Porsche 911 GT3 E-Book

Johnny Tipler

• Herausgeber: The Crowood Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: AutoClassic
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 306

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

One of the most exciting models ever released by Porsche, the first 911 GT3 was introduced in 1999, based on the then-current 996 coupé, suitably modified as a contender in the FIA GT3 championship category. Successive iterations of the 911 GT3 – the 997 GT3, 991 GT3 and present-day 992 GT3 – were similarly adapted from the contemporary production-line model, with mechanical and aerodynamic upgrades, constructed at the Stuttgart-based company's Zuffenhausen plant, with upgraded performance in RSR, R and Cup versions applied by its nearby Weissach competition department and test track. With over 300 stunning images, most previously unpublished, including professional photos, factory archive pictures and specially commissioned artworks, and featuring several interviews with Porsche heroes intimately concerned with GT3s in build and in competition, this book tells the thrilling story of a masterpiece of design and technology on road and track.

Leseprobe

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First published in 2024 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

[e-mail]

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2024

© Johnny Tipler 2024

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7198 4379 2

The right of Johnny Tipler to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Front cover: a pair of 996 GT3 RS Clubsports at sunset on Blakey Ridge, North York Moors, photographed by Antony Fraser.

Title page image: 992 GT3 RS artwork painted specially for this book by Caroline Llong. (www.e-motion-art.fr).

Image credits

Alex Denham, p.131, p.132 (top); Amy Shore, p.32 (all), p.33 (top left, bottom left, bottom right), p.34, p.35, p.36, p.37, p.47 (bottom right), p.48 (left and right), p.49, p.50 (top and bottom), p.51 (top and bottom), p.62, p.63, p.64 (top and bottom), p.65; Carlie Thelwell, p.121 (top), p.124 (left and right); Caroline Kerr, p.7 (right); Falken Motorsport, p.123; Johnny Tipler, p.9, p.10 (bottom), p.11 (top left and right), p.15 (all), p.17, p.43 (top right), p.38, p.39 (left and right), p.40 (bottom), p.52 (right), p.72, p.89 (left and right), p.90 (top), p.94 (bottom), p.95 (bottom left), p.96, p.98, p.99 (top and bottom), p.100 (top), p.111, p.115, p.116, p.117 (left and right), p.118 (top and bottom), p.119 (top and bottom), p.120, p.121 (bottom), p.122, p.125 (top), p.127 (top), p.128, p.129, p.130 (bottom), p.135, p.136, p.137, p.139 (top left), p.143 (top), p.144 (top), p.157; Lena Willgalis, p.127 (bottom); Porsche Cars GB, p.7 (left); Porsche Photo Archive, p.10 (top), p.12 (top), p.18 (top right), p.20 (top and bottom), p.22 (top and bottom), p.23, p.24 (top and bottom), p.25, p.59, p.60 (top and bottom), p.61 (top and bottom), p.68 (top left and top right), p.87 (top), p.87 (bottom), p.88, p.91 (top left), p.92 (bottom), p.93 (top and bottom), p.108, p.109, p.110 (all), p.112, p.114, p.125 (bottom), p.126 (left and right), p.130 (top), p.132 (bottom), p.133 (top and bottom), p.134 (top and bottom), p.138, p.139 (bottom right), p.140, p.141, p.142, p.143 (bottom), p.144 (bottom), p.146, p.147, p.148, p.150, p.151, p.152, p.153; Tanja Stadnic, p.155; Tim Havermans, p.74 (bottom);All other images by Antony Fraser.

