monaco's Formula One street circuit look easy. Porsche, however, rightly points out this is not technically a racetrack. There should be no non-consensual overtaking. Winning is bringing the car back in one piece with a silly grin on your face. The whole place is like Disneyland for drivers. And, like Disneyland, Porsche's playground is meant to instill a love of the brand and sell some merchandize; not Mickey Mouse hats – although Porsche does sell hats if you want them – but expensive sports cars and luxury SUVs. Trevor Arthur, chief executive officer of Porsche Cars Canada, said the company's investment in the Experience Centre isn't just about fostering existing customer relationships, but introducing new people to the brand and seeing their smiles as they come out of the cars. 'We want to spark that dream [of Porsche ownership] right now and foster it for years to come,' he told me on a visit to the Centre in late May. For dreamers not yet old enough to drive, there's a 'Sim Lab,' a room filled with high-end racing simulators. The Experience Centre is intended to be a family-friendly space, Arthur said. If you want to hold your wedding here, they can do that too, he added. Arthur wouldn't say how many additional sales PEC Toronto will drive; emphasizing that this is a long-term play. 'It's hard to monetize it specifically, but it does have a business case,' Arthur said. 'And, I think with our intentions and plans to fill this up with corporate bookings, with retail bookings, with special events, I think over all it's a win.' Clearly Porsche's executives in Germany think so too. Since the first Experience Centre opened in England in 2008, the company has opened nine more around the world. The 11th is set to open in Singapore in 2027. Ten years ago it might have been a little harder to justify one in Toronto, but the time is right, Arthur said. Canada now ranks as a major luxury car market and a top-10 market globally for Porsche. 'Yes, it's a significant investment into the market,' Arthur said of PEC. 'But I think you have to look back historically. If you take a look at our travel experiences, our ice experiences, our track experiences, I think that's really what justifies the need for this.' The Ice Experience pop-up every winter in Quebec is consistently sold out, he said. Personally, after spending 45 minutes flinging a $200,000 Porsche 911 GTS around the handling circuit and low-grip track in a manner that would've landed me in prison (and rightly so) had I done it on regular roads, my own need for speed has been satiated, for now. Spending $1,200 to drive a 911 like some Ken Block wannabe for 90 minutes at a time might actually be a better financial decision than selling an organ or two to own a $200,000 Porsche 911 and pay for gas, tires, insurance and maintenance. Besides, even if you own one, you can't have this much fun in a sports car on the road, not even close. The Porsche Experience Centre may have cured not only my need for speed, but also my need to own a sports car. Oops.
Hindustan Times
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Check out Dua Lipa's new custom-made Porsche 911 GT3 RS with Rennstall livery
Dua Lipa, singer and songwriter, has just received her Porsche GT3 RS, which costs $ 240,000 (approximately ₹3.5 crore) without any customisations. Check Offers Porsche just unveiled its brand new Porsche 911 GT3 RS, completely customised with a Dua Lipa x Rennstall livery for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. This cup is a global series in which multiple teams go racing in the 911 GT3 Cup racecar. The unique car was unveiled by the Dua, who was shocked to see it sporting a mix of teal, red and orange shades. Porsche revealed that the singer and songwriter Dua Lipa was also involved in the process of creating the livery. Dua Lipa, just ahead of the race on the tight streets of Monaco, experienced racing in the car at the iconic motorsport venue as a passenger. The Porsche 911 GT3 RS costs $240,000 (approximately ₹ 3.5 crore) in its standard form. It is a driver-focused and track-oriented version of the standard 911 GT3 sports car. Also Read : Watch: $240,000 Porsche 911 GT3 RS destroyed after burnout stunt ends in disaster Porsche 911 GT3 RS: Engine and performance The 911 GT3 RS is no less than a beast, housing a 4-litre, six-cylinder engine in flat configuration mated to a 7-speed PDK transmission with short gear ratios. This motor has been tuned to produce 518 bhp at 8,500 rpm and 465 Nm of peak torque at 6,300 rpm. The unit revs all the way up to 9,000 rpm. The GT3 RS sprints from 0-100 km/h in a claimed 3.2 seconds and keeps going before it hits the electronic speed limiter at a top speed of 296 kmph. It has three driving modes, including Normal, Sport and Track. The Porsche has three-step adjustable traction control, active suspension and adjustable differentials with locking and variable torque distribution technology, which Porsche calls PTV Plus. Also Read : Actor Naga Chaitanya gets the Porsche 911 GT3 RS worth over ₹ 3.5 crore Porsche 911 GT3 RS: Pricing The pricing of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS starts at ₹ 3.5 crore ex-showroom. This number can keep increasing with every optional package you add. There are a host of different customisation options that Porsche offers, including changing the colour of your interiors, seat stitching colours and much more. Check out Upcoming Cars in India 2024, Best SUVs in India. First Published Date: 29 May 2025, 11:38 AM IST
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
After Getting Shamed By Porsche, Ford Mustang GTD Goes Back To The ‘Ring
