In the domain of pure driver’s cars, one could argue that nothing on the market comes close to Porsche’s visceral 911 GT3, which eschews turbochargers, hybrid systems and unnecessary complexities, unlike every other competitor out there.
The Zuffenhausen performance car maker has clung resolutely to the ethos it established back in 1999 with the debut of the 996-series 911 GT3, kicking off a lineage that’s among the most desirable in the automotive arena.
Chalking up the 25th anniversary of the GT3 is the 992.2 edition of the fast and focused coupe, with Porsche breaking from tradition by launching both the regular GT3 and GT3 with Touring Package simultaneously.
The latter foregoes the regular GT3’s ginormous fixed wing in lieu of an integrated active rear wing with Gurney flap, making for a more understated look.
As before, at the heart of the GT3 is a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six powerplant that joyfully sings its way to 9000rpm, and Porsche also stands alone in offering customers a choice of manual and dual-clutch automatic transmissions.
Although retaining the essence of its predecessor, the 992.2 edition of the GT3 gains a substantially reworked powertrain, along with revised aero, eight per cent shorter overall gearing in both manual and PDK versions and fettled steering and suspension that makes for even sharper and more tactile responses.
Also new is the optional Weissach Package, which offers even more custom configuration for track use.
Fulfilling a long-standing customer request, rear seats are now available as an option for the first time, albeit specifically with the Touring Package.
How much does the Porsche 911 cost?
Australian pricing for the 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 Touring Package is pegged at $446,700 before on-road costs, with local deliveries set to commence in the second half of this year. The price is the same for both manual and PDK auto versions.
It’s a substantial outlay (considering the entry-level 911 kicks off at $280k), but Australian-spec GT3s come with extra equipment fitted as part of the standard kit list, including front-axle lift, park assist (rear) with reversing camera, light design package, tyre fit set and DAB+ digital radio.
The aforementioned Weissach Package takes the price tag nigh on half a million bucks as it’ll set you back a cool $47,530.
This sizable outlay gets you a raft of CFRP components, including the anti-roll bar, coupling rods and shear panel on the rear axle, roof, rear wing side plates, exterior mirror shells and front air blades.
Inside, there’s additional leather as well as Race-Tex upholstery and CFRP door handles and storage nets to help reduce weight.
The bewinged GT3 continues to offer the Club Sport package at no additional charge, which includes a bolted roll cage in the rear, a six-point harness for the driver and a hand-held fire extinguisher.
For the more restrained GT3 with Touring Package, Porsche offers the $71,120 Leichtbau (Lightweight) Package. It includes extensive CFRP for the painted roof as well as the stabiliser, coupling rods and shear panel on the rear axle.
Also part of the package are CFRP door cards and the shortened manual shifter from the ST with a plaque reading ‘Leichtbau’.
The 911 GT3 comes standard with forged aluminium rims shod with 255/35ZR20 (front) and 315/30ZR21 (rear) tyres. Customers can also buy model-specific, street-legal ultra-high-performance tyres through approved retailers. (The cars we drove at the launch wore Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres).
Among the optional goodies are magnesium forged wheels that save 9kg of unsprung mass. They’ll set you back an eye-watering $33,480!
A Porsche Cars Australia spokesperson says there’s been a high uptake locally for the Weissach Package and a strong trend towards the manual for the GT3 Touring and PDK for the GT3.
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What is the Porsche 911 like on the inside?
As you’d expect, the cabin of the GT3 has a no-nonsense theme, with the emphasis being on functionality and a driving position that’s optimal for track attacks.
The superbly sculpted Sports Seats Plus – fabricated from CFRP in a carbon-weave finish – are set ultra-low, so much so that I thought I was going to fall through the floor the first time I plonked my torso down into the driver’s seat.
There’s adequate adjustability in all directions, so you can have the lovely three-spoke wheel sitting nicely in your fingertips with your feet perfectly positioned to apply pedal pressure.
Handily, the head restraint cushion can be removed, which means your head won’t be uncomfortably propped forward whenever you’ve donned a helmet for racetrack sessions.