Cover design by Sergey Tsvetkov

CONTENTS

Timeline

CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2THE 996 GT3 AND GT3 RS 1999–2005

CHAPTER 3THE 997 GT3 AND GT3 RS 2006–2011

CHAPTER 4THE 991 GT3 AND GT3 RS 2013–2019

CHAPTER 5THE 992 GT3 AND GT3 RS 2021–

Acknowledgements

Index

TIMELINE

1993:New Type designation announced by the FIA

1998:911 GT1s score 1-2 victory at Le Mans

1999:996 GT3 launched, 3.6-litre engine, known retrospectively as Gen1

2001:996 GT3 RS Gen1 on track

2003:996 GT3 Gen2 released; 996 GT3 RS introduced

2004:996 GT3 RSR is racing version

2006:997 GT3 Gen1 unveiled. 997 GT3 RS and RSR also available

2009:997 GT3 Gen2 released, with 3.8-litre engine

2010:997 GT3 RS Gen2 launched

2011:997 GT3 RS available with 4.0-litre engine

2013:991 GT3 Gen1 introduced at Geneva Show, with new 3.8-litre flat-six

2015:991 GT3 RS launched; 991 GT3 RS also available with 4.0-litre engine

2016:991 GT3 R is dedicated race car. GT3 Touring has GTS retractable rear wing

2017:991 GT3 Gen2 on sale

2018:991 GT3 RS Gen2 released

2021:992 GT3 unveiled; also with Touring package. 992 GT3 Cup Car launched

2022:992 GT3 RS revealed, along with GT3 R Rennsport

2023:992 GT3 R race car launched

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

To the uninitiated, it is hardly an auspicious name. Two capital letters and a number: on the face of it, ‘GT3’ has no right to be up there with the most beguiling of suffixes. Yet, it has become the signifier of the most hardcore of Porsche models – so much so that it has swallowed up the hallowed RS moniker bedecking the 2.7 Carrera RS from 1973 and subsequent air-cooled 911s (although the Renn Sport and Renn codicils do retain their former, and ongoing, importance as a further addendum to the relevant GT3 model, indicating superior and likely competition prowess. An ‘RS Clubsport’ added to the end signifies the perfect compromise between road car and racing car).

A display of GT3s lined up at Silverstone by Porsche Cars GB, including 992 GT3 RSs (front), 991 GT3 RS, 996 GT3 RS and 997 GT3 RS (rear).

Kinnon Kerr’s 4.0-litre Gen2 991 GT3 Clubsport embraces full spec including Sport Chrono and ceramic brakes. Its subtle paint work is in Crayon, otherwise known as Chalk in Europe and the USA. Only 222 came to the UK.

The company’s radical evolution from air-cooled, hand-crafted cars to robotised production-line water-cooled models from 1996 demanded a flagship. Porsche needed something to lead the charge – a competition-oriented car along the lines of the ’73 911 Carrera 2.7 RS and its 3.0 SCRS, 964 RS and 993 RS successors.

The GT3 suffix may reference ‘grand touring’, implying, as it did in its 1930s gran turismo and grande routière manifestations, a comfortable means of touring the Côte d’Azur, but there is no getting away from the fact that, in terms of press-on motoring, the GT3 is a brute that takes no prisoners, and in most contexts is a demanding taskmaster. Why would a trackable car be anything else? For a cushy high-speed tour, the 911 Turbo is the car to take but, for the incorrigible boy-racer with a substantial bank balance, the GT3 is definitely the thing.

THE GT3 RACING CATEGORY

The category to which the 911 GT3’s suffix refers was introduced in 1993, with a second sitting in 2005. Supplementary to the more rarefied GT1 class, which had been on the scene since 1994, GT2 and GT3 regulations were drawn up by IMSA (the International Motor Sports Association) and the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) for production-based grand touring racing from 1998. Whilst GT2 rules were freer and allowed turbocharging and massively modified bodywork and powertrains, the GT3 category was restricted to features that might raise eyebrows on the road but would not be so outlandish as to be unusable in a road-going context. The rules specified that GT3 cars had to be two-wheel drive, based on a tubular steel chassis or monocoque shell, with an engine capacity of between 2.0 litres (120cu in) and 3.8 litres (230cu in). The GT3 class evolved into the LM GTE category for the incoming ALMS (American Le Mans Series), an evolution and continuation of the Stateside GTS-2 of 1995 and GTS-3 in 1997.

