Within the area of pure driver’s automobiles, one might argue that nothing in the marketplace comes near Porsche’s visceral 911 GT3, which eschews turbochargers, hybrid techniques and pointless complexities, not like each different competitor on the market.
The Zuffenhausen efficiency automobile maker has clung resolutely to the ethos it established again in 1999 with the debut of the 996-series 911 GT3, kicking off a lineage that’s among the many most fascinating within the automotive enviornment.
Chalking up the twenty fifth anniversary of the GT3 is the 992.2 version of the quick and targeted coupe, with Porsche breaking from custom by launching each the common GT3 and GT3 with Touring Bundle concurrently.
The latter foregoes the common GT3’s ginormous mounted wing in lieu of an built-in lively rear wing with Gurney flap, making for a extra understated look.
As earlier than, on the coronary heart of the GT3 is a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six powerplant that joyfully sings its strategy to 9000rpm, and Porsche additionally stands alone in providing prospects a alternative of guide and dual-clutch automated transmissions.
Though retaining the essence of its predecessor, the 992.2 version of the GT3 beneficial properties a considerably reworked powertrain, together with revised aero, eight per cent shorter total gearing in each guide and PDK variations and fettled steering and suspension that makes for even sharper and extra tactile responses.
Additionally new is the elective Weissach Bundle, which provides much more customized configuration for observe use.
Fulfilling a long-standing buyer request, rear seats are actually accessible as an choice for the primary time, albeit particularly with the Touring Bundle.
How does the Porsche 911 examine?
View an in depth breakdown of the Porsche 911 towards equally sized automobiles.
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How a lot does the Porsche 911 value?
Australian pricing for the 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 Touring Bundle is pegged at $446,700 earlier than on-road prices, with native deliveries set to begin within the second half of this 12 months. The value is identical for each guide and PDK auto variations.
It’s a considerable outlay (contemplating the entry-level 911 kicks off at $280k), however Australian-spec GT3s include additional gear fitted as a part of the usual equipment listing, together with front-axle carry, park help (rear) with reversing digicam, mild design package deal, tyre match set and DAB+ digital radio.
The aforementioned Weissach Bundle takes the value tag nigh on half 1,000,000 bucks because it’ll set you again a cool $47,530.
This sizable outlay will get you a raft of CFRP elements, together with the anti-roll bar, coupling rods and shear panel on the rear axle, roof, rear wing aspect plates, exterior mirror shells and entrance air blades.
Inside, there’s extra leather-based in addition to Race-Tex upholstery and CFRP door handles and storage nets to assist scale back weight.
The bewinged GT3 continues to supply the Membership Sport package deal at no extra cost, which features a bolted roll cage within the rear, a six-point harness for the driving force and a hand-held fireplace extinguisher.
For the extra restrained GT3 with Touring Bundle, Porsche provides the $71,120 Leichtbau (Light-weight) Bundle. It consists of in depth CFRP for the painted roof in addition to the stabiliser, coupling rods and shear panel on the rear axle.
Additionally a part of the package deal are CFRP door playing cards and the shortened guide shifter from the ST with a plaque studying ‘Leichtbau’.
The 911 GT3 comes normal with solid aluminium rims shod with 255/35ZR20 (entrance) and 315/30ZR21 (rear) tyres. Prospects may also purchase model-specific, street-legal ultra-high-performance tyres by way of permitted retailers. (The automobiles we drove on the launch wore Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres).
Among the many elective goodies are magnesium solid wheels that save 9kg of unsprung mass. They’ll set you again an eye-watering $33,480!
A Porsche Vehicles Australia spokesperson says there’s been a excessive uptake domestically for the Weissach Bundle and a powerful development in direction of the guide for the GT3 Touring and PDK for the GT3.
To see how the Porsche 911 stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device
What’s the Porsche 911 like on the within?
As you’d anticipate, the cabin of the GT3 has a no-nonsense theme, with the emphasis being on performance and a driving place that’s optimum for observe assaults.
The beautifully sculpted Sports activities Seats Plus – fabricated from CFRP in a carbon-weave end – are set ultra-low, a lot in order that I believed I used to be going to fall by way of the ground the primary time I plonked my torso down into the driving force’s seat.
There’s enough adjustability in all instructions, so you may have the beautiful three-spoke wheel sitting properly in your fingertips together with your toes completely positioned to use pedal stress.
Handily, the top restraint cushion could be eliminated, which implies your head received’t be uncomfortably propped ahead everytime you’ve donned a helmet for racetrack periods.