Read the full story on Backfire News Ford was so bent out of shape about the Porsche 911 GT3 with a manual transmission beating out the Mustang GTD around the Nurburgring, the American automaker went back and set a new lap record with the little pony. Part of us finds that admirable and part of us finds it hilarious, plus we know this is something enthusiasts will argue about case you forgot, back in December Ford did this big leadup to revealing the Mustang GTD's Nurburgring lap time, which was honestly impressive at 06:57.685. The time was not only a record for Mustangs but all American production cars. Then in April Porsche revealed the lap time for the 911 GT3 with a manual transmission. It did the test because the German automaker was just curious how fast it would be without the automatic since the manual is ordered more. Porsche didn't say anything about Ford or the Mustang GTD, but people immediately realized the 06:56.294 lap time was over a second faster. With its upcoming halo car humiliated and obviously feeling its reputation was on the line, Ford went back to the Green Hell, using the Mustang GTD to lap it in 06:52.072. The Blue Oval is attributing the previous lap time, which it was previously quite happy about, to conditions at the time. Apparently, it was quite wet and temperatures were high, or something like that. We get how that can affect lap times, but we don't hear Porsche saying those sorts of things. Ford also stiffened up the suspension settings, retuned the powertrain, revised the aero, and tweaked the brakes so the fastest pony ever could get around the famous German track even quicker. We're just wondering why the company didn't do all that the first time? Now we have to wonder if Porsche will come back with the new 911 GT3 equipped with the PDK and scorch the Ford Mustang GTD's lap time yet again. After all, the Germans were clearly holding back by using the manual transmission. Image via Ford
NZ Autocar
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Autocar
Porsche 911 GT3 manual sets new Green Hell lap record
A 911 GT3 has broken through the seven-minute mark to dislodge the V10-engined Dodge Viper ACR as the fastest manual around the Nurburgring. It beat the previous fastest lap by nearly 10 seconds. At the wheel of the GT3 was Jörg Bergmeister. He set a new best time for a manual car of 6min 56.294sec. That's 3.6sec quicker than the pre-facelift 992 with a PDK automatic gearbox. It is also substantially quicker than the previous record holder, the Dodge Viper ACR, which has a more powerful engine. The American supercar features a 481kW 8.4-litre V10. It completed its record lap time of 7min 1.3sec in 2017. However, that was around the shorter 20.6km circuit and corresponds to a time of 7min 5.8sec around the full-length 20.832km loop. That's according to Porsche. By their computations, the 375kW flat-six GT3 was 9.5sec faster around the current circuit. A GT3 from 2022 somewhere in the Alps. The vehicle used for the attempt had the Weissach Package fitted. That's a $NZ45k optional extra that shaves 12kg from the standard GT3. It also ran Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyres. Porsche reckons that increasing numbers of 911 GT3 customers are opting for the six-speed manual transmission. The reason for the record attempt? The new owners wanted to know how fast a 911 GT3 with a manual transmission would be on the Nordschleife. That's why we Porsche used this instead of the PDK variant which 'is significantly faster.' Porsche says that just over half of wingless GT3 Touring cars they sell have a manual transmission.
The Sun
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Porsche 911 GT3 secures Nürburgring record
Porsche has set a new benchmark at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with its latest 911 GT3 becoming the fastest production car fitted with a manual transmission to lap the legendary circuit. Behind the wheel of the record-setting vehicle was Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister, who completed the 20.832km course in a remarkable 6 minutes and 56.294 seconds, eclipsing the previous best by more than nine and a half seconds. The achievement underscores Porsche's commitment to driver-focused engineering, particularly at a time when fully automated systems and dual-clutch gearboxes dominate the performance car landscape. This record is especially significant considering the vehicle was equipped with a traditional six-speed manual gearbox rather than the brand's quicker, seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) transmission. The 911 GT3, fitted with the Weissach package, delivered a performance that exceeded its predecessor's PDK-assisted lap by 3.633 seconds, illustrating the substantial improvements made across key performance areas. Among the developments contributing to the enhanced pace were revisions to the suspension setup and chassis, largely influenced by insights gained from the more extreme 911 GT3 RS. The new model also features a revised gear ratio, shortened by eight per cent, which provides improved acceleration characteristics despite maintaining the same power output of 510PS. Track conditions during the record attempt were ideal, with ambient temperatures at 12°C and the asphalt warmed to 27°. The vehicle ran on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres – street-legal yet track-capable – with sizes 255/35 R20 at the front and 315/30 R21 at the rear, the same configuration used during the official lap of the earlier GT3 model. This attempt was conducted under notarial supervision to validate the timing, and the focus was clear from the outset: to demonstrate the true potential of the manual transmission variant. Porsche engineers had closely analysed the current lap leaderboard, noting that the previous record holder completed the shorter 20.6 km version of the circuit in 7 minutes and 1.300 seconds. When translated to the full track, that performance equated to approximately 7 minutes and 5.800 seconds – a target the new GT3 surpassed with confidence. Andreas Preuninger, who leads Porsche's GT model development, explained that customer demand for manual variants has grown significantly. Many owners have expressed curiosity about the capabilities of a manual-equipped GT3 on the Nordschleife. Porsche's decision to pursue this lap time was, in part, a direct response to that enthusiasm. Although a PDK version would likely have been marginally quicker, the manual car's record lap showcased not only its competitive performance but also the rewarding engagement it offers. Bergmeister, reflecting on his experience, noted that the car was noticeably more stable over undulations and kerbs, inspiring confidence and allowing for higher cornering speeds. He added that the effort required to manage gear changes manually made the lap all the more exhilarating. With this new lap time, the Porsche 911 GT3 has not only reclaimed a coveted title but also reaffirmed its role as a modern-day performance icon – one that embraces tradition without compromising on technological advancement. The manual transmission, far from being obsolete, continues to provide a visceral and rewarding experience that resonates with purists and enthusiasts alike.