As far as Porsche were concerned, GT3 provided a route into a racing environment that would be less frenetic and costly than GT1 (with which it had won Le Mans in 1998), yet still allow it to compete against highly competitive showroom rivals and, equally importantly, to act as the technical platform for the single-model GT3 Cup and Supercup series. The 996 GT3 of 1999 was the first fruit of that projection.

Rules and Regs

In 2005, the GT3 category was imbued with the permanence and import that it deserved when the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) consolidated the regulations as a global race category, launching the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2006. Subsequently, GT3 became the de facto category for a number of national and international Grand Touring race series, employing FIA standards. The number of manufacturers who had produced potentially eligible GT3 cars soon exceeded 20. In order to qualify for homologation, the chief proviso was that the car had to be based on a regular road-going model that was in production at the time. Once they had been accepted into the fold, performance of all GT3 cars was regulated either by the FIA’s GT Bureau, or by the ruling body of a specific race series. It was monitored via a balance-of-performance formula (BoP) that standardised to a greater extent horsepower, weight, engine management and aerodynamics in a bid to preclude one manufacturer from becoming dominant in the class. This approach has, nevertheless, thrown up controversial results at times.

In terms of weight, GT3 cars are calculated to tip the scales between 1,200 and 1,300kg (2,645 and 2,866lb), with power output pegged between 500 and 600bhp – quite an elevated figure. All cars are deemed to have a similar power-to-weight ratio, achieved either by greater power and heavier weight, such as the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, or less power and lighter weight, such as the Porsche 911 GT3. All cars have the benefit of traction control and ABS, as well as integral air jacks to facilitate quicker pit-stops.

There is a certain unarguable logic to the numerical sequence, from GT1 and GT2 to GT3, but it is said that the GT3 concept was originally dreamed up in the mid-1990s by race driver Stéphane Ratel, CEO of his own SRO Group. In any case, Ratel gets the cigar. A decade on, SRO was actively promoting the FIA’s GT Championship in 2005 and, by 2015, other GT endurance series, including GT World Challenge, Blancpain GT and Pirelli World Challenge.

Expansion of the Class

Regulations for the hardcore GT1 and GT2 cars running in the FIA GT Championships required manufacturers to construct cars based on delineated chassis platforms and to develop the specs to increase performance, including chassis, suspension and drivelines. It was a formula that inevitably increased the costs dramatically for manufacturers and customer teams who were bent on racing the cars. In GT3, the process was to be simplified by combining a number of cars from existing one-make series, such as the Porsche Supercup or Ferrari Challenge, and race cars from other manufacturers that did not fit in GT1 or GT2, such as the Aston Martin DBRS9 or Dodge Viper Competition Coupé. These would then be permitted to compete on a level playing field, with their respective performance strictly monitored by the FIA. As far as teams and drivers were concerned, the category would provide a stepping stone between lesser national series and the professional international FIA GT Championship.

Twenty-one road-going examples of the 911 GT1were created between 1996 and 1998, to enable the model to be homologated into the BPR Global GT race series that became the FIA GT Championship. The racing version won at Le Mans in 1998.

In GT3, the engineering and design costs incurred in the development of road cars into their racing counterparts were relatively low. Unlike GT1, manufacturers were not permitted to develop their GT3 cars over the course of a racing season; they simply provided a ready-to-race car to a customer, and the teams were limited in what they could alter from production specs.

