A few days back, a black Porsche 911 (badged GT3 in the rear) pulled up next to me at a stop light in Downtown Chicago.

The driver was quite friendly. Looking over at my SC, he began a conversation about how he used to own an SC400 and loved the Lexus ownership experience. Astonished at this Porsche, I repeatedly complimented his car to the point that he became overtly embarassed

As the light turned green, he took off like a ROCKET!!! We both entered the expressway, and that GT3 pulled like no other car I have seen before. Cruising at 80 MPH speeds, he accelerated well over 120 mph INSTANTLY, past powerful M3's, M5's, various AMG's and even a few Ferrari's as though they were standing still en-route of leaving the downtown area.

Never before have I seen a car so wickedly fast, yet so nondescript and quiet.

Anyway, I'll jump to the point.... I'm not familiar with these high-end Porsche 911's, can someone please tell me about the GT3 (price, performance, when launched, etc...), I've checked Edmunds and other sites but no info is available....must be a very limited production car.

All I have to say is, it's things like this in life that make me work hard and persist, day in and day out

Thanks!

 

My buddy has one, absolutely amazing car.

Non turbo but absolutely perfectly balanced handling. No saveguards like vsc.

http://www2.us.porsche.com/english/u...t3/default.htm



Rear-mounted, 3.6 liters, 6 cylinder, rear-wheel drive, two-seater, coupe
MSRP: $99,900 (USA)
MSRP: $139,000 (CAN)
380 hp @ 7,400 rpm
285 lb-ft @ 5,000 rpm
0-62 mph: 4.3 sec
Top Track Speed: 190 mph
City: 15 mpg
Highway: 23 mpg

Here are some pictures of my buddy Jeff's

http://www.somniplex.com/gallery/newGT3

 

Whoa all I can say is NICE

 

Absolutely amazing.

 

well i just happen to study the 911 lineup these days so i will throw in my 2 cents (if they are correct, that is).

the gt3 is an absolute gorgeous car. porsche is actually pretty proud of the car, coz' it's one of their best track car and it's not even turbo. the hp numbers aren't that impressive as you can see (impressive is a comparison here), but the thing is the weight of the car, it's super light, and all suspension including brakes are totally track oriented. driving that car daily isn't fun, coz' a lot of the insulation is taken out and the car is just loud. but it's NA and the speed is just enormous. it's not the fastest porsche but it's fast enough to easily kill the m3 or m5 both on straight and on the track

if i am correct there are only two porsche better than the gt3. of course the gt, and also the gt2. gt2 has turbo, putting 477 hp, which is an insanely fast car. however for whatever reasons, some people they actually prefer the gt3 over the gt2 on the track, saying that the gt3 is a much better controlled car. i dont' know the details on that. the gt2 is definitely faster though, the power on that car is just insane. the price as well, the gt2 is pretty much double that of the gt3.

for the record, the gt3 is 100k, the turbo is 120k, and the gt2 is 190k easy. in 2002, only 80 gt2 were imported to the US, you can see how rare that car is. both the gt2 and the gt3 are track cars, so don't expect much luxury. no nav for sure, light weight, less insulation, more cf, stiffer seats, no rear seats, gt3 (at least) has roll cage i believe, stuff like that.

funny enough, the 911 turbo and also the coming turbo s (415 and 444hp respectively) they are both awd cars, but the gt2 and gt3 they are BOTH rwd "only". now one (including me) would think that awd probably give you better traction, but porsche decided to drop that on the gt2 and gt3. i guess they figure the added weight is just not worth it, and with good engineering and balance on suspension the rwd system with massive power (380 for gt3 and 477 for gt2) can just be as good, if not better

ok, enough bull crap here, i have been studying too much about the 911 these couple of days. dont' ask me why, i wont' go into that and btw, here is a very good porsched forum, this link is for the gt2 and gt3, both water cooled system

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...hp?forumid=103

 

for the $$$(well, relatively speaking), the GT3s is one of the best value

 

exactly, the gt2 is faster and might be better, but for 100k, the gt3 with not-that-much power can smoke tons of cars

 

On a track there isn't much between the GT2 and GT3, especially at a tight track the GT3 can be faster.

 

I like the GT3. I wonder why that Top Gear video said it's available in white though.

The dark blue one above looks much much better than the white GT3 tester with red stripes on it.

Jon

 

The ones only available in white are the GT3 RS versions. you can choose red or blue striping and/or wheels.
They are faster and even more hardcore. More expensive too.

 

The Porsche Magazine Excellence called the new GT-3 simply the best Porsche ever(outside the 450k GT) and well the best 911 ever. It also has won the EVO Car of the year honors.
THe GT3 has the highest normally aspirated rating of any 911 (380hp).
The GT3 I think is 120lbs lighter than a standard 911.
The 18" wheels are a throwback to the old Funch designs of the 70s.
Yes, it's 100k (though I've heard of big dealer markup) and everything relative, is a BARGAIN for those that can afford it. The car pretty much has been called perfect by the automotive press.

 

Slightly off topic....what do you guys think of the newest Porsche design...specifically the rounded headlights reminiscent of the 993?
Me, I prefer the current style. Also I don't want to see the car keep getting bigger every new design. It's one of the most unique designs of all time. If it keeps growing it'll lose something...start looking like other cars imo.

 

i actually prefer the 996 style over the new 997, but i know for a fact that most people like the new 997 better, more traditional porsche look, and they said it's a good thing to get the 911 away from the boxster

 

agree with evertyhing you said. being NA and that power it's definitely a bargain. did i say not that many cars can touch it? and it's even cheaper than the 911 turbo!

 

the top gear video you watched is the RS, that's the racing version, further weight reduction and stuff. it doesn't even have a porsche emblem, it's just a sticker. the car only comes in white. the video also has the 360 track version too.