Yahoo Autos Lightning Lap 2018: Porsche 911 GT3
Lap Time: 2:47.0
Class: LL4 | Base Price: $160,060 | As-Tested Price: $165,120
Power and Weight: 500 hp • 3262 lb • 6.5 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, F: 245/35ZR-20 (95Y) R: 305/30ZR-20 (103Y)
In spite of its screaming 9000-rpm 4.0-liter flat-six, sticky Sport Cup 2 rubber, and race-bred suspension, the 911 GT3 is as comfortable as your reading chair. This is a tarmac-cutting stiletto you could drive 1000 miles without bothering a troublesome sciatic nerve. But make sure the upright full bucket seats-$5200, worth every penny on-track-place your back at an acceptable angle for road-trip work. And pack some earplugs.
It’s a different sort of comfort that matters in a car capable of 155.0 mph on the front straight, an absolute trust that the machine will communicate what’s happening at the tires’ contact patches and obey your commands-within reason, of course. Come into Horse Shoe a little hot and the GT3 will step out. But it does so predictably and controllably, with the steering and chassis playing back a hi-fi stream of details, including that imminent change in slip angle.
As you get comfortable in the GT3, more of your focus can turn to enjoying the speed it generates-and the sounds, the 4.0-liter hammering redline 18 times per lap. What’s a small-block? Ferrari who? You’ll forget every other major performance player when ripping the GT3 up the Climbing Esses at an average speed of 127.0 mph or at the bottom of Spiral, where it kisses 47.5 mph (an all-time LL record) on its way to a 2:47.0, tying the 2016 GT3 RS on the leaderboard-an intrabrand victory if there ever were one.
And the GT3 is happy to lap all day. The tires’ grip drops off a bit after a lap or two, but the brakes never fade and the engine never overheats. Funny story: The GT3 was the first car one of our pilots drove this year. After a lap, he reported a spongy brake pedal before noticing the Nikes on his feet. He’d forgotten to lace up his usual track shoes. On the next outing, he confirmed it was the sneakers, solidifying our opinion that this car rarely puts a foot wrong.
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