GT3 Race Formats

Races involving GT3 cars could be configured as 20-lap sprints, while manufacturers could supply upgrade kits to enable them to be used in long-distance endurance races such as the Spa or Nürburgring 24-Hours. The International GT Open British GT Championship, the Spanish GT Championship and the Italian GT Championship each created a category specifically for the FIA’s new GT3 regulations and homologations that were drawn up for the start of the 2006 season. Eight manufacturers were represented at the first ‘Balance of Performance’ test, prior to the start of the inaugural FIA GT3 European Championship. The SRO Group expanded the category in 2007 with the launch of two new regional championships – the Brazilian GT Championship and the German ADAC GT Masters – exclusively running GT3 cars. The British GT Championship abandoned GT2 cars, promoting GT3 to its premier category, while the Belgian Belcar series reorganised its class structure to promote GT3 as top-line category. In France, the FFSA GT Championship added a new GT3 class, and the Australian GT Championship embraced GT3 in 2008. In Germany, which is something of a spiritual home for GT3, the VLN (Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring) Endurance Racing Championship added a GT3 class in 2009, consisting of nine or ten races every year, held on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. In 2020, VLN changed its name to NLS (Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie), with races run much the same as previously.

Thirty-two 992 GT3 RSR-19s, contenders for the 2023 Porsche Supercup and FIA WEC.

In 2010, a factory effort overseen by Walter Röhrl and Andy Preuninger saw a virtually standard 997 GT3 RS finish 13th in the 2010 Nürburgring 24-Hours; drivers were Roland Asch, Chris Harris, Horst von Saurma and Patrick Simon.

A standard-spec factory-run 997 GT3 RS was pitched into the Nürburgring 24-Hours in 2010, finishing 13th overall. Typically, all the wheels came off the ground at Pflanzgarten 2.

Each event encapsulates two individual races. To obtain a grid order, each driver on a two-car team qualifies the car individually, and then starts each race from their respective starting position, with one driver starting the first race and the other starting the second race. One pit-stop is mandatory in each race, where the team must switch drivers as well as change all four tyres. All races are one hour long.

By 2011, GT3 gravitated into endurance racing with the Blancpain Endurance Series, with GT3 cars victorious in the Bathurst 12-Hours, Dubai 24-Hours, the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race, and the Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hours, as well as achieving an overall triumph in the Nürburgring 24-Hours in 2012. The category moved Stateside with GT3 participations in the Rolex Sports Car Series, as well as the Japanese Super GT and Super Taikyu Series, as Nissan became the first Japanese manufacturer to sell a GT3 car. A sign of its burgeoning global popularity and strength of interest came in 2013, when GT3 replaced GT1 in the FIA’s GT1 World Championship series, before it was rebranded as the FIA GT Series in the same year. After NASCAR merged its Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with IMSA’s ALMS (American Le Mans Series), the subsequent United SportsCar Championship sanctioned more GT3 cars to join the GT-D category, restricting the entry in 2016 to just GT3 cars. There were more radical adoptions of GT3: in 2021, following dwindling manufacturer support for its Class One regulations, the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) switched over to GT3 and abandoned its touring-car origins.

Manthey Racing’s 997 GT3 Hybrid gets air at Pflanzgarten 2 during the 2010 Nürburgring 24-Hours; drivers were Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Martin Ragginger and Marco Holzer.

PORSCHE 911 GT1

At this point it is interesting to consider Porsche’s 911 GT1 and the purpose behind it. From the word go, the marque’s reputation has always been embedded in endurance racing, and the mid-engined rear-drive GT1 had very little in common with the contemporary 911, sharing just the front and rear lights with the production car. The GT1’s front chassis was based on that of the 993 road car, and the rear subframe came from the 962C Group C sports prototype, together with its longitudinally mounted, water-cooled, twin-turbo intercooled 3164cc flat-six.

The 911 GT1was essentially a racing car, styled in-house by Tony Hatter. Twenty-onestrassenversion(road-going) cars were built to homologate the model into the GT1class of the BPR Global GT series in 1997.

Just 21 strassenversion (road-going) supercars were created, to enable the homologation of the Porsche 911 GT1 Le Mans campaign. Typically painted white or silver, with one in Pastel Yellow, one in Indian Red and another in Polar Silver, the GT1 Evo Strassenversion was built from 1996 to 1998. It was powered by a 3.2-litre, twin-turbo flat-six, driving the rear wheels via a six-speed H-pattern manual gearbox with a paddle clutch. Outputs of 536bhp and 443lb ft may be beaten by the modern 992 Turbo S, but, weighing just 1,120kg, its performance was impressive, with 192mph (309kph) top speed and 3.7sec 0–60mph time, and 7.1sec 0–100mph time. Proving a point, the GT1-98 racing version took 1st and 2nd places at Le Mans in 1998, the marque’s sixteenth outright win there.

