Flat out in the new GT3… before it’s even finished
Objectively, the new 911 GT3 will be the best ever. But more importantly, says Porsche GT boss Andreas Preuninger, its raw appeal will be o the scale. We hit the road to find out
If you’ve ever wondered what kind of desk the head of Porsche’s GT division drives, it’s a very clean one. Some stationery is kept in a suspension spring on Andreas Preuninger’s desktop, and a titanium conrod sits on top of a neat pile of documents. There are a couple of other, unusually proportioned suspension components nearby. ‘Don’t jump to conclusions! They’re for my motorcycle…’ he says.
It’s from here, inside Porsche’s secretive Weissach R&D centre (and also, challengingly, from home sometimes during the pandemic) that Preuninger’s engineering team is finalising the latest 911 GT3. No easy task. Each successive GT3 has been somehow better than the last, and the outgoing 991.2 model is still one of the most exciting, immersive driver’s cars in the world.
We’re here to get a one-to-one briefing on the brand-new, 992-generation GT3, but not just via a chat in Preuninger’s oce. We’ll also see it first hand: while it’s moving, from the passenger seat. Sitting in a parking bay just outside is a lightly camouflaged prototype, close to final production spec, and we’ll spend the rest of the morning out on the road with Andreas at the wheel.
But first, the headlines. The new GT3 will be revealed to the world undisguised early in 2021. Pricing is not yet confirmed but will be ‘a little bit more’ than the previous car, Preuninger says, in line with usual inflation from one generation to the next. The car’s overall dimensions have inflated too: the regular 992-generation 911’s structure makes it a bigger car than ever. And yet the new GT3 weighs the same as the last one.
‘It. Is. Not. Heavier. Than its predecessor,’ Preuninger says, emphasising each word with relish. ‘We’re really proud of that. If you look at some manufacturers, every new car gets heavier,’ he winces. ‘Not my cars. We’ll have a set of scales at the launch, so you can check for yourself.’
Working with fresh source material has made the new GT3 more or less a from-scratch project, with all the contradictory challenges and advantages that involves: ‘The 911 has got bigger but that means it has wider front and rear tracks [for greater grip], and the shell is stiffer. So the 992 platform is definitely a plus. But to get all the GT3 vibes into a car that’s become bigger – to have that raw 911 essence – that’s the challenge.’
To that end, there’s still not a turbocharger in sight. The flat-six is a development of the previous GT3’s 4.0-litre unit, with many of the CO2-cutting tweaks fitted to last year’s limited-run 911 Speedster to ensure it slips through emissions regulations’ tightening snare. It develops ‘around 10bhp’ more than before, for a total around the 503bhp mark.
‘Five hundred horsepower in a car of this size and weight – it’s enough,’ Preuninger says. ‘If you have 600bhp, you need bigger brakes, heavier weight, and it would need turbos – which the GT3 customer doesn’t want. So, if we want to up the ante, we have to do that in other areas. It is substantially faster on a circuit than the last car.’
How? One giant leap is the suspension. For the first time in a roadgoing production 911, the front suspension is by double wishbones rather than MacPherson struts. ‘That has advantages in camber stiffness and precision,’ explains Preuninger. ‘It keeps the wheel on the road better than a MacPherson. Our mid-engined competitors have had double wishbones for a long time but it wasn’t possible on the old 911 platform.’
We head outside to meet the prototype. This example has covered thousands of development miles, many of them with Preuninger himself at the wheel. It’s wrapped in a fetching and camera-shy shade of black but otherwise ⊲
‘IT. IS. NOT. HEAVIER. YOU’LL BE ABLE TO CHECK ON THE SCALES’
ANDREAS PREUNINGER
camouflage is minimal. The rear bumper is a fake, though; the production car’s will be easier on the eye. The new carbonfibre bonnet ducts airflow through a deep pair of nostril vents but they haven’t compromised boot space; my suitcase drops easily into the frunk with space for another couple of bags on top.
It’s a long drop into the passenger seat, lower than regular 992 models. AP says the driving position is exactly the same as the previous GT3 (no fixing required; it definitely wasn’t broke) as he positions his rangy frame in the left-hand seat. Andreas is tall but my passenger seat’s runners can slide even further back than his driving position, for epic legroom. The steel half-rollcage behind us is an optional extra rather than standard fit. So is this car’s PDK auto gearbox. A six-speed manual will be standard equipment. Spec PDK and the gear selector looks identical to the manual lever. You’d have to count the pedals in the footwell to be sure. Regular PDK 911s have a square plastic blade to select drive, reverse and so on, with manual control only possible via the steering paddles, but in the GT3 you can also punch the lever back and forth to shift up and down the ’box. ‘I love this detail,’ Preuninger says. ‘I wanted to keep the lever – I don’t want to be on the paddles all the time.’ The faster, trackfocused GT3 RS version on the way later will be PDK-only, however, as before.
Sauntering out of Porsche’s R&D base the GT3 already feels… well, like a 911 GT3. ‘Our aim is that you should be able to tell in the first few metres that you are in a GT3, rather than a 911 Carrera or Turbo,’ Preuninger says.
From the passenger seat, it really does feel as responsive as its predecessor. We’ve driven out of Weissach’s gates and immediately into rolling countryside. On Porsche’s doorstep are coiled bunches of great driving roads, some smooth in surface, some less so. The GT3’s ride feels taut yet relatively supple, one of its predecessor’s core skills. (‘It should be raw but not uncomfortable; it should be usable as a daily driver for someone who wants that,’ Andreas says.)
The redline on the revcounter remains at 9000rpm – something of a GT3 USP. ‘People expect it,’ Preuninger acknowledges. Once the engine’s warmed through and Preuninger exercises its vocal chords, its note is still goosebump material despite additional particulate filters that weren’t mandated on the previous GT3. It really howls. ‘It’s loud on the inside – we gave up a little bit of long-distance comfort – but on the outside it’s quieter. Even with the exhaust valves open in villages it’s quiet, and it’s a nice sound. We don’t want to appeal to posers who want to be loud for the neighbours. That’s not my game.’
Nor is straight-line speed for the sake of it. The road clears to a well-sighted, open section and the (still analogue) tacho pings off the 9000rpm redline. The acceleration is fast enough to thrill, without distorting reality like some supercars. ‘In a straight line it’s not substantially quicker ⊲