Porsche 911 GT3 (992.2) review

We’ve come to expect great things of the GT3, but there’s no doubt it’s been overshadowed recently by the staggering GT3 RS and the Goldilocks S/T. Treading a path between those two cars should be pretty fruitful, but also could be construed as a compromise. A route that can’t quite commit in either direction…

Well, maybe. But it takes about five minutes to realise that the GT3 is very special in its own right. The engine and gearbox are well known and understood already. It was a given they would be fantastic. However, the seemingly minor tweaks to the suspension and steering create a chassis that’s equally as dazzling.

On track the GT3 is simply superb. It feels really, really quick and those shorter gear ratios make a tangible difference when hauling out of corners. But the real magic is how stable the platform feels. The new anti-dive geometry works. Not just ‘they told me this is true and therefore I can feel it,’ type stuff. You notice the uncanny control in every braking zone or whenever you guide the car towards an apex.

It’s like the responses have sped-up but the forces acting on the car have slowed-down. The result is outrageous agility married to a calmness and sense of easy control. Even when the car is taking on some slip angle this serene feel prevails. The GT3 never feels hurried or ragged.

That’s great, but what about at less than ten-tenths?

On the road the GT3 is arguably even more exciting. The engine feels sharp and full of attitude and the combination of responsiveness and control breeds huge confidence. Cars are sometimes accused of being ‘too good’, but mostly that’s a nonsense. The GT3’s huge depth of talent just encourages you to drive more smoothly, to carry a bit more speed, to notice the little shifts in balance.

Even at low speed there’s so much enjoyment derived from the fluidity of the car, the intuitive controls and the sense of connection. If you’re suffering from Porsche fatigue and want to believe they’re overrated or a bit dull, do not drive the GT3. It will break your heart. The polish to the steering response, the lovely brake feel and the sweet balance create a lovely sense of flow.

Come on then, how does it compare to the fabled S/T?

The GT3 never quite feels as small and supple as the S/T which has the most beautifully honed damping of perhaps any car we’ve driven in the last few years. But the new GT3 has an added sharpness and somehow just feels a bit more ‘on it’. It’s a beautifully realised package and seeing as used S/T prices are now tickling £400k (they were basically £300k new), we’d happily settle for this new GT3. Nothing can really match its dual purpose road/track role.

Could you drive it everyday?

Yes, but with a few compromises. All 911s suffer from tyre roar. This one’s just a bit worse. And it does feel gruff and lumpy first thing in the morning. Porsche claims 20.7mpg and 310g/km (for the Touring, a little worse for the one with the wing), but you’ll beat that if you’re not chasing the red line – we got around 24mpg. Although not for very long.

All told you’ll have a blast, because like all 911s it’s easy to drive, easy to see out of and, compared to many rivals, still compact on the road.