PORSCHE 993 GT2

Ploughing a furrow in the middle ground between GT1 and GT3, the 993 GT2 was unveiled at the 1995 Geneva Show. Surprisingly, Porsche elected to build this spectacular homologation special during one of the most difficult economic periods in its history. The build also coincided with the switchover in 1996 from air-cooled to water-cooled cars with the 986 Boxster and 996 ranges.

A road-going 993 GT2 belonging to Thomas Schmitz of Telgte-based TJS Sportscars, near Münster. It features pop-rivetted wheel-arch extensions fitted as standard to accommodate wide wheels and race rubber.

The 996 GT2 on the North York Moors. Available from 2001, it was based on the body of the 996 Turbo and employed the 996 Turbo engine, which, in twin-turbo format, developed 462bhp.

The twin-turbo 996 GT2 was equipped with its own distinctive rear wing, befitting its prodigious 462bhp power output.

The wheel arches were cut out and massively flared plastic spats were bolted directly to the car’s wings (fenders). There were air intakes in the ends of the vast rear wing to let the twin-turbo 3.6-litre air-cooled flat-six breathe better, producing up to 430bhp and 432lb ft of torque. The stock 993 Turbo’s four-wheel drive was modified to rear-drive only, coupled to a six-speed manual transmission. Thinner glass from the 993 Carrera RS and deleted rear seats, electric windows and mirrors helped reduce kerb weight to 1,300kg, enabling a sprint from 0–60mph in 3.9sec and a top speed of 187mph (301kph) The 993 GT2 ran on lightweight part-magnesium Speedline wheels, shod with larger-diameter tyres to up the gearing slightly. It was the lightest, most powerful factory-built air-cooled 911. No air-cooled Porsche can come close to matching the measured 3.9sec from 0–60mph and 184mph (296kph) top speed.

The 993 GT2 was also offered with an optional Clubsport package, which included a roll-cage, battery kill-switch, racing bucket seats with six-point harnesses, fire extinguisher and dual-mass flywheel. Volumes were small: between 1995 and 1997, just 172 units were built, followed by a further 21 in 1998. These were powered by the 3.8-litre M64/60S engine from the 993 Turbo S, which developed 450bhp and 585Nm of torque, due to larger KKK turbos and increased boost.

From model year 2001, the 996 range was extended to include a GT2 version, with a bodyshell and twin-turbocharged engine based on the 996 Turbo. Rated at 462bhp, it had 10 per cent more power and was typically offered with a Clubsport package for use in motorsport. The Gen2 GT2 was offered from model year 2003 onwards. Its body was not modified, but the bi-turbo 3.6-litre engine had even more power, delivering 483bhp. The new GT2 was also available with a trackable Clubsport package.

Competing Cars

A major rule change was ushered in by the FIA in March 2018, when its World Motor Sport Council declared that the minimum number of cars manufactured to qualify for homologation into GT3 would be ten units produced within one year from the homologation date, 20 units within a two-year period, and so on. These could be built either by the car maker or by racing teams and tuning companies at the behest of the manufacturer. Porsche’s 996 and 997 GT3s were automatically in the frame, along with BMW’s M4 GT3 and Mercedes-AMG’s GT3. Other vehicles that have been allowed to run in GT3 events under homologations from national ruling bodies include the Mosler MT900R GT3, Ginetta G55 GT3, Chevron GR8 GT3, Radical RXC GT3, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003C, Emil Frey Jaguar XKR G3, Acura TLX-GT, Renault Sport R.S. 01 GT3, Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro and Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD. The Jaguar XKR, Ford Mustang FR500GT, Ford GT and Morgan Aero 8 were added to the homologation roster for 2007, while the Venturi Atlantique, Maserati Trofeo and Lotus Exige were dropped from the list because of a lack of entries. Likewise, the Jaguar XKR, Ford Mustang and Morgan were also excluded for the 2011 season. The Audi R8 LMS and the Alpina B6 were homologated for 2009, while the Ferrari F430 GT3 was replaced with the 430 GT3 Scuderia. The Alpina B6 and Chevrolet Corvette Z06R were also dropped by the 2011 season, while the Ferrari 430 GT3 Scuderia was replaced with the 458 Italia GT3.

