Few sports cars embody the track-day ethos more comprehensively than a Porsche 911 with a ‘GT3’ badge on its shapely rump. Trent Nikolic discovers the 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 is indeed the focused, razor sharp, performance sports car we had hoped it would be. Or more accurately, expected it would be.
- The engine is an intoxicating masterpiece
- Balance on track is unbelievable for a road car
- Every element is driver-focused
- Sold out, so you can’t buy one
- We’d include the options and raise the price
- There really is nothing else to dislike…
Introduction
There are manufacturers that talk about accessible motorsport, or how their vehicles make track day frivolity a possibility for us mere mortals. Then, there are manufacturers that hang their hat on decades of actually delivering to that very mantra. Porsche is firmly entrenched in the latter category and its latest track focused 911 is a sensational execution of usable performance – perhaps without peer.
I feel the need to make the following proclamation before any 911 I review – I am no 911 fanboy by any means. I never have been, and for years I fell into the camp of Porsche employing lazy designers and persisting with a platform that was compromised to begin with. You know, the engine hanging out behind the rear axle and all that.
Every single time I drive a new iteration of the 911 though, I’m reminded of that teutonic, almost numbing, pursuit of perfection. Small steps, subtle tweaks, minor adjustments, barely perceptible improvements. Things that measured alone might make no difference, but when employed together result in a sports car that is as capable, drivable and focused as any.
Put it this way, a 911 fanboy I might not be, but there are many dastardly things I’d consider doing to get my hands on a GT3 for track day tuition.
At this stratospheric height, with this much power and reputation, there are few real competitors. Further, the waiting list, the speed with which any new model is already sold out, and the raving adoration of owners, would indicate that if you’re looking at a 911 GT3, you’re not really in the market for anything else.
When you’ve got pro drivers telling you that a road car knocked their socks off, you can start to understand why.
Our steed for this – rather daunting – Level 4 track school with Porsche Australia (which forms the local launch of the GT3), is a sensational Shark Blue, winged warrior. You’re probably already thinking it, just by looking at it, but if you’re not, allow me to assist. Think of the new GT3 as a thinly veiled track car with an ever so slight hint of daily driving civility.
Just because it does the latter so effortlessly, doesn’t mean it can’t devour the former with some measure of fervour. The wing, the brakes, the stance, the lashings of rubber at all four corners, suggest this car is not here to mess around.
This launch drive is a little different. What we’re experiencing is an abridged version of the Level 4 driving school, that eventually steps up to the full Carrera Cup race car. There are to be no instructors in the car with me, and no lead car – unless it rains – which it does, but more on that later. No pressure then.
The welcome board shows the surnames: Youlden, D’Alberto, Baird, Coulthard, Russell, Davison, Owen, Canto, Pither and Patterson. Don’t waste your time trying to work out how much ‘A’ there is in this A-Grade team. Suffice to say, there’s a few blokes here who know how to drive. I don’t consider myself one of them in case you’re wondering.
You’re set up with an instructor and an engineer. Your instructor works with spotters around the track to find improvements in your lap, and relay those back to you via your headset while you’re out on track. That alone would be helpful enough, with comfort coming from knowing that you could indeed brake later, carry more speed into a corner or get on the throttle earlier. It gives you things to work on for your next lap around.
There’s more though. Your engineer is back in the pits, watching on monitors (there’s a camera inside the car and another outside the car), looking at the telemetry. They can see when you’re on the brakes, when you’re on the throttle, what you’re doing approaching a corner, in the middle of the corner, or on exit. It’s serious race craft instruction.
At the end of each session, you sit down with your engineer and look through the lap, working out where you’ve gone wrong, where you can improve. Helpfully, Carrera Cup pilot David Russell has set a ‘delta’ lap for us. There’s nothing more constructive than being able to see where you’re going right or wrong.
Aside from ‘slow everywhere’, I’m looking forward to learning some new techniques that might help me understand how formidable this new GT3 is. The international motoring press has lavished the new GT3 with praise, but we Aussies are a tough crowd. Let’s find out if this car can live up to the hype.
| Key details | 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 |
| Price (MSRP) | $369,700 plus on-road costs |
| Colour of test car | Shark Blue |
| Options | Club Sport package – no cost Chrono package –$1000 ‘Special Colour’ paint $7500 Full bucket seats – $11,250 Carbon Ceramic brakes – $21,020 |
| Price as tested | $410,470 plus on-road costs |
| Rivals | Lamborghini Huracan Evo | Mercedes-AMG GT R | Nissan GT-R Nismo SV |
Inside
Open the door and one thing becomes abundantly clear, this is a driver-focused environment. But then, that’s not too dissimilar to the rest of the 911 range. GT3 features the same neat, simple layout that is imbued with a sense of quality and premium.