Purists might lament that the traditional analogue tacho has been usurped by a digitised dial but – in terms of readability, and even aesthetic appeal – the new format scores highly. You can even opt to rotate the dial so that the 9000rpm redline marker sits at the top, rather than at the bottom right.
The 992.2 GT3 also features an optional bolted roll cage at the rear in carbon-weave finish (satin), while the centre console includes a visible supporting structure and is optionally available with a carbon-weave finish.
In the 911 GT3 with Touring package, there’s now the option of rear seats, catering to customers who have been asking for these for years.
Overall, there’s not much to fault in the innards of the new GT3 and GT3 with Touring Package, although shorter drivers (I’m included here as I stand a modest 1.72m tall) may find that the manual gearshift lever is positioned a little too far back for comfort.
As a result, you almost need to awkwardly fold your arm to effect gearshifts. It wouldn’t necessarily be an issue for taller drivers, as they’d have the seat set further back.
One other challenge – at least for those with less mobility – is that the ultra-low seating position makes climbing out of the car an exercise in calisthenics. It could get wearisome if you’re running around town getting various errands done, necessitating the act of frequently getting in and out of the car.
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What’s under the bonnet?
As before, propulsion for the GT3 comes from a naturally aspirated big-bore 4.0-litre boxer six that howls its way to 9000rpm.
Outputs of 375kW at 9000rpm and 450Nm at 6100rpm are nothing spectacular by today’s standards, especially considering its 992.1 predecessor eked out an identical power output and 20Nm more torque.
However, that needs be put in context as emissions laws are getting ever more draconian, with some particulate regulations a full 50 per cent harsher than when the original 992 GT3 launched in 2021.
This has necessitated the fitment of two particulate filters and four catalytic converters, so even keeping outputs at parity with the outgoing GT3 required the hotter cams from the GT3 RS, as well as a redesigned cylinder-head and flow-optimised individual throttle bodies.
It helps that the 992.2 GT3 isn’t excessively lardy as extensive use of CFRP in the body and various components has kept its weight down to just 1479kg, while the 911 GT3 with Touring package weighs in at 1461kg.
As a result, the GT3 never feels short on grunt, and a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.4 seconds for the PDK (the manual is 0.5s slower) and top speed of 311km/h are pretty sharp stats.
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How does the Porsche 911 drive?
If there’s a purer driver’s car out there, I’ve yet to sample it.
There’s beautiful tactility to the 992.2 GT3 and a level of communicativeness that makes its considerable dynamic envelope very quickly accessible. Even a handful of laps on track (which is all we had the opportunity for) are enough to dial in to the GT3 and start wringing its neck.
It’s pure joy. The GT3 feels like a living being connected to your fingertips, soles of your feet and torso. There’s an aliveness to every element, so much so that pedalling it hard is an almost sacred experience.
Nobody does EPAS (electrically assisted power steering) better than Porsche, and that reaches a new high in the GT3, which serves up the most textured and nuanced feedback to your fingertips imaginable. You feel every surface change and minute undulation in the tarmac below.
The steering has been recalibrated for the 992.2 GT3 and, in the words of rallying demigod Walter Rohrl, “It instils even greater confidence in the car because it responds more calmly from the centre position without losing any of its directness.”
There are no layers of electronics and computerised software dumbing down the feedback to a videogame-esque experience. It’s almost as though you can sense pistons and valves working in sync, brake calipers clamping onto discs and springs and dampers compressing and extending.
With a couple of sighting laps of the tight and twisty 4.005km Circuito Ricardo Tormo under the belt, it’s time to start upping the pace. As the cornering and braking thresholds are approached, one can feel the GT3 begin to subtly dance and squirm under hard braking in the way that only 911s do.
There’s a lovely adjustability to the car, which means you can use the brakes, throttle and steering to finagle your line through corners, even if you might have dived into the bend a little bit hot.
Although there’s a racecar-level of tautness to the car, the chassis has just enough suppleness to ride over the apex kerbs without rattling your teeth fillings.
