There are so many 911s to choose from these days. If you are in the market for a 911 and not sure which one is for you, the first thing to do is decide if you a want two- or four-wheel drive. Next, decide if you want a convertible or coupé. There is also, of course, the Targa option which requires you to go for the four-wheel drive and you get a super large panoramic glass roof.
For the most part the 911 comes with a 3.6-litre flat 6-engine. The basic models, the Carrera and Carrera 4, boast 325bhp. However, if you opt for the Carrera S or the Carrera 4S then you will be getting the only 3.8-litre engine in the 911 line-up with an engine offering 30bhp more than the regular Carreras.
Then comes the two-wheel drive GT3 that sticks with the 3.6-litre engine but adds to it a further 90bhp (the GT3 RS is the same car just with less weight). Still power-hungry? Then seriously consider the 911 Turbo which is a four-wheel drive 911, kitted-out with twin turbos that propel the car with 155bhp more than the base model. If you’re still not satisfied then go for the GT2 which is basically a post-diet Turbo, minus the all-wheel drive but with increased turbo boost pressure proffering an incredible 205bhp, more than a regular Carrera.
So where were we? This 911, codenamed the 997, is actually the tenth generation of a model that traces its lineage back to some humble beginnings in 1965 as the Porsche 356. The 911 nowadays, in any guise, represents agility, usability and technical prowess.
Yet strangely Porsche has stuck with the 911’s flawed design – the engine hanging out over the rear wheels creating a lack of front-end grip and massive over-steer on the corners – and somehow managed to make to make it work magnificently.
It may be true that a mid-engine car provides the optimum balance but forget about that because the whiz-kid engineers at Porsche have doggedly sussed out how to equilibrate a rear-engine chassis and make it communicate better than anything on the road. So why did we take the GT3 for a spin in the Bachelor Issue?
The 911 GT3 offers the most bang for your buck while embodying pure, unadulterated driving pleasure. As the quintessential 911 ‘track-car’, Porsche likes to testify to the GT3’s accomplishments on the road. And there is really only one place in the region to test out Porsche’s assertions: the inconsistent, badly tarred, winding and sometimes narrow roads of Lebanon, where else?
At first glance, the exterior characteristics that distinguish the GT3 are the lowered ride height, the larger wheels, the prominent double-deck rear spoiler, the centrally placed exhaust and a frontal three-scoop air dam that almost kisses the ground. But judging from the ‘love bites’ all over the plastic lip spoiler that protects the front apron, this car has actually kissed the ground quite a few times already.
The interior has been converted into a two-seater with the rear seats removed. Though based on the regular Carrera models, the GT3 has been enhanced through much use of sensory Alcantara linings such as on the steering wheel, seats and doors. As an option, the sports seats fitted as standard can be replaced by lightweight carbon-fibre bucket seats, reducing the weight of the entire seat system to approximately half the original figure. This sounds great in theory but if you plan on using this car more than sporadically don’t take the bucket seats. They may hug you tightly through corners but after a day of use my hips were feeling bruised and my shoulders sore. I even pulled some muscles getting in and out so often.
You can, of course, customise your GT3 with the smorgasbord of options Porsche has to offer, from personalised leather upholstery to a Clubsport Package that fits a roll cage to the interior. One very subtle and useful feature my GT3 came with was an umbrella installed in the step plate on the doorsill of the passenger side.
So how was it to drive? Well, first of all surprisingly compliant. The 415bhp 3.6-litre flat-six engine produces a specific output of 115.3bhp/litre of displacement. This represents the world’s best specific output for a non-turbo/supercharged engine. Yet the combination of the sports tyres on the one hand, and the mechanical/electronic limited-slip differential, on the other, allow the driver to tap into the huge reservoirs of linear power while retaining the grip to do so with confidence.
You may want to remove some of the traction to take some pleasure from the perfect balance – all you need do is press a switch on the dash and immediately the car slides, wiggles and drifts on cue. There is nothing scary here, just fun and games.
The GT3 six-speed gearbox is a special short travel box that is a perfect mate to the fast-revving power unit. It has enabled a seamless flow of power from one gear to another. Also, as a first on a Porsche, there is a shift-up display on rev counter that tells you when the optimum time to shift gear is.
Just how well the engine and gearbox are matched to one another is illustrated by the performance figures of this beast. The GT3 accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds and reaches 160 km/h from a standstill in just 8.7 seconds. Top speed, in turn, is an impressive 310km/h. But just as impressive is this car’s ability to stop.
The brakes discs are 350 millimetres in the front and rear. At the front the discs run in six-piston, at the rear in four-piston callipers. Newly configured brake force distribution now conveys even more brake power to the rear axle right from the point you first hit the brakes, thereby reducing stopping distances even further. The only dire side- effect of such good brakes is the annoying squeaking sound, but you can always go for the superior carbon brakes I suppose.
The GT3 rides firmly but retains composure and comfort levels, even on the poorest of road surfaces. Much of this has to do with Porsche’s Active Suspension Management (PASM). Unfortunately, given the lack of any super-smooth asphalt, I never got to try out the harder damper settings. The normal mode, however, seems to be the perfect set-up for all but the most perfect of surfaces. In essence, the harder damper switch is there for track use. A technology I would like to try out soon.
I have always respected, sometimes coveted, but never desired a 911. I just lost all interest somewhere between ubiquity and panoptic approval. However, I challenge anyone – even environmentalist, guzzler-hating, egalitarians – to spend five minutes behind the wheel of a GT3 because this is what it is all about, true unashamed motoring at its finest.
In all reality, the GT2 is perhaps a little too extreme and the Turbo too perfectly rooted. The GT3, however, is the whole package. A car in which you can confidently power slide your way through every turn or just simmer along while you listen to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Jerry Hall, model-cum-ex-wife of Mick Jagger, once said that the perfect wife is, “A lady in the parlour, a cook in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom.” That’s pretty much the temperament of the GT3. A bachelor’s dream car come true.
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