From 2006 to 2009, teams were limited to running a maximum of three cars, with each car having two drivers. From 2010, teams were limited to two cars each, with two drivers, and they were obliged to use the same type of car for each entry. However, there could be no more than six entries per marque – three two-car teams, in other words. To make GT3 more of a level playing field and to avoid deterring potentially interested parties, the FIA decreed that GT3 drivers did not have the same status as those in FIA GT; they were to be regarded as amateurs, unlike the professionals who were racing in FIA GT. That said, one way or another, the works squads and the top teams did retain the best drivers.

Class rivals of the 911 GT3 include the Audi R8 V10, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Lexus RC F GT3, Mercedes-AMG V8, Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 and BMW GT3 M4.

There were certain other aspects that were constraining to the original philosophy: FIA GT3 aimed to present itself as a gathering of Cup races and, apart from the fact that all cars were fighting individually against the rest to take a race win, they were also meant to be competing against cars of the same make. Each marque had its own respective drivers’ championship, in parallel with the overall GT3 Teams’ Championship and Drivers’ Championship. Points were awarded to the top eight finishers on the tier of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for each car in a team, scoring points even if multiple entries finished in scoring positions.

PORSCHE 911 GT3

So, the raison d’être for the existence of the 911 GT3s is clear. Their various specs and attributes will be considered in the following chapters, looking at transitions known in Porsche vernacular as Gen1 and Gen2 (in other words, Mk 1 and Mk 2), but it is important first to stress that they come in (at least) three different states of tune. Like all 911s, GT3s are almost invariably modified according to intended use and personal taste. At the bottom end of the scale there is the milder Touring model, then the road-going Comfort version, which can be upgraded to Clubsport for track-day use, then the more rarefied and eminently trackable RS, and, at the top end, the out-and-out racing R, RSR and Cup evolutions.

Following the release of the water-cooled 3.4-litre 996 series in 1997, the unveiling of the first 911 GT3 in March 1999 at the Geneva Motor Show signalled the start of a new era for discerning sports-car drivers. Although configured as a road-going Porsche 911, the GT3 embodied the hallmarks of Porsche Motorsport, taking the credentials of previous RS versions to a higher level. Initiated by Andreas ‘Andy’ Preuninger and developed for production by two-time World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl, legendary race engineer Roland Kussmaul and the Porsche Motorsport specialists based at Weissach, just outside Stuttgart, the 911 GT3 brought race-track agility to the road. The Turbo versions of the 911 delivered for the driver who was looking for strictly out-and-out performance, while the GT3 took them trackside, or on track in fact, if they were so motivated. Over the ensuing years, with each successive generation, this on-road athlete has grown ever faster, its handling has become more precise and more dynamic. With a normally aspirated engine, manual transmission and rear-wheel drive, it is steadfastly the most popular 911 among purists up to the present moment.

The original Gen1 996 GT3 from 1999 is the purest example of the model.

A pair of 996 GT3s: the Gen1(near) and Gen2 differ stylistically in terms of aerodynamic details, such as the rear wing.

Race versions of the 911 GT3 – principally the RSR and R – have bookmarked motorsport history. In addition to innumerable class victories, the GT3 has also achieved numerous overall wins in all the major endurance races, including the Spa 24-Hours, the Daytona 24-Hours and the Nürburgring 24-Hours – which, to date, it has won eight times outright since 2000 – as well as many 12- and 6-hour races. Even before the car’s Geneva debut, Porsche test driver Walter Röhrl lapped the 20.8-kilometre Nürburgring Nordschleife in less than 8 minutes, setting a new benchmark for road-going sports cars.

