TOURING PARTY

The GT3 Touring aims to deliver GT3 thrills in a more subtle package

FOR SOME, THE FACT THAT THE GT3 AND GT3 Touring are mechanically identical has come as a disappointment. The previous 991.2-gen GT3 Touring blended the performance of the track-derived thoroughbred with the calmer, more compliant chassis of a car that wasn’t required to rule every apex. Yet it was more, way more, than a Carrera S with a hot engine. It felt every bit as bespoke, considered and meticulously engineered as any other car developed by the GT department – because it was. As a road car first and foremost, it operated within a sweet spot few others achieve, adding useability without removing an ounce of capability.

The new GT3 Touring is, the argument goes, just a regular GT3 with the fixed rear wing replaced by the Carrera’s adaptive spoiler, a painted front bumper and some chrome window trim. But this is Porsche’s motorsport department, and focusing on trim level isn’t really its thing.

So the Touring gets a unique engine cover that incorporates its own adaptive rear spoiler. It’s the same design as the one fitted to a Carrera, but the operating window in terms of height and the angles it reaches is bespoke to the Touring to make sure it develops the same level of stability as the GT3’S distinctive swan-neck item. With modifications to the front splitter, underfloor aero and the rear diffuser, Porsche’s claim is that stability and aero performance is as near as dammit identical whether you go for a wing or a spoiler.

In reality, the comparison isn’t about judging the minutiae of the handling balance; it’s more about how you feel and if you’re an introvert or extrovert type of person. For many, the GT3 in its full battledress is irresistible; parked alongside a Touring, its more functional-looking unpainted front bumper, optional half cage and that wing present a magnetic pull that’s impossible to fight. Every drive will be an imaginary lap of Spa or the Nordschleife.

But the Touring plays the long game. It’s willing to wait for your attention, let you spot its calmer, cleaner, fully painted front end (it retains the carbon front bonnet and air intakes), its more crafted rear and the subtlety this all brings. Thankfully the brightwork can be returned to black (at a cost) and your choice of seats isn’t restricted so you can have the tightest hip-huggers if you prefer. With leather replacing Porsche’s Race-tex material, it’s marginally plusher, but it’s unmistakably a GT3 from the second the gruff, mechanical engine note reverberates around the cabin.

Whichever you choose, early reports of the new car being noisier, harsher and less forgiving can be put to bed. The car that arrived in the UK for early drives was a pre-prod and our early doubts can be set aside after sampling both this Touring and the GT3 on the preceding pages. Yes, the front end is sharper and quicker to react, and where previous GT3S responded well to being bullied into and through corners, the new model responds more faithfully if you’re calmer and more linear with your inputs. But both GT3 and Touring remain the benchmark when it comes to mixing body control with damping fluidity and steering precision.

So what’s it to be? Wing or spoiler? For the full GT3 effect, a winged, Pdk-equipped car is for you, especially so if trackdays are a priority. If a more subtle, involving, road-biased experience is your thing, a manual Touring is pretty much irresistible.