Andreas Preuninger, Head of GT Cars at Porsche, knows a thing or two about the new 911 GT3. He’s just been interviewed about the car by Jethro Bovingdon from Evo magazine. In his introduction Bovingdon says, “If you’re a Porsche geek you will love this.”
He was right.
It just looks perfect.
From every angle the new 991 Porsche 911 GT3 has a purposeful stance that just looks right. Simply by looking at the new GT3 it begs you to drive it.
On to the official stats for the latest 911 GT3. It has a tidy 350kW (475hp) at 8250rpm and 440Nm of torque at 6250rpm on tap from its new DFI 3.8 litre flat-six cylinder engine. That’s 15hp more than the new 911 GT3 Cup, which uses the old Mezger engine. The new GT3 sees off 100km/h in 3.5 seconds and 200km/h will be gone in under 12 seconds. It has a top speed of 315km/h.
The rear axle is 44mm wider than the 991 Carrera S. The conrods are titanium and forged pistons, just a couple of the measures that allow the 3.8 litre to rev to 9000rpm. The new 20″ wheels are made from forged alloy. The unladen weight of the GT3 is 1430kg.
As predicted there’s an active rear-wheel steering system. At speeds below 50km/h the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front wheels, but above 80km/h the rear wheel steer in parallel to the fronts. The result, Porsche says, is a more agile and dynamic GT3.
Of course, the elephant in the room is the PDK-only transmission. The GT3 specific 7-speed box, we’re told by Andreas Preuninger (more on that here), is lightning fast—changes take less than 100 milliseconds—and more involving than a manual. There was much debate at Porsche over the merits of PDK versus manual transmission and the move to PDK wasn’t taken lightly.
For those keeping score the 2013 911 GT3 can lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes 30 seconds.
There’s more pics below with a couple of videos along the way as well. Also available is Porsche’s full Geneva Motor Show Press kit which has lost more detail on everyone’s favourite 911. Today is a very good day!
UPDATE: We can confirm the 991 911 GT3 will go on sale in Australia towards the end of this year. Pricing to be announced closer to launch.
Porsche has very kindly reminded us about their new 911 GT3 Cup track weapon. They’ve done so by video and interspersed the footage with key statistics from the car. Think of it as an educational video, then. If you’re watching at work, classify the time spent as personal development; you can probably even claim it when tax time comes. Probably.
Just a day after releasing a teaser video, Porsche is telling the world all about its new competition-only 911 GT3 Cup. The 991-based racer is powered by 338kW (460hp) 3.8 litre flat six cylinder engine, which probably tells us the yet to be released road-going model will stick with the same size engine.
Paddle shifters on the steering wheel are used for the first time in a Porsche trophy car. They should make moving through the 6-speed dogbox a little easier. Tyre widths have been increased, an extra 20mm on the front sees 270-section tyres being used, with an extra 10mm at the rear resulting in 310-section tyres.
Other aspects improved over the old 997 model include braking and safety. The race seat, for example, offers better neck and head protection. A specially designed escape hatch in the roof has been added to make access to the cockpit easier in the event of a serious accident.
Want one? You’ll need €181,200 plus taxes to buy yourself a new GT3 Cup and then, of course, running costs to play.
Just a few weeks after telling us we’d need to wait until 2014 to see a new Porsche 911 RSR, Stuttgart has announced they’ll be racing two new factory-backed 991-based 911 RSR machines in the 2013 World Endurance Championship. Of course, this also includes the 2013 Le Mans 24 hour race (22–23 June).
It will be the first time a Porsche works team has raced at La Sarthe since 1998.
Olaf Manthey will head the Porsche team. He’ll no doubt use his extensive experience gained from racking up an impressive total of five outright victories in the Nürburgring 24 hour race, all with Porsche.
“The new 911 RSR is currently being developed by our engineers and tested by our works drivers,†says Porsche Head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen. “What better time could there be to introduce the new car than the Porsche 911’s 50th anniversary.â€
We suspect the 2013 effort will be a silent introduction for many of those who will be back at Le Mans in 2014, when Porsche will be racing for outright success in the LMP1 category. Who knows the driving talent may even be led by our own Mark Webber.
