READY TO ROAR ON THE RACETRACK If not all new, Porsche’s track-ready 911 GT3 gets several speed-enhancing upgrades
Feedback is a very subjective thing when related to driving on a racetrack. It’s not entirely abstract, since there are tangible factors — the tactile response of the steering wheel acting against your input through a turn; the lateral forces feeding into your backside through the seat, the rearward push on your body as your foot presses down on the gas pedal at corner exit — but it’s not really measurable, either. However, when a car tells you what the contact patches are doing in an almost telepathic manner, feedback can be a magical thing. And the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 is pure magic.
The GT3 hasn’t been redesigned for 2018, but it has received several speed-enhancing improvements. Its new naturally aspirated flat-six now displaces 4.0 litres and is lifted right out of the GT3 Cup race car. It pumps out 500 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of peak torque, an increase of 25 hp and 15 lb-ft over the previous 3.8-L engine.
But the engine didn’t just grow in displacement; there’s some other high-speed sorcery going on. A dry-sump lubrication system feeds into the centre of the new crankshaft rather than through the outer main bearings, which helps reduce power-robbing oil flow at high revs. Connecting rods are made of titanium, and the hydraulic lifters have been eliminated to deal with the higher 9,000-rpm redline. Despite this new solid cam-follower setup, valve adjustment is not necessary for the life of the car, according to Porsche.
The first- and second-generation GT3s came only with a six-speed manual gearbox, which was replaced by a seven-speed PDK in the third-gen model in 2016. For 2018, and for the first time in a GT3, there are two gearboxes available. If quick lap times are your ultimate goal, there’s a standard seven-speed PDK, or for no added cost you can choose a six-speed manual. The manual comes with a mechanically locking differential rather than the electronic one (with torque vectoring) of the PDK, but the combination also save saves about 15 kilograms of weight. The PDK powertrain pushed the GT3 from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 sec., while the manual adds a half second.
“Paddle neutral” is an interesting feature that comes with the PDK. Pulling on the steering wheel paddles simultaneously disengages the clutches until the paddles are released again. This feature can be used to transfer weight forward if the car understeers in wet conditions, and can also be used to break the rear end loose if drifting is your thing, though you’ll have to turn off the traction control to do so. It also allows you to launch the car violently from a stop if that, too, is your thing.
Externally there’s a new fascia, and the carbon-fibre rear wing is 20 millimetres taller than before, changes that combine with revised underbody aerodynamics to add up to 155 kg of downforce.
There’s no real graceful way to step into or climb out of the GT3; it’s akin to stepping into your bathtub through a hole in the wall. But once you’re seated, controls reach out to you rather than the other way around. The GT3 is built for the track, and if you want the full racetrack experience, you should order yours with the optional $5,940 carbonfibre full bucket seats. You’ll need a shoehorn to squeeze into them, and you’ll surely regret choosing them if you drone along the highway for more than an hour or so, but they keep you planted through high-speed corners on a racetrack as though you’re wearing Velcro pants.
On the road to the racetrack there’s no other way to describe the GT3 other than brash. It lets you know it has a preference for the smooth surface of a racetrack through a noisy cockpit and an especially stiff ride, even with the suspension in Normal mode. If you want to be coddled in a Porsche, get a Panamera. This thing is about high speed on a closed course.
Turn onto a racetrack and the GT3 rewards with visceral feedback, seat-foam-crushing acceleration, and seatbelt-stretching braking. It steers with remarkable accuracy, and is surprisingly forgiving for a rear-engined car. However, its forgiving nature can be credited to its electronic stability control. Its safety-net system is so finely tuned it’ll have you believing you’re a better driver than you are.
Sport mode allows the car to get sideways when pushed hard, yet it brings the wheels back in line seamlessly without going too far. In one of the faster right-hand sweepers at the track, the rear would often step out when accelerating past the apex, though the car regained its composure with less driver input that would be needed if those 500 horses were unleashed onto the pavement unchecked. Although this might lead some drivers to think they’re really hot behind the wheel, a good driver gives credit where it’s due: it was mostly the car.
On the track, the PDK gearbox provides instantaneous gear changes up and down when shifted manually, and is remarkably accurate with shifting automatically in Sport mode, almost always in the right gear, at the right time. A session in a manual car reminded me why I still prefer a third pedal; the tight, narrow gate and the precision of the GT3’s shift knob, combined with the assistance of auto revmatching in Sport mode, provide the sensation of total driver control, even if the electronics still save my backside invisibly in the background.
And those brakes! Unless you plan on pasting numbers onto your GT3 and trailering it to the track, there’s no need to opt for the composite braking system, which adds about 10 grand to the price. The standard brakes stop hard, with excellent brake feel and no fade, at least after five consecutive laps on a brakeheavy racetrack.
Perhaps stating the obvious, the 911 GT3 is no commuter car. You compromise some comfort on the street, though it is just accommodating enough for the drive to your favourite racetrack. Its once you get there that you’ll appreciate its on-track wizardry.
The 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 will be arriving at dealers in late summer, at a starting price of $163,300.