One consistent comment that arises with every release of the every new 911 GT3 - Porsche’s lightweight, more track-focused variant of their signature sports car - is just how everyday drivable it is. Despite looking properly aggressive and purposeful, void of many of the luxuries found in its stablemates, the ride isn’t especially jarring and is actually quite refined.
Should you want to, the regular 911 GT3 can be used as a tourer, or long distance driving where ultimate mid-corner speeds and pin-sharp agility aren’t that large of a concern for the driver. Or, a prospective 911 driver might pine for the glorious naturally aspirated flat-six without wanting the big wing and other fierce aero bits that go with it.
It’s a formula that Porsche has experimented with before with last year’s 911R, a more discreet interpretation of the competition-prepared GT3 RS - same engine and light weight, minus the aero, and came only with a manual transmission. Being even lighter, just as powerful, tastefully discreet, and more playful at any speed, the R provided enthusiasts with something they’ve always wanted. But it costed a bomb and Porsche only made 991 examples, and even still buyers were climbing over each other to get their paws on one.
The Touring Pack brings many of the same attributes that made the 911R such a hit, basically offering buyers a factory version of the GT3 that’s dressed down, and all the better for it in most cases other than on a track, still armed with the excellent chassis and rear-wheel steer system. The rumours were true, and this GT3 Touring Pack is essentially that “other 911R” that Porsche had in the works.
But while the R was more of a ‘sleeper’ than the GT3 RS just on the basis of it not having the sticky-out bits, its unique exterior finish featured red stripes that ran across the length of the car, still making it quite unmissable especially if you know what to look for. Future buyers of the GT3 Touring pack will have a plethora of colours to choose from, giving them free rein over how stealthy or ostentatious they’d like their own car to be.
Keeping our focus on the body for a few more moments, there really isn’t all that much to differentiate it from the hips up from a standard Carrera. Lower down, though, we do have carbon skirts and a carbon front lip, and air curtain exits at the start of the front boot.
At the rear, the wide body design is carried over (hugging those gorgeous alloys) and there’s an exposed heat exit just before the spoiler, which itself is a normal (and subtle) self-extending unit we’re used to seeing on other 911s, albeit with a Gurney flap for slightly more downforce. Rounding it off are vents for the rear wheel well and the GT3’s aggressive diffuser to frame the twin exhausts.
Its high-revving (redline at 9,000rpm) atmospheric 4.0-litre flat-six outputs the same 373kW and 460Nm, and will most likely yield a slightly healthier power-to-weight ratio, mated to a standard six-speed manual with Porsche’s dual-clutch PDK not even being optional - but perhaps more fitting for it being more of a tourer.
Inside, its pretty much identical to the standard GT3. There’s definitely more of a driver-focus, for sure, but is far from as stripped down as the extra-light GT3 RS. Fine leather is laid in place instead of Alcantara, surfacing the seats, steering wheel, gear shift lever, armrests, and door handles, while accents of dark aluminium further aid the theme of this being a purist’s GT.
Order books have already opened for the GT3 Touring pack, which has made its debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.
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