2010 Porsche 911 GT3 rips up smooth German roads

PETER BLEAKNEY FOR THE TORONTO STAR

The second-generation of the 997 GT3, otherwise known as 911 GT3 in the dealership, makes 20 more horses and 17 lb.-ft. over last year’s GT3. It’s expected in July.

Peter Bleakney

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Hohenstein, Germany–From Day One, Porsche's philosophy has been to build sports cars that are as happy on the road as on the racetrack. Drive your Porsche to the local circuit, thrash it like a rented mule and Dr. Ferdinand Porsche smiles at you from the beyond: Track ready and tough as nails they are.

Then there are some that are more track ready than others.

The $138,100 2010 Porsche 911 GT3, which tilts toward the racing side of the equation, will arrive in Canada in July.

A significantly upgraded version of the 2008 GT3, Porsche felt the term "facelift" didn't do the car justice, so it's referred to as Generation II of this second edition 997 GT3. There were also two generations of the first 996-based GT3 (1999 to 2005).

Confused yet?

The GT3's race-derived dry-sump, naturally aspirated 3.8 L flat-six (not related to the direct-injection 3.8 L in the "regular" Carrera S) makes 425 hp at 7600 r.p.m. and 317 lb.-ft. at 6250 r.p.m. This is up 20 horses and 17 lb.-ft. over last year's 3.6 L GT3.

It rips to a 8500 r.p.m. redline and powers the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission with interchangeable gear ratios.

Porsche is going for purity here, so there is no all-wheel-drive or PDK twin-clutch transmission, which would have added another 30 kg right where this rear-engined slingshot doesn't need it – out back.

Visually, you won't mistake a GT3 for a garden variety Carrera. The body is slammed (pretty sure the Zuffenhausen engineers don't use that term) a healthy 30 mm over the racy centre-lock 19-inch lightweight alloys wearing 235/35ZR front and 305/30ZR steamrollers in the rear.

The GT3's nose features large mesh intakes and a hood vent, while a decidedly unsubtle wing perches above ram air intakes on the rear deck.

Black, twin central exhaust and three rear air extraction vents complete the picture.

The 2010 GT3 accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds, 200 km/h in 12.3 seconds and tops out at 312 km/h.

But numbers don't tell the full story. Twist the key and the race engine barks to life and settles into a busy, guttural idle.

Grab the Alcantara wheel, depress the firm clutch, slot the short shifter into first and within the first few hundred metres this car telegraphs exactly what it's all about.

I have never driven a 911 that bites and digs in like this one – and instills such confidence.

Over the sweeping Swabian roads that run between hamlets in this postcard perfect part of Germany, the GT3 proved to be a devastatingly fast and precise tool. Steering and chassis feedback is as close as you'll get to laying your hands directly on the tarmac.

With VarioCam on both intake and exhaust sides and a four-stage variable intake manifold, the engine shows impressive mid-range torque. Above 4500 r.p.m. it bellows a particularly hair-raising rendition of the famed Swabian Symphony No. 911 in G-willikers.

There's an upshift light on the tach – and no, it's not there for fuel economy purposes. It's timed for each gear, signalling the driver to slam the next cog home just before bumping the rev limiter.

Sure, the ballistic AWD Porsche Turbo is faster, but this tactile GT3 offers up a considerably more intimate experience. And louder.

Porsche's two-stage PASM active damper system, which takes the sting out of regular 911 ride, is retuned for the GT3 – it goes from stiff to ox-cart.

A first for the GT3 is PSM electronic stability control that Porsche has engineered to help, not hinder, fast driving. Porsche claims even professional drivers can attain faster laps with PSM that without.

The two elements of PSM, stability control and traction control, can be switched off individually if so desired.

All the test cars here featured the revolutionary and optional PADM (Porsche Active Drivetrain Mounts), which I'll bet you never thought you needed.

Engineers have to allow the engine a certain amount of movement on its mounts, but it's always a compromise. Less movement is good for performance but not for passenger comfort.

These mounts, which use a liquid whose viscosity can be altered by electric current, allow maximum wiggle room under cruise conditions but clamp down hard when the going gets frisky.

With the new rear wing and revised aero tuning, the 2010 GT3 creates double the downforce of the previous model at track speeds.

Indeed, on our German autobahn blast, I could feel the car become more stable the farther north we got of 200 km/h. Although our progress was halted at about 250 km/h by traffic, a colleague got his GT3 up to an indicated and solid 300 km/h.

This is the time when you think about retardation.

Braking power is phenomenal, with larger front (380 mm vs. 350 mm) yet lighter steel/aluminum composite discs clamped by six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear.

As with any Porsche vehicle, the sky's the limit when it comes to options and custom order bits.

Interesting available upgrades include lightweight halogen headlight units, a no-cost 90-litre "touring" fuel tank, $12,100 ceramic brakes and a front lift system that raises the pretty prow 30 mm out of harm's way – a must-have in North America.

And of course a Porsche wouldn't be a Porsche if you didn't have to pay for heated seats.

Reality check.

Porsche does not build this car for likes of me, so I have no place whining about such things. I'll be waltzing on the surface of Mars in a tutu before I'm in a Porsche dealership checking off option boxes with gleeful abandon.

Shame, really. I'd take mine in Riviera Blue. Oh, that's other $4,000.

Looking at price, power and exclusivity, the GT3's closest match is the $141,000 4.2 L Audi R8, although the Audi is considerably less raw. The brutish $94,715 505 hp Corvette ZO6 might also be considered a competitor, but the two cars really are worlds apart in the way they drive.

Yes, this highly focused 2010 Porsche GT3 is the most exciting and engaging 911 I have yet driven. But as a daily driver? Here in southern Germany where the roads are mirror smooth and there's an autobahn at your back door, the GT3 makes sense.

Sadly, in southern Ontario this hard-edged 911 would go to waste, reduced to a crashy, loud and back seat-less detriment to your driver's licence.

Best to keep this one on the track.

Travel was provided for freelance writer Peter Bleakney by the automaker. pebleakney@sympatico.ca

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