Topic: Preview: 2014 Porsche 911 GT3

[Autos_Editor]

The 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 marks several firsts for the hallowed GT3 badge, including an automatic transmission and four-wheel steering.

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[redman]

Nice car but don't know if the price justification is worth it considering what a non GT3 brings to the table. Guess if you plan to do some racing, this is your car.

[jamesautos]

"Some fans lament the loss of the manual transmission, but this car is about fast, not muddling through gears and proving that you can execute a perfect heel-toe downshift once every track day."

GT3 had been fast but it was not about fast.   The Turbo and GT2 is all about FAST....the GT3 has always been about finesse... so your statement is wrong...this new GT3 is more like a 911 SS rather than a true GT3...

[Fobroader]

Executing a perfect heel/toe downshift is about perfecting your driving style.....sounds to me like they are trying to overcome driver inabilities with technology.

[tpl]

Executing a perfect heel/toe downshift is about perfecting your driving style.....sounds to me like they are trying to overcome driver inabilities with technology.

Having owned cars with synchromesh ranging from not working to not even installed I find that nowadays a perfect heel'n'toe downshift is best done with a tap on the left flappy paddle.   

[Fobroader]

Executing a perfect heel/toe downshift is about perfecting your driving style.....sounds to me like they are trying to overcome driver inabilities with technology.

Having owned cars with synchromesh ranging from not working to not even installed I find that nowadays a perfect heel'n'toe downshift is best done with a tap on the left flappy paddle.   

Not everyone here has been in the same youth go karting league as Sterling Moss 

[aaronk]

9,000 RPM flat-6 and an automatic!? Bring on the velour seat covers, baby seats and a trailer hitch - GT now stands for "Gonads Terminated"

[Fobroader]

9,000 RPM flat-6 and an automatic!? Bring on the velour seat covers, baby seats and a trailer hitch - GT now stands for "Gonads Terminated"

 

[aquadorhj]

i'm starting to rethink the whole dual clutch automatic situation.

sorta like 'if you can't beat'em, join'em'  .  ..     or maybe i'm just getting lazy in my old age... 

if all manual shifters were like honda S2000's or civic si, then maybe more people will be inclined to learn??    (or mazda miata's for that matter)

but poor shifter is not conducive to enjoyable driving experience, and maybe the guys at porsche realized that putting 7 speed manual in GT3 just cannot get any better with the manual anymore.    or conversely, the regular 911 is so good and so fast now, that only way to ensure the GT3 is faster is by going with DSG only.

either way, i would still prefer 3 pedals, but i won't be opposed to DSG now, as long as they are lightening fast shifting.

[johngenx]

Race cars are now moving towards all two pedal systems as they allow the same control as a conventional manual (you pick the gear) but are much faster shifting up and down.  If you're after lap times, the old three pedal rig is no longer the hot ticket.

The GT3 is a customers chance to buy the closest thing Porsche sells to a race car that is street legal.  In this case, the PDK makes perfect sense.

[aquadorhj]

Race cars are now moving towards all two pedal systems as they allow the same control as a conventional manual (you pick the gear) but are much faster shifting up and down.  If you're after lap times, the old three pedal rig is no longer the hot ticket.

The GT3 is a customers chance to buy the closest thing Porsche sells to a race car that is street legal.  In this case, the PDK makes perfect sense.

wuht?   john, there's GT3 RS  for racecar experience!!

[jyarkony]

"Some fans lament the loss of the manual transmission, but this car is about fast, not muddling through gears and proving that you can execute a perfect heel-toe downshift once every track day."

GT3 had been fast but it was not about fast.   The Turbo and GT2 is all about FAST....the GT3 has always been about finesse... so your statement is wrong...this new GT3 is more like a 911 SS rather than a true GT3...

The allusion here was to infer its aim was to be fast on a track ('on a track' being implicit from previous comments), which is the GT3's purpose. And as much as you want to be the one to determine what a true GT3 is, this is the GT3...

I think a bigger issue is the weight gain, likely attributable mostly to the rear-wheel steering assist. That, to me borders on gimmickry and i think you're on the mark equating it to some of GM's SS badged cars - too much street, and not enough performance focus. It'll be a couple years before we see the culmination of the GT3 line anyway, the equivalent of the last gen's RS 4.0 that was much closer to a truly single-minded track car, and the engine transplanted in this new RSR.

I'm hoping that for the Frankfurt show this fall and the true 50th anniversary of the 911 launch, they'll release a pared down, driver-focused manual-transmission-only car that celebrates the heritage with as raw an experience as a modern-day 911 can deliver.

[johngenx]

The perfect 911 might be a "Club Sport" model.  Pared down, lightweight, manual trans, and so on.  The problem is Porsche usually charges extra for stuff they leave out and those cars end up very expensive.

(Porsche charges extra for items you want, and they charge extra for leaving things out.  Seems they just like to make things really, really expensive...)

[safristi]

Executing a perfect heel/toe downshift is about perfecting your driving style.....sounds to me like they are trying to overcome driver inabilities with technology.

Having owned cars with synchromesh ranging from not working to not even installed I find that nowadays a perfect heel'n'toe downshift is best done with a tap on the left flappy paddle.   


 Go to the Gym young-Man....to the Y   M  C  "eh

 Fobroader it is Stirling Moss...that grows on his head now.....sterling is for yer BLING...

...

[jyarkony]

The perfect 911 might be a "Club Sport" model.  Pared down, lightweight, manual trans, and so on.  The problem is Porsche usually charges extra for stuff they leave out and those cars end up very expensive.

(Porsche charges extra for items you want, and they charge extra for leaving things out.  Seems they just like to make things really, really expensive...)

That's right.. a neighbour of mine once had a 968 Clubsport fitted with full roll cage... not that the 968 is the Porsche I dream about. But in some ways, the GT3 has taken over the Club sport line as the base for their club racing series... still, it's a nother way for Porsche to split hairs, market their history, make a ton of money, and perhaps please a few hardcore, back-to-basics enthusiasts.

[OliverD]

Calling the PDK in any Porsche let alone a 911 GT3 an automatic is ridiculous. 

"Some fans lament the loss of the manual transmission, but this car is about fast, not muddling through gears and proving that you can execute a perfect heel-toe downshift once every track day."

GT3 had been fast but it was not about fast.   The Turbo and GT2 is all about FAST....the GT3 has always been about finesse... so your statement is wrong...this new GT3 is more like a 911 SS rather than a true GT3...

The GT3 is a track-focused car. Ergo, the justification for using the PDK in the GT3 is that it means FASTER lap times.

As a manual transmission snob, I was disappointed to learn that the GT3 would be PDK-only but the real disappointment is that the new Turbo is also PDK-only. 

[Northernridge]

The problem with this car is that it's performance capabilities far exceed my ability to use them. Oh...wait, I guess that's a problem with me. 

I bet I could get it within 7/10s of it's limits...6 for sure...5 guaranteed.

[johngenx]

Oh, ANYONE can easily exceed the limits of a GT3.  I saw it on track days.  Set up for a 100km/h corner at 140km/h and off you go!   

It's driving it at 99% that's the trick...

...which few people can do.