The GT3’s gauge cluster is dominated by a big analogue tacho, with digital displays either side. A focused GT mode displays the kind of information Porsche knows its owners want. To be fair, we don’t spend too much time looking at any of the interior attributes during our rather rapid track sessions.
I like the fact that our auto-equipped GT3 had lost the funny little lever 911 uses now, for a more traditional shifter handle, that has a meatier feel. Yes its more traditional, and I can be a traditionalist in that sense, but it’s also befitting the performance focus of the car. If you’re pushing hard enough to spin off track for example, it’s going to be easier to find reverse if you need it.
No back seat means it’s you and a passenger, although if you’re pushing the GT3 as hard as it wants to be pushed, passengers need not apply. Not for more than a lap or two anyway.
The fixed back front seats in our track cars were both comfortable and supportive. High speed corners and hard braking don’t unsettle you from the driver’s seat, which is exactly what you want. They weren’t so hard and unforgiving that they would be heinous on a long road drive though either.
| 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 | |
| Seats | Two |
| Boot volume | 132L |
| Length | 4573mm |
| Width | 1852mm |
| Height | 1279mm |
| Wheelbase | 2457mm |
Infotainment and Connectivity
GT3 gets the same central control screen as other 911s – in other words, you’ll be familiar with it if you know the Porsche infrastructure. It’s 10.9 inches in size, visible and while complex in terms of what it can display, is easy enough to work out pretty quickly. There’s wireless Apple CarPlay, which we didn’t test, and the regular interactivity you’d expect.
Porsche’s recent move to clean up the centre console and rationalise the number of physical buttons and switchgear perhaps makes most sense in the cabin of the GT3. In an environment where you don’t want to be distracted in other words. The console is noticeably switchgear-minimal, and the buttons on the steering wheel didn’t get in our way on track either.
Safety & Technology
The 911 isn’t tested by ANCAP and is, as such, unrated. The quality of the componentry and the way the brakes work on track indicate that it’s pretty safe for its intended purpose, if you’re inclined to consider such things. The standard roll cage is a tasty addition for a car of this type, and it looks right at home inside the GT3’s cabin, too.
| 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 | |
| ANCAP rating | Untested |
Value for Money
Anyone you speak to who tracks a 911, is always quick to point out the (relative) value in the vehicle and the cost of running one. Indicative service pricing, the way in which a 911 is easy on components like tyres and brakes, and the fact they tend to be quite bulletproof, means they make very cost affective amateur track cars. That being relative to the initial buy-in price of course.
We don’t bother monitoring fuel use at the track, but a combined claim of 12.4L/100km on the combined cycle would be achievable around town driving regularly. Against competition that can actually keep up with a GT3 on a road or track, the asking price is entirely reasonable, too.
You’re paying for decades of engineering nous, and ability way beyond what we’re capable of exploiting, which seems like good value to me if your pockets are deep enough.
| At a glance | 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 |
| Warranty | Three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty |
| Service intervals | 12 months/15,000km |
| Servicing costs | $3140 (3 years) | $5585 (5 years) Approximately |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 12.4 l/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | N/A |
| Fuel type | 98-octane petrol |
| Fuel tank size | 64L |
Driving
The first sensation you have as you peel out of the pits is that this platform – above all others – is the result of Porsche listening to its customers.
Where the rest of the 911 range has used turbochargers to chase more power and torque from smaller capacities, GT3 remains gloriously free of such forced induction. As such, the driver is able to sample the outer reaches of a screaming rev limit, riding a wave of acceleration to peak power at 8400rpm.
The 4.0-litre flat-six engine is another firehouse from Porsche, at a time where turbocharging has become the norm even for city cars. No such complexity here though. The only thing dulling the otherwise ear splitting exhaust note is a lightweight exhaust system. Perfection.
We write it often, but the intoxicating way in which a naturally aspirated engine builds power, the soundtrack it generates, its insatiable thirst for revs, and the smooth way in which it operates, is an experience to be savoured. An increasingly rare one for that matter.
Where we have described the 911 Turbo and Turbo S as ‘digital’ in their response and savagery, there’s an immediately more mechanical and connected feel behind the wheel of the GT3. That’s not to say a Turbo or Turbo S is remote, merely that the GT3 is even more engaging. If that’s possible.
I can’t think of a vehicle currently on sale – Huracan or SF90 aside maybe – where the driver is so intricately stitched into every movement and response of the chassis. It’s a not too subtle reminder that these experiences are coming to an end, whether we like it or not. Sure, if there’s a way to make an electric vehicle this visceral, Porsche will probably find it, but even the undeniably brilliant Taycan can’t involve the driver the way this GT3 can.
Razor sharp throttle response is the domain of the naturally aspirated engine, and the GT3’s is among the very best we’ve ever sampled. Individual throttle bodies help here too, of course. The flat-six spins to redline with a hunger that’s almost asking for every single rpm you can safely use.