Purists may lament that the normal analogue tacho has been usurped by a digitised dial however – when it comes to readability, and even aesthetic enchantment – the brand new format scores extremely. You’ll be able to even choose to rotate the dial in order that the 9000rpm redline marker sits on the prime, slightly than on the backside proper.
The 992.2 GT3 additionally options an elective bolted roll cage on the rear in carbon-weave end (satin), whereas the centre console features a seen supporting construction and is optionally accessible with a carbon-weave end.
Within the 911 GT3 with Touring package deal, there’s now the choice of rear seats, catering to prospects who’ve been asking for these for years.
General, there’s not a lot to fault within the innards of the brand new GT3 and GT3 with Touring Bundle, though shorter drivers (I’m included right here as I stand a modest 1.72m tall) might discover that the guide gearshift lever is positioned somewhat too far again for consolation.
Consequently, you virtually have to awkwardly fold your arm to impact gearshifts. It wouldn’t essentially be a difficulty for taller drivers, as they’d have the seat set additional again.
One different problem – at the least for these with much less mobility – is that the ultra-low seating place makes climbing out of the automobile an train in calisthenics. It might get wearisome for those who’re operating round city getting numerous errands carried out, necessitating the act of regularly getting out and in of the automobile.
To see how the Porsche 911 stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device
What’s beneath the bonnet?
As earlier than, propulsion for the GT3 comes from a naturally aspirated big-bore 4.0-litre boxer six that howls its strategy to 9000rpm.
Outputs of 375kW at 9000rpm and 450Nm at 6100rpm are nothing spectacular by immediately’s requirements, particularly contemplating its 992.1 predecessor eked out an equivalent energy output and 20Nm extra torque.
Nevertheless, that wants be put in context as emissions legal guidelines are getting ever extra draconian, with some particulate rules a full 50 per cent harsher than when the unique 992 GT3 launched in 2021.
This has necessitated the fitment of two particulate filters and 4 catalytic converters, so even protecting outputs at parity with the outgoing GT3 required the warmer cams from the GT3 RS, in addition to a redesigned cylinder-head and flow-optimised particular person throttle our bodies.
It helps that the 992.2 GT3 isn’t excessively lardy as in depth use of CFRP within the physique and numerous elements has saved its weight down to simply 1479kg, whereas the 911 GT3 with Touring package deal weighs in at 1461kg.
Consequently, the GT3 by no means feels brief on grunt, and a claimed 0-100km/h dash time of three.4 seconds for the PDK (the guide is 0.5s slower) and prime velocity of 311km/h are fairly sharp stats.
To see how the Porsche 911 stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device
How does the Porsche 911 drive?
If there’s a purer driver’s automobile on the market, I’ve but to pattern it.
There’s lovely tactility to the 992.2 GT3 and a stage of communicativeness that makes its appreciable dynamic envelope in a short time accessible. Even a handful of laps on observe (which is all we had the chance for) are sufficient to dial in to the GT3 and begin wringing its neck.
It’s pure pleasure. The GT3 looks like a residing being linked to your fingertips, soles of your toes and torso. There’s an aliveness to each factor, a lot in order that pedalling it exhausting is an virtually sacred expertise.
No one does EPAS (electrically assisted energy steering) higher than Porsche, and that reaches a brand new excessive within the GT3, which serves up probably the most textured and nuanced suggestions to your fingertips possible. You are feeling each floor change and minute undulation within the tarmac under.
The steering has been recalibrated for the 992.2 GT3 and, within the phrases of rallying demigod Walter Rohrl, “It instils even larger confidence within the automobile as a result of it responds extra calmly from the centre place with out dropping any of its directness.”
There are not any layers of electronics and computerised software program dumbing down the suggestions to a videogame-esque expertise. It’s virtually as if you may sense pistons and valves working in sync, brake calipers clamping onto discs and comes and dampers compressing and increasing.
With a few sighting laps of the tight and twisty 4.005km Circuito Ricardo Tormo beneath the belt, it’s time to start out upping the tempo. Because the cornering and braking thresholds are approached, one can really feel the GT3 start to subtly dance and squirm beneath exhausting braking in the way in which that solely 911s do.
There’s a stunning adjustability to the automobile, which implies you need to use the brakes, throttle and steering to finagle your line by way of corners, even for those who might need dived into the bend somewhat bit sizzling.
