2025 Porsche 911 GT3 review
Confidently sticking to its guns, Porsche went its own way to create one of the best cars on sale.
Porsche doesn’t care what you think about the new 911 GT3.
If that sounds alarming, don’t worry, it neither cares about what its owners want either, after all, who else would have the cojones to roll out a facelifted version of the track-focused 911 GT3 that produces no more power, generates less torque and is heavier than the coupe it replaces and then go ahead and charge more for the privilege of lining up to buy it?
Porsche would.
The reason for the weight is pride and desire within Porsche GT to preserve the naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six. Switching to a turbo or, even the brand’s excellent T-Hybrid powertrain from the new 911 GTS, made far more sense with both engines making more power with less emissions.
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But sense never came into the equation. The German brand’s performance division didn’t want to deprive its fanbase of the thrill of the scalpel-sharp responses of flat-six that loves revs to 9000rpm.
Nor did it want to lose the six-speed manual - another connection to the past it just wasn’t ready to part with, but sticking with old, antiquated tech comes with a hefty price.
The old engine needed new heads, a fresh camshaft and not one, but four, catalytic converters plus two particle filters to meet regs. All sapped peak torque that drops from 470Nm to a more modest 450Nm.
Factor in extra bracing for the doors to meet new side impact regs and the 911 GT3 has piled on the kilos.
To make up for the performance deficit, desperate engineers plundered their back catalogue to save face.
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In comes eight per cent shorter gearing from the latest $715,000 Porsche 911 ST that sees top speed chopped by 7km/h to 311km/h but means the GT3 can still hustle from 0-100km/h in the same 3.4 seconds as before.
More performance was extracted from the extreme 911 following big tweaks to the aerodynamics that sees a new front bumper and rear diffuser added, while under the skin there’s yet more wind deflectors introduced to channel the air more efficiently.
The gearing and fresh aero translate into a GT3 that’s now faster than the outgoing one on track, just not on paper.
Porsche also has come up with a controversial cure for its mid-life obesity problem that slashes the gap between new and pre-facelifted car to a paltry 2kg.
The catch? Owners will have to pay for the savings via a raft of costly options that include a sporty Weissach pack for the first time that’s priced at an alarming $37,960.
Adding kilo-cutting parts like front bonnet, roof, rear wing with side plates, mirror caps and a pair of blades within the front bumper that are all made of carbon-fibre, to achieve the maximum target weight buyers will have to tick the box for the frankly outrageous $33,480 911 ST magnesium rims that carve off the final 11kg.
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We’d ignore the latter for night terrors involved with harming one and plump for sublime DIY six-speeder that alone is 17kg lighter than the, admittedly flawless, seven-speed dual-clutch PDK auto.
Why? What you lose in speed you easily make up with engagement and the delight of occasionally mastering the perfect downshift (auto-blip turned off) with its deliberate mechanical feel.
Now featuring a faster steering rack pinched from the 911 ST, the refreshed GT3 also gets new software that’s said to ensure the same consistent feedback however hot or cold the tyres are, or even, how worn the suspension is with the suggestion that a used and abused car with 100,000km on the clock will steer like it did when new.
The final piece of the dynamic puzzle was the suspension. Existing owners pleaded with Porsche to make the winged GT3 more extreme for track and the GT3 Touring more comfortable on road.
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In typical Porsche style it ignored both and redesigned a single suspension set-up to achieve both, with shorter bump stops employed to allow greater spring travel. At the same time the trick anti-drive set-up was borrowed from the RS.
The result? The GT3 is even more accomplished at walloping curbs on track and far more cossetting at mid- to high speed over a bumpy country road with greater stability under braking.
It’s still busy at slower speeds but you’ll forgive it for its breadth of talents.
More customer feedback demanded Porsche re-add the rear seats that were deleted with the GT3 Touring and, for once, it listened and reluctantly agreed - but only after owners started paying others to reinstall them.
A small win for owners but what Porsche has accomplished a far bigger victory overall with its latest sports car.
Even compared to the high standard set by the last 911 GT3 the new version goes harder, steers better and is easier to drive quicker on track and road and, after a day behind the wheel, it’s hard not to praise the German brand’s dogged belief in creating the car it wanted.
Even at its towering $466,700 - $29,300 more than before, it’s hard to imagine a more thrilling, intoxicating driving experience.
Porsche 911 GT3
PRICE: From about $466,700 plus on-road costs
ENGINE: 4.0-litre flat-six-cylinder, 375kW/450Nm
WARRANTY/SERVICING: Three years/unlimited km, 12 months/15,000km
SAFETY: Four airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, driver drowsiness detection, Matrix LED adaptive headlights, adaptive cruise control
THIRST: 13.7L/100km (WLTP)
CARGO: 135 litres
SPARE: Repair kit
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