The 997 years
Moving from 996 to 997 defines a period of rapid advancement at Porsche. Never before had its 911 model changed so much in such a short space of time. In 2006 the dashboard in the 997 introduced modernity, the 996’s relative simplicity and ease making way for the complexity of a screen, and more buttons than a Pearly Queen’s hat.
That dates both the 996 and 997 inside, the 996 by its pre-era connectivity and simplicity, the 997era cars spanning early modernity, and it shows. As does the standard air-bagged wheel, which looks heavy-handed in comparison to the neat, slim-spoked yet still air bag-equipped steering wheel of the 996. Details are, frankly, irrelevant, as you buy a GT3 to drive, not to press buttons. The 997 introduced a couple of significant ones though, with Porsche Active
Suspension Management (PASM) added to the chassis specification, and electronic traction control, which Porsche claims was adapted from the Carrera GT. That traction control incorporates traction slip and drag-torque control among its electronic trickery, though hold the button and you’re on your own.
Like its predecessors there’s a mechanical limitedslip differential with 28 per cent locking under load and 40 per cent on overrun, while the engine remains the 3.6-litre. Revisions to the Mezger unit see its maximum revs rise a further 200rpm to 8,400rpm, that achieved by improving the intake, with the throttle valve growing considerably from 76 to 82mm. Reduced back pressure also helps, Porsche quoting an output of 415hp, some 115.3hp per litre, which is an incredible specific output. 62 miles per hour is now possible in 4.3 seconds, aided by a lower ratio second gear – sixth also being lower – the shift itself shorter and a shift light added to the rev-counter in case the 3.6-litre flat six screaming behind you isn’t enough of a reminder to grab another ratio.
Where the 996s are relatively subtle visually, there’s a pugnacious, overtly motorsport look to the 997.1 GT3. Aero plays a far more decisive role in its styling, the jutting black splitter under the many-apertured bumper itself topped by a vent to manage cooling airflow over the front of the car. There are punctured vents in the rear, the wing large above the engine – and in profile echoing the shape of the 996.1. Wheels go up to 19-inches, with 235/35/
“There’s more grip, more aero, more power… more everything with the 997 GT3”
ZR19 front and 305/30/ZR19 tyres. There’s more grip, more aero, more power… more everything with the 997.1 GT3.
After the delicacy of the 996s, the 997’s ‘greater everything’ could be its undoing. It isn’t, the 997’s neatest trick being that it retains the incredible control and feel of its predecessor, but elevates the performance to another level. The numbers associated with it are, arguably, incidental. It’s the feel that the 997 offers that defines the drive, dominating the proceedings and involving the driver like nothing else. If there’s one element that underlines the GT3 it’s the retention of a manual transmission, the sixspeeder an anachronism in a paddle-shifted world, yet it’s central, and core to its appeal.
You have to drive the GT3; there’s no opportunity to switch off, that appealing as engagement rather than being tiresome. The clutch is heavy, the shift it allows being quick and precise, and the engine – damn, that engine. There’s greater low-rev urgency, the still rev-happy 3.6-litre being tractable even if you’re not chasing that redline. Just try doing that though: the GT3’S unit goads you into wringing it out, the reward when you do so being little short of mechanical nirvana.
Sensational as that engine is, it’s not dominant. The chassis is its measure, creating a perfect symbiosis where the engine’s forces can be exploited, the result being incredible, pure speed, and control that’s in the other-worldly sphere. You don’t need anything faster, but just three years later Porsche would introduce its Gen2 model.
More power, now 435hp, from an engine enlarged to 3.8 litres, the increased performance coming with the bonus of improved economy and emissions. There are more revs, too, the maximum now 8,500rpm, that a given, while the creep of electronic control is raised with the addition of Porsche Stability Management (PSM), incorporating Stability Control and Traction Control. It’s switchable, partially or all off, though even ‘on’ it’s judged so finely that it can genuinely be considered an aid rather than a hindrance.
You’ll be doing well to require them on the road, in the dry at least, the 997’s grip and traction phenomenal, the lighter, now centre-lock wheels increasing the wheel control, the suspension managing the fine line between control and comfort exceptionally well. If the Gen1 car is mesmerising, then its replacement elevates that status even further, the fine balance, incredible control and the feel and weighting all marking it out as one of the greatest, puristic driver’s cars you can buy. Yes, there are RS models above, but we defy anyone to climb out of a 997 GT3 – either generation – and not want to immediately get back in and drive it some more.