Though there’s a racecar-level of tautness to the automobile, the chassis has simply sufficient suppleness to journey over the apex kerbs with out rattling your enamel fillings.
The massive carbon-ceramic discs present titanic stopping energy and, within the 992.2 GT3, the entrance ball-joint of the decrease trailing arm sits decrease on the entrance axle to create an anti-dive impact that reduces pitching beneath braking.
Other than instilling larger confidence within the driver, this additionally helps keep constant aerodynamic steadiness beneath heavy braking, which is clearly necessary throughout high-speed nook entries on quick racetracks.
Again within the pit paddock after our five-lap observe quota, it’s time to hit the highway within the GT3 with Touring Bundle. We nabbed a six-speed guide to see how that may gel as a real-world proposition.
Shift motion within the three-pedal automobile is meaty and satisfying, however one of many guide’s limitations quickly turns into obvious. Out on the freeway, even a 100km/h cruise in sixth gear has the flat-six engine spinning raucously at virtually 3000rpm. I used to be initially looking vainly for a seventh gear, however there isn’t one.
Though Porsche has hooked up a ‘Touring’ suffix to this automobile, realistically you could not entertain it for any cross-continent touring experiences because the flat-six motor busily working away behind you at middling revs would change into intrusive earlier than too lengthy.
As alluded to earlier, shorter drivers might also discover the gear lever positioned a bit too far again for consolation as you virtually should double your arm over to impact gearshifts.
Whereas we’re getting the gripes out of the way in which, we must also level out that the automobile’s low-speed journey is distinctly jiggly (the McLaren Artura and Ferrari 296 GTB journey with extra compliance) and there’s additionally some noticeable gear whine within the guide as we pootle slowly by way of Spanish villages in third or fourth gear.
Aside from these annoyances, the GT3 with Touring Bundle is a pleasant driver’s automobile and it’s massively entertaining throughout quick, flowing mountain roads.
What do you get?
On take a look at right here is the sporty Porsche 911 GT3.
2025 Porsche 911 GT3 gear highlights:
- Matrix Design LED headlights with dynamic auto levelling
- 20/21-inch solid aluminium light-weight rims
- PASM sport suspension
- Light-weight stainless-steel sports activities exhaust with black retailers
- Sound Bundle Plus eight-speaker 150W audio system
- Porsche Communication Administration (PCM) together with navigation, smartphone integration, voice management, USB-C ports
- 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster
- Powered Sports activities Seats Plus with leather-based and Race-Tex trim and GT3 brand
- Inside package deal in brushed Aluminium in Anthracite
- GT sports activities steering wheel with black Race-Tex trim
- GT-specific gear selector with black Race-Tex trim
- Black Race-Tex roof headlining and pillars
- Chrome steel pedals
- Gentle Design Bundle together with extra, dimmable ambient lighting in seven colors
- Alarm system with ultrasonic sound-based inside surveillance
- Twin-zone automated air-conditioning
- Energy home windows with one-touch up/down operate
Is the Porsche 911 secure?
Porsche sports activities automobiles aren’t independently crash examined, so there’s no ANCAP or Euro NCAP security ranking for the 911 vary. Even so, there’s a complete listing of ordinary security gear.
Commonplace security gear consists of:
- Porsche Stability Administration (PSM) with digital stability management (ESC)
- Anti-lock braking system (ABS) and traction management
- Twin entrance, aspect and curtain airbags
- Brake Help
- Entrance Collision Mitigation
- Low tyre-pressure warning
- Reversing Digital camera
- Rear Park Help
- Cruise Management
How a lot does the Porsche 911 value to run?
All new Porsches bought in Australia are coated by a three-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee. Service intervals are 12 months/15,000km – whichever comes first. Paint is roofed for 3 years, and the rust guarantee is 12 years.
Service prices differ from seller to seller, and might value wherever between about $700 and $3000 relying on the interval, so verify together with your Porsche Centre.
To see how the Porsche 911 stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device
CarExpert’s Tackle the Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 with Touring Bundle are considerably distinctive choices in that nothing else on the market delivers a driving expertise of the identical calibre.
Sure, there are rivals accessible from Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini which might be in an identical ballpark dynamically, and a few are sooner in a straight line.
However what separates the GT3 from these is the supreme stage of driver engagement and pure unadulterated suggestions it serves as much as all of your senses.
When you’re the sort of purchaser who desires a 911 GT3, nothing else will do. That’s just about the way in which it’s been ever because the 996 GT3 erupted onto the scene again in 1999.
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