Yahoo Autos 2018 Porsche 911 GT3: First Drive
The last GT3 had a fiery start. There were the engine fires that caught early owners by surprise. Porsche quickly fixed the problem, but on the Internet, home of comments, another problem emerged when purists found out that the GT3 would only be sold with an automatic transmission. Left out of the new GT3, a few three-pedal customers turned their attention to the older-gen 997 GT3, buoying their prices. And then last year, Porsche magnanimously merged the GT3 RS's 500-hp engine with a manual gearbox and christened it the 911 R. Think of the 911 R as Porsche's Greatest Hits album released exclusively on vinyl. All 991 examples quickly found buyers and the effect of the sellout may have something to do with why we can now get a GT3 with a manual transmission.
Porsche is now selling, at no-extra cost, a 911 GT3 with a clutch pedal. It makes almost no sense on a spreadsheet-there are only six speeds to the automatic's seven, it accelerates more slowly than the auto, it is less fuel efficient, and it'll undoubtedly add time to each lap-but it's the best thing to happen to the 911 since it made the change from air to water.
Shoving a GT3 into gear is like shaking hands with a long-lost friend. A friend whose linkage has been reworked to give it the mechanical and positive feel of the 911 R. And like a good friend, it accepts all manner of abuse. Shift as brutally and as quickly as you want, the gearbox slots into gear without a grumble. Hit the Sport button and the GT3 matches revs on downshifts, but stay in the spirit of things and do it yourself.
If the manual were the only addition to the ticket, that'd be cause enough for celebration, but Porsche has thoroughly reworked the GT3's engine. A longer stroke increases the engine size from 3.8 to 4.0 liters, a two-stage intake fed by two large ram-air intakes on the decklid is new, a revised oiling system provides better lubrication and is more efficient, and the valvetrain ditches its hydraulic lifters for solid lifters that Porsche promises will never need adjustment. The results are 500 horsepower at 8250 rpm (same as the outgoing GT3 RS), 339 pound-feet of torque at 6000 rpm, a 9000-rpm redline, and an engine that only communicates in ALL CAPS.
A manual GT3 is the best interactive theatre ever. Thanks to the manual, the engine is able to pull you into the action. Little vibrations rise up through the shifter at idle, but that's just foreplay. Revving it past 8000 rpm produces a piercing shriek from behind that taps into your spine. At 9000 rpm the wall of sound washes over. Now reach for the next gear to do it all over again.
With 4.0 liters at the ready, the GT3 pulls happily from low revs, but the real joy is in keeping it above 5500 rpm where important stuff happens. The manual does have tall gearing in its first two ratios (second is good for 81 mph), but the GT3 spends so little time in those gears that it's less of a criticism and more of a warning.
Of course there's still a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic for those who insist that calculus was a turning point in their life. For them the dual-clutch automatic a stupefyingly good, instant shifting, basically psychic gearbox that brings us ever closer to the singularity. Should you embrace your robot overlord, the automatic offers quicker acceleration than the manual thanks to a launch-control program that revs the engine to over 6000 rpm before engaging the clutch. Porsche conservatively promises 60 mph in 3.2 seconds for the automatic and 3.8 for the manual. If those six-tenths are incredibly important to you, you're probably not manual material anyway.
No matter the number of pedals you chose, the GT3 receives a recalibrated chassis that provides the perfect foil to the noise coming from behind the rear wheels. Redone active shocks continue to provide a remarkably civilized ride and wheel control that is right on the way to work or going into turn one. New Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber developed for Porsche provides intense grip, but the tires are a bit squirrely until they're warm. Rear-wheel steering helps artificially extend or retract the wheelbase to provide agility or stability depending on how fast you're cornering. Like the rest of the 911 lineup, the electrically-assisted power steering streams vibrant accounts from the front.
Pressed through the 14 unfamiliar corners of the Circuito de Gaudix in Granada, Spain, the GT3's big grip is apparent, but the more we settle in and the faster we go, the more we can appreciate the stability and ease with which the GT3 moves near its limit. It's easy to imagine you're Hurley Haywood lapping for hours on end, clipping off consistent laps for the duration of a tank of fuel. That ease translates to the canyon roads that carve into Spain's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Among the Andalusian cyclists and Seat drivers, the stability and grip are lifesavers, but even at public-road speeds the buzzing feedback and magical flat-six keep the GT3 entertaining, it's made even more so by the manual gearbox.
For those who sat on their checkbooks, resisted the temptation and waited out the automatic GT3 and the pricey 911 R, the wait for a manual GT3 is over. Starting at $144,650, the GT3 arrives at the end of the summer and will come standard with everything necessary. Patience is bitter, but good things come to those who wait.
You Might Also Like
