Chris Harris On Cars: PORSCHE 911 GT3 (First Drive)

 
Chris Harris is among the first in the world to drive the new 911 GT3...
 
The arguments and counter-arguments over the specification of this car will rage for years to come. It is a fact that in making the new GT3 PDK-only, and giving it rear-wheel steering, Porsche has made the car heavier than perhaps it might have been.
 
But the 991 is a big car, and yet it weighs nearly 250kg less than a Jaguar F-Type. Isn't that actually quite impressive? Make that very impressive.
 
Get over it says Harris; here's why we need to...
 
The PDK gearbox is 20kg heavier than the 991's seven-speed manual, which itself is 20kg heavier than the old two-shaft manual from the previous GT3. But the new engine is 25kg lighter than before and, without the PDK as a power source, the rear-wheel steering would need an auxiliary unit, which would add at least 6kg. In other words, the weight penalty isn't so bad. And that's before you consider the profound improvements this new system has wrought on the road.
 
Anyhow, the debate will continue - too heavy, wrong gearbox, cop-out of an engine specification. Strange how none of this even enters your head when the car is fully-lit with its hips beginning to rotate. You just think you're driving one of the best sports cars ever made: nothing suppresses the philosophical discussion surrounding paddles and sticks like a flat-six at 8,900rpm.
 
Enjoy the vid - it's a home movie, but it's the first chance to see the GT3 in action outside of Porsche's hands...
 
 
 
 
"If we were a car magazine we'd call this a WORLD EXCLUSIVE, but we're not, so we won't. Let's just say we got very early access to the car everyone wants to know about. And it was very, very good. Volume to 11 please." -- Chris Harris
 
 
 
...thanks and all due credit to Chris Harris and to Andreas Preuninger and team at Porsche! Smiley
 
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