Porsche 911 GT3

The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car primarily intended for racing. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3, introduced in 1999, is named after the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Group GT3 class, in which it was designed to compete.

A number of variations, designed for road and track duty, have been introduced since its launch in 1999. More than 14,000 cars have been produced.

The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national and regional Porsche Carrera Cup and GT3 Cup Challengeseries, as well as the international Porsche Supercup supporting the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. It has won championship and endurance races, including the GT class of the American Le Mans Series seven times, first overall in the 24 Hours of Daytona, and first overall at the 24 Hours Nürburgring six times.

991 GT3

After a number of engine failures, it was discovered that the supplier of the connecting rod bolts had made a production error in the alloy of the bolt. Subsequently, all 785 of the GT3s that had been produced up to that point were recalled to the dealership organisations and fitted with new engines, and all owners were issued with an extra year's warranty.Porsche introduced the 991 GT3 at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013. The 991 GT3 features a new 3.8 litre direct fuel injection(DFI) flat-six engine developing 475 hp (354 kW; 482 PS) at 8,250 rpm, a Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) double-clutch gearbox and rear-wheel steering. The engine is based on the unit fitted in the 991 Carrera S, but shares only a few common parts. All other components, particularly the crankshaft and valve train, were specially adapted or developed for the 991 GT3. For example, the 991 GT3's engine uses titanium connecting rods attached to forged piston, in order to allow the engine to reach up to 9,000 rpm. The dual-clutch gearbox is another feature specially developed for the 991 GT3, based on sequential manual transmissions used in racing cars.

A formal letter sent to Porsche from members of the US-based Rennlist.com "991.1 GT3 Concerned Owners Group" about additional engine durability issues lead to a meeting between representatives of the owners group and Porsche, including head of Porsche Motorsport Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, on 3 August 2017 at the Porsche North America Atlanta headquarters. According to Dr. Walliser the concerning high-RPM misfire issue could be traced primarily to a metallurgical defect in certain batches of "finger followers" (valve train rocker arms) and secondarily to individual driving patterns and engine variations - such as temperature, oil quality, oil viscosity and parts tolerances - that lead to increased wear of the specific parts. In response to the issue and after implementing new engine tests to trace down the issue Porsche had developed revised camshafts and finger followers and offers a fully transferable 10-year, 120,000 mile extended engine warranty to all 991.1 generation GT3 owners worldwide that covers the replacement of the defective engine with a new engine with the revised parts if failure is a direct result of the finger-follower issue. The base bumper-to-bumper warranty and all other warranty terms and conditions remain unchanged. Porsche confirms that the issue is isolated to the 991.1 GT3, and that the 991.1 GT3 RS and the 991 R are not affected.

The 911 GT3 is claimed to be able to accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.1 seconds or less, and the quarter mile in 11.2 seconds at 126 mph (203 km/h). The GT3 has a claimed top speed of 202 mph (325 km/h). The lap time on the Nürburgring Nordschleife is 7 minutes and 25 seconds.

991.1 GT3 RS

Porsche launched the RS version of the 911 GT3 at the Geneva Motor Show in 2015. Compared to the 911 GT3, the front fenders are now equipped with louvers above the wheels and the rear fenders now include Turbo-like intakes, rather than an intake below the rear wing. The roof is made from magnesium. The interior includes full bucket seats (based on the carbon seats of the 918 Spyder), carbon-fibre inserts, lightweight door handles and the Club Sport Package as standard (a bolted-on roll cage behind the front seats, preparation for a battery master switch, and a six-point safety harness for the driver and fire extinguisher with mounting bracket).The car was nominated as one of the Britain's best driver's car 2014 by Autocar magazine.

The 3.8-litre unit found in the 911 GT3 is replaced with a 4.0-litre unit with 500 hp (370 kW) and 339 lb ft (460 N·m) of torque. The transmission is PDK only. The drivetrain delivers 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.4 seconds (0.6 seconds quicker than the 997 GT3 RS 4.0) and 0-124 mph (200 km/h) in 10.9 seconds. The 991 GT3 RS also comes with functions such as declutching by "paddle neutral" — comparable to pressing the clutch with a conventional manual gearbox –- and Pit Speed limiter button. As with the 911 GT3, there is rear-axle steering and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus with fully variable rear axle differential lock. The Nürburgring Nordschleife time is 7 minutes and 20 seconds.

991.2 GT3

Porsche unveiled the facelifted 991.2 GT3 at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. Extensive changes were made to the engine allowing for a 9,000 rpm redline from the 4.0 litre flat-six engine. Porsche's focus was on reducing internal friction to improve throttle response. Compared to the 991.1, the rear spoiler is higher and located further back to be more effective. There is a new front spoiler and changes to the rear suspension. The 991.2 GT3 brought back the choice between a manual transmission or a PDK dual clutch transmission.

  

GT3 Touring

Following the roots of the 2016 911R, a touring version of the GT3 was introduced that removes the rear wing and replaces it with the rear spoiler from the Carrera GTS to give a more smooth and flowing aesthetic image, though it extends further upwards to provide extra downforce. The Touring is only available with a manual transmission, features leather versus Alcantara, and cannot be specified with the Clubsport package available with the normal GT3. The suspension settings are said to be identical to the standard GT3 as is the engine. The touring, unlike the 911R is not produced in limited numbers therefore discouraging high price speculation.

 

991.2 GT3 

In February 2018, Porsche revealed a facelifted GT3 RS model to continue their updates for the 991 generation of the 911. Changes include a new engine similar to the GT3 and RSR models with a 9,000 rpm redline and 20 PS (15 kW; 20 bhp) and 10 N⋅m (7.4 lb⋅ft) increase over the previous GT3 RS, NACA ducts for brake cooling, modified front fascia (similar to the 991.2 GT3), side skits and rear wing (similar to the GT2 RS) for increased downforce, ball joints on all suspension links, front helper springs, lightweight glass for the rear and rear-side windows and a newly developed tyre compound. A Weissach package including additional carbon fibre body and interior parts as well as magnesium wheels and stiffer suspension settings is available as an option.

On 18 April 2018 the 991.2 GT3 RS set a lap time of 6:56.4 around the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife race track. It is the third Porsche production car to break the 7 minute barrier around the track, the first being the 918 Spyder.