The huge carbon-ceramic discs provide titanic stopping power and, in the 992.2 GT3, the front ball-joint of the lower trailing arm sits lower on the front axle to create an anti-dive effect that reduces pitching under braking.
Apart from instilling greater confidence in the driver, this also helps maintain consistent aerodynamic balance under heavy braking, which is obviously important during high-speed corner entries on fast racetracks.
Back in the pit paddock after our five-lap track quota, it’s time to hit the road in the GT3 with Touring Package. We nabbed a six-speed manual to see how that would gel as a real-world proposition.
Shift action in the three-pedal car is meaty and satisfying, but one of the manual’s limitations soon becomes apparent. Out on the freeway, even a 100km/h cruise in sixth gear has the flat-six engine spinning raucously at almost 3000rpm. I was initially searching vainly for a seventh gear, but there isn’t one.
Even though Porsche has attached a ‘Touring’ suffix to this car, realistically you may not entertain it for any cross-continent touring experiences as the flat-six motor busily working away behind you at middling revs would become intrusive before too long.
As alluded to earlier, shorter drivers may also find the gear lever positioned a bit too far back for comfort as you almost have to double your arm over to effect gearshifts.
While we’re getting the gripes out of the way, we should also point out that the car’s low-speed ride is distinctly jiggly (the McLaren Artura and Ferrari 296 GTB ride with more compliance) and there’s also some noticeable gear whine in the manual as we pootle slowly through Spanish villages in third or fourth gear.
Other than these annoyances, the GT3 with Touring Package is a delightful driver’s car and it’s hugely entertaining across fast, flowing mountain roads.
What do you get?
On test here is the sporty Porsche 911 GT3.
2025 Porsche 911 GT3 equipment highlights:
- Matrix Design LED headlights with dynamic auto levelling
- 20/21-inch forged aluminium lightweight rims
- PASM sport suspension
- Lightweight stainless-steel sports exhaust with black outlets
- Sound Package Plus eight-speaker 150W audio system
- Porsche Communication Management (PCM) including navigation, smartphone integration, voice control, USB-C ports
- 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster
- Powered Sports Seats Plus with leather and Race-Tex trim and GT3 logo
- Interior package in brushed Aluminium in Anthracite
- GT sports steering wheel with black Race-Tex trim
- GT-specific gear selector with black Race-Tex trim
- Black Race-Tex roof headlining and pillars
- Stainless steel pedals
- Light Design Package including additional, dimmable ambient lighting in seven colours
- Alarm system with ultrasonic sound-based interior surveillance
- Dual-zone automatic air-conditioning
- Power windows with one-touch up/down function
Is the Porsche 911 safe?
Porsche sports cars are not independently crash tested, so there’s no ANCAP or Euro NCAP safety rating for the 911 range. Even so, there’s a comprehensive list of standard safety equipment.
Standard safety equipment includes:
- Porsche Stability Management (PSM) with electronic stability control (ESC)
- Anti-lock braking system (ABS) and traction control
- Dual front, side and curtain airbags
- Brake Assist
- Front Collision Mitigation
- Low tyre-pressure warning
- Reversing Camera
- Rear Park Assist
- Cruise Control
How much does the Porsche 911 cost to run?
All new Porsches sold in Australia are covered by a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. Service intervals are 12 months/15,000km – whichever comes first. Paint is covered for three years, and the rust warranty is 12 years.
Service costs vary from dealer to dealer, and can cost anywhere between about $700 and $3000 depending on the interval, so check with your Porsche Centre.
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CarExpert’s Take on the Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 with Touring Package are somewhat unique offerings in that nothing else out there delivers a driving experience of the same calibre.
Yes, there are competitors available from Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini that are in a similar ballpark dynamically, and some are faster in a straight line.
But what separates the GT3 from these is the supreme level of driver engagement and pure unadulterated feedback it serves up to all your senses.
If you’re the kind of buyer who wants a 911 GT3, nothing else will do. That’s pretty much the way it’s been ever since the 996 GT3 erupted onto the scene back in 1999.
Interested in buying a Porsche 911? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here
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