Porsche 911 GT3 Touring Package
Road-focused
Porsche has unveiled an alternative to the rare and expensive limited-volume 911 R in the form of a new 911 GT3 model with a so-called Touring Package.
The new 911 GT3 with the Touring Package is the latest in a line of road-focused models aimed at purists intent on securing one of the last remaining 911s featuring a naturally aspirated engine.
However, unlike the similarly conceived 911 R, which was limited to just 991 units and has commanded exorbitant prices on the used market since its introduction last year, the 911 GT3 Touring Package will be built as a regular model without a cap on volume.
The 911 GT3 Touring Package harks back to a variant of the 911 Carrera RS offered in 1973 and, like the 911 R, it mixes traditional 911 GT3 styling with that of the standard 911.
It features the same front bumper and air ducts as the race-bred GT3, but the rear receives a more understated look with the automatically deploying spoiler from the standard 911 Carrera, complete with an additional Gurney flap and a grille bearing a GT3 Touring logo.
The 911 GT3 Touring Package uses the same rear bumper as the 911 GT3, with large air ducts to extract hot air from the engine bay.
Mechanically, the rearwheel-drive 911 GT3 Touring Package is identical to the recently facelifted regular 911 GT3. Power comes from the most powerful and largest-capacity naturally aspirated version of Porsche’s classic horizontally opposed sixcylinder petrol engine.
With a displacement of 4.0 litres, it delivers 493bhp at 8250rpm and 339lb ft at 6000rpm. The rear-mounted unit also has the distinction of being able to rev to 9000rpm.
Drive is channelled to the rear wheels via a standard six-speed manual gearbox and mechanical locking differential. Porsche claims the same 0-62mph time as that of the standard 911 GT3, at 3.9sec. However, the 911 GT3 Touring Package has a
lower top speed, at 196mph versus 198mph.
Inside, the Touring Package model swaps Alcantara for leather in places, including on the steering wheel, centre console storage compartment lid and door handles.
The 911 GT3 Touring Package rides on 20in wheels, which are 9in wide at the front and 12in wide at the rear, shod with 245/35 and 305/30 tyres respectively. The new model is 44mm wider than the standard 911 Carrera, with a lowered suspension that sits 25mm closer to the ground.
A standard rear-wheel steer function steers the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the fronts for added agility at lower speeds and in the same direction as the front wheels for greater stability at higher speeds.