There’s no sense of mass, seemingly no inertia, as if the 4.0-litre doesn’t even need to gather its breath before going to work. Just point the front of the GT3 where you want to go and nail the throttle. In the right hands – like those of Luke Youlden or Alex Davison – the new GT3 is a ballistic missile in civilian disguise.
When race drivers are raving about the balance, the precision of the front end, the ease with which you can attack a corner, and the stability under brakes, you know the engineers have delivered to the brief.
If this engine exists for one purpose, it’s to nudge 9000rpm just once, even simply so you know you can. There’s no silly synthetic noises required, no exhaust or intake fakery, just real glorious thrashery. It’s not for everyone, and your neighbours might hate you when you’re warming the GT3 up early for your track day, but who cares?
While sub 3.0-second runs to 100km/h are now relatively commonplace, and our auto GT3 gets launch control, thats only a small trick within the GT3’s much more proficient bag. In fact, we don’t even test launch control at our track drive. We’re not doing standing starts in any case. There are corners to be attacked, and straights to link them, braking zones to try to understand, and apexes to be aimed for.
GT3 has just over 60-percent of its weight over the rear wheels and as such, drive is prodigious, ripping through the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission so fast, you forget shifts are even taking place. Our instructors suggest we leave the shifter in auto mode, given how clever it is, and how precise it shifts at speed. To be frank, I’d rather have one less thing to think about while trying to string a decent lap together, so I’m more than happy to oblige.
Typical of Porsche, if you’re tooling around on a cool down lap, the auto could be that found in any small sedan, such is its lack of fuss. At speed though, it’s sharp and precise, if not quite savage. It’s ability to downshift under braking to prepare for the exit, is so smart, I’d hardly be any better shifting myself in any case.
Lap after lap, and I do get quicker as the day progresses, I’m amazed by how effortless the GT3 is at pace. Sure, there’s the case to be made that I’m nowhere near extracting the limits of what it can do. However, even in pro hands, and pushed harder than I’d ever dare, it still seems to ask, ‘is that all you’ve got?’
There are multiple factors at play, more than one that will leave you shaking your head as to how Porsche has honed a chassis to do what the GT3 can do.
First there’s the drive. You’d expect the GT3 to be tail happy, but it isn’t. The rear end is so well tied down, so refined, you have to try hard to unsettle it. And if you do lose traction, it’s never savage or scary. I love that Porsche allows the driver to have some fun with traction and stability controls on, too. Again, it’s perfect for this vehicle and the intended buyer.
Then there’s the front end. The connection between brain, hands, steering wheel and front tyres is so direct, I can’t think of a sport scar that communicates with the driver like the GT3. It’s only on a wet track, when deliberately pushing too hard on the racing line, you’ll find any hint of understeer or push into a corner.
On that note, my morning and afternoon sessions are punctuated by a buttocks-clenching session on a wet track. La Niña is a cruel mistress it seems. Alex Davison offers to set the pace and show us some lines if we’d like, and that seems entirely sensible to me.
It’s fascinating, first of all realising how hard you can push on tyres that really aren’t suited to the slippery conditions, but also watching a pro work the GT3 around the track, largely off the racing line in the search for grip.
That aforementioned understeer only appears after Alex comes over the radio and asks us to take the correct line into turn eight to feel for ourselves how little grip there is in the wet. It’s an immediate and visible reminder of why he’s been working away off the line elsewhere on the lap. And still, the GT3 is forgiving, making even average drivers look competent.
There’s no doubt, despite the fact that I will need many more laps to keep improving, that the GT3 is a sensational driver-focused track car that can also be driven every day. Its ability to deal with the speed and cornering expectations of a track day are at odds with the refinement and insulation of the cabin. It’s game on once again thanks to the engineers in Stuttgart.
| Key details | 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 |
| Engine | 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat six-cylinder |
| Power | 375kW at 8400rpm |
| Torque | 470Nm at 6100rpm |
| Drive type | Rear-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Seven-speed dual-clutch transmission |
| Power to weight ratio | 261.3kW/tonne |
| Weight | 1435kg |
| Turning circle | 10.4 m |
Conclusion
If the GT3 were still available to buy new, I’d be advocating that anyone who wants to learn to become a better driver and who can afford one, should get straight into a Porsche dealer. They are all sold though, so I’ll advise you to trawl the second hand market for the off chance someone gets bored with theirs.
The new GT3 is a truly epic sports car, one with performance reserves well beyond the reach of my ability and most mere mortals for that matter. That’s okay though, it means mere mortals can explore the outer reaches of their own ability in safety, seated in a car that is unbelievably difficult to unsettle.
Porsche has once again delivered a finely-honed track tool, one that is demonstrably better than the model it replaces in every way, and one that raises the bar even higher. That you can fit registration plates and totter around town in it before thrashing it as hard as you dare in safety on track, is the real measure of the scarcely believable skill set of an awesome machine.
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