To create the 996 GT3, the standard chassis and ride height was lowered by 30mm and the brakes uprated. It inherited the six-speed manual transmission originating from the 993 GT2, and the gearbox ratios, axle geometry, anti-roll bars and springs could be adapted as necessary, depending on intended use. Lightweight construction took precedence over comfort, and aspects such as sound deadening and rear seats were omitted. The fixed rear wing mounted on the engine lid, plus sill extensions, were early GT3 hallmarks. The more hardcore Clubsport variant included a bolt-in roll-cage, which could occupy the entire cabin or just the rear. New evolutions were introduced every three to four years, so model lines were pegged Gen1 and Gen2 to define the upgraded versions. The 996 GT3 Gen2 was equipped with the VarioCam continuously variable camshaft control system in 2003, lifting power to 381bhp, with the discs of the Porsche ceramic composite brake (PCCB) system now optional. The next power hike, to 415bhp, followed in 2006 with the Gen1 997 GT3, and, for the first time, the GT3 featured Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM). In 2009, the capacity of the Gen2 model’s flat-six rose to 3.8 litres, increasing power to 435bhp. At the same time, the new rear wing and full underbody panelling produced a substantial increase in downforce, doubling that of the Gen1 997 GT3.

Popularly known as the godfather of the GT3, and officially Director of Porsche’s GT Product Line, Andy Preuninger autographs the inside of Antony Fraser’s 996 GT3 front lid.

The 992 GT3 RSR of the all-woman Iron Dames team finished 4th in the GTE Am class and 30th overall in the 2023 Le Mans 24-Hours.

Porsche’s chief test driver, two-time World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl, tests all road-going prototypes on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. They are signed off for production only when he is satisfied that they are good to go.

The 2006 Gen1 997 GT3’s rear wing supports reverted to a semblance of the Gen1 996 GT3’s swan-neck configuration.

Fittingly, on the 50th anniversary of the 911, in 2013, the fifth generation of the 911 GT3 was accorded its world premiere at the Geneva Show. Based on the 991 model, it had a totally new engine, transmission, body and chassis. The drivetrain consisted of a 3.8-litre normally aspirated engine, delivering 475bhp, and mated for the first time to the marvellously efficient Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) dual-clutch, paddle-shift transmission. This was complemented by debuting active rear-axle steering. By way of introduction, the new 991 GT3 completed the Nürburgring Nordschleife in just 7:25 minutes – more than half a minute faster than the first 911 GT3 on its record lap in 1999.

The latest version of the 911 GT3 was launched in 2017, based on the Gen1 992. The focus of development had been on the flat-six engine. Its displacement had increased to 4.0 litres, upping the power output to 500bhp. Porsche also had two treats up its sleeve for purists: a manual six-speed transmission was now available as an alternative to the otherwise obligatory PDK semi-automatic and, in 2021, the 911 GT3 could be ordered with a discreet Touring package in which the fixed rear wing was replaced by an automatically extending spoiler – pure understatement. With the Touring package, the story had come full circle: the designation was a reference to the more restrained version of the legendary Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring from 1973.

The Gen1 991 GT3 of 2013 took on a stockier stance, with revised front intakes and sidelight locations.

First available in 2021, the Gen1 992 GT3 featured more complex aerodynamics, including the front spoiler, rear wing and diffuser.

The 991 GT3 was also available in less overtly sporting guise, badged as a Touring model and fitted with electrically operated retractable rear wing.