The latest incarnation of the Boxster, the 981, is supposed to be very, very good. Similarly, the new 991 911 is also slowly winning over its critics, still pining at the loss of the remarkable 997 model that preceded it. But which is better, and should such a comparison even be considered?
Well, we don’t have to worry about working out the answer to that question because Jethro Bovingdon has already overseen a 981 v 991 grudge match, on behalf of Car and Driver magazine.
It’s Boxster S, with PASM and PTV, against a vanilla 991 Carrera. In Australian terms the price difference is substantial; you’re looking at around $150K for the Boxster and $250K for entry-level 911.
So, let’s find out where the smart money goes…
The story of the Porsche 911 (991) has taken its next step with the release of information for the Carrera 4 and 4S. Of course, the major difference here, compared to the regular 911s, is the addition of an all-wheel drive system, or Porsche Traction Management (PTM) to use the official titile. Hence the 4 in the model designation.
Porsche trainspotters will also know the C4 models have wider hips and in the 991 the extra width is 22mm. The rear tyres are 10mm wider, as well.
They will have also noticed the small dome beneath the front number plate meaning this is the first 911 to offer the option of Adaptive Cruise Control, which will now be available across the full 911 range.
Weight saving measures have enabled Porsche to lose as much as 65kg from the 991 C4S when compared to the old 997 model.
The 3.4 litre and 3.8 litre flat six engines carry over unchanged from the rear-wheel drive models. So that means the Carrera 4 has 257kW on tap, while the Carrera 4S has 294kW.
Extra grip off the line allows the C4S to overcome its extra weight and equal the 4.1 seconds required to reach 100km/h in the rear-wheel drive Carrera S. While the Carrera 4 requires 4.5 seconds, a tenth quicker than its two-wheel drive counterpart.
Porsche has also released details for the Cabriolet version of the C4. If you’re opting for a roofless 911 you could probably care less about its 0–100 times, but we’ll share them with you anyway. The C4 Cabrio takes 4.7 seconds and the C4S Cabrio 4.3 seconds.
Impressively, for car’s of this nature, Porsche claims the combined fuel consumption for the Carrera 4 and 4S sits around 9.0l/100km, give or take.
The official public debut for the Carrera 4 and 4S will take place at the Paris Motor Show and European sales are scheduled for late this year. So you should be seeing these in Australia by early 2013.
Porsche is well on the way to filling another 911 niche with its 991 platform, as this spy shot of a 2013 model Targa shows. Don’t let the Cabriolet style roof fool you, the sight of an old skool rollover hoop just behind the doors tells you this is a Targa.
Expect the Targa roof to feature an automatic open/close function and the same suite of Carrera engines we’ve already seen. The new 911 Targa should debut early next year.
[Source: WCF]
To honour the father of the original 911, FA Porsche (1935–2012), and on the occasion of its 2012 World Performance Car title, here’s a gallery of 50 images showcasing the 991 Porsche 911.
At the Geneva Motor Show August Achleitner, Manager of the 911 model line, popped in to give us a rundown on the new Porsche 911 Cabriolet.
Achleitner tells us Porsche has made a lot of improvements to the performance and handling but they’re keeping Greenpeace at bay by also reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
More importantly, though, the 911 convertible is both stiffer and lighter than before. This all leads to Achleitner declaring, “This is still a sports car.”
If a cabrio 911 is your thing you’ll be able to visit your local Porsche Centre to pick one up next month.
Check out the clip after the break.
This grainy picture gives us an early glimpse at the 2013 Porsche 911 GT3. Already we want one almost more than anything else in the world!
The 997 GT3 will remain in our top 5 most wanted list for many years yet, so it is with great anticipation we will follow the development of the 991 GT3.
So far we can just make out the familiar styling traits; revised front aero and fixed rear wing. There’s also the usual centre-exit exhaust at the rear as well.
We understand the next GT3 is due for release in 2013, but hopefully Porsche will come good with official pics and data some time next year.
[Source: World Car Fans]
Porsche has a long and proud history in Australia. Indeed, Australia’s first Porsche dealer, Norman Hamilton, encouraged and helped pay for Porsche to make the first ever right-hand drive model after coming to a handshