In the latest episode of The Driver’s Seat, Henry Catchpole reviews the new Porsche 911 GT3 – the 992.2 generation if you like your model numbers. Donning his finest James Hoffmann T-shirt, Catchpole wonders if the variety of options for the GT3 has now made it a bit like coffee. Where once the questions were simply ‘milk and sugar?’ or ‘Clubsport? Colour?’, now you have an almost bewildering number of ways in which you can get your caffeine and naturally aspirated rear-engined kicks.
Catchpole drives the new GT3 on both road and track in Spain. For the roads around Valencia, we have a GT3 with Touring pack, Lightweight pack, new folding bucket seats, and rear seats. The paint is a rather lovely 964 Polar Silver Metallic (a paint-to-sample colour). With a six-speed manual gearbox, is it most of the way to a 911S/T, or is it more of a daily proposition now that it can carry two (small) people in the back?
On the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, we drove a GT3 with a wing and a Weissach pack (the first time one has been available on a non-RS GT3), complete with carbon roll cage and the new magnesium wheels that save 9.1kg over the standard aluminium alloy rims. For the track, we also had a PDK gearbox, which, like the manual, has 8 per cent shorter ratios than the previous generation.
The new ratios help compensate for a slight decrease in overall torque from the 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six engine. It still revs to 9000rpm, sounds amazing and produces 503bhp, but maximum torque has gone down from 347lbft to 332lbft. To find out about the challenges of simply keeping the naturally aspirated engine alive in the face of ever more stringent regulations, Henry Catchpole spoke to Andreas Preuninger, Porsche’s director of GT cars. They also discussed a different sort of Nürburgring lap time for this generation …
And on the subject of fast laps, Henry hopped in with the ever-spectacular Jörg Bergmeister. You won’t want to miss it as he assaults the kerbs with almost unbelievable commitment. It’s worth pointing out that Jörg is also driving exactly the same car as Henry, with no special preparation and on the same Michelin Cup 2 tires (2 R rubber is available as an option).
The price of the new 911 GT3 is £157,300. That is, of course, before options, which can quickly add up. The Weissach package (without carbon roll cage) costs £15,597, while the Lightweight package for the Touring costs £29,223, and the new folding lightweight bucket seats cost £5,390.