CHAPTER 2

THE 996 GT3 AND GT3 RS 1999–2005

As Porsche sports cars go, the GT3 is the most sublime evolution of the basic 996 model – certainly in comparison with its successors, which grew bulkier in accordance with the standard model from which they derived, sporting increasingly complex external aerodynamic extensions. The 996 GT3 was created using the narrow-body C4 chassis (not the Turbo-bodied 996 C4S) in rear-drive only format, and powered by the unburstable Mezger version of the 3.6-litre water-cooled flat-six (which it did share with the Turbo, sans turbos). As it was normally aspirated, there was no artificial boost and no extraneous ducting about the bodywork, just pure aerodynamic functionality to the splitter, sill extensions and biplane rear wing.

Photographed by Antony Fraser during a shoot on the North York Moors, one of 70 Gen2 996 GT3 M003 Clubsport versions. Its spec, for the UK, included Recaro bucket seats, half-cage, fire extinguisher and battery cut-off switch.

A couple of 996 GT3 RSs on a tracking shoot on Blakey Ridge: the regular RS (left) and the RS Clubsport (right).

‘Ghosted’ rendering of the 996 GT3, showing the location and orientation of all mechanical elements, cockpit and controls.

Detailed cutaway of the 996 GT3, illustrating areas of high-strength steel, sheet steel, stainless steel, and lightweight alloy sections.

The Gen1 GT3 appeared in May 1999 and lasted a couple of years until Gen2 came out. The general spec differed from the basic 996 in that it had firmer suspension that was 30mm lower, as well as 330mm cross-drilled ventilated discs, four-pot calipers and specially adapted ABS brakes. Anti-roll bars were adjustable, and ten-spoke 18in wheels – 8in and 10in – shod with 225/40ZR 18 and 285/30 ZR 18 rubber were complemented by 5mm spacers for extra track width. The dry-sump GT3 engine featured nitrided crank, titanium conrods, dual-mass flywheel allied to a 6-speed gearbox and developed 360bhp. In the cabin, the standard GT3 offered bucket seats for driver and passenger but there were none in the rear; sound deadening and hi-fi speakers were also deleted, to save weight. The Clubsport option provided race seats, a half roll-cage and six-speed transmission with single-mass flywheel, with the fire extinguisher and air bags deleted.

In production from 2002 to 2005, the 381bhp Gen2 GT3 bore revised headlamps and front and rear detailing including a new fixed wing. It delivered more power and was even tauter in the suspension department, with better brakes to match. The jury is still out on which is the better car, although either one does the business in fine style.

As much as any other model, the 996 GT3 is a tour de force. It thoroughly merits its place in the pantheon of a company that has always sought to implant lessons learned on track in its road-going models. A perfect blend of road-going sports car and track-oriented elaborations, it is a direct manifestation of the Porsche philosophy that goes back way beyond the much-vaunted ’73 2.7 RS to evolutions of the 356 such as the 356 Carrera of 1955. Announced at the Geneva salon in April 1999, the 996 GT3 united a higher performance normally aspirated engine with a track-tuned chassis, and augmented the lineage of Porsche thoroughbreds in the RS idiom. It certainly looked the part with its deep front spoiler and air-dam, aerodynamically configured sills, and fixed double-decker ‘swan-neck’ wing on the engine lid (in Gen1 guise) instead of the retractable wing of the standard 996.

With a nod to the FIA’s GT3 endurance racing class, the 996 GT3 was immediately seized upon as the vehicle of choice for the Carrera Cup and Porsche Supercup series and, from 2000, the N-GT class of the FIA GT Championship, as well as international races like the Nürburgring 24-Hours. It was an immediate sensation. Manthey Racing’s GT3 won the GT class at the 1999 Le Mans 24-Hours with drivers Uwe Alzen/Patrick Huisman/Luca Riccitelli at the wheel. Shortly afterwards, Porsche’s top test driver Walter Röhrl took a GT3 around the 14-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7m 56s. Much to the glee of the Porsche PR department, it was the first time ever a production car had come in under the crucial 8 minutes.

Cutaway illustration of the 996 in profile, demonstrating the central location of the driving position, and weight of the engine and transmission in respect of the rear axle.

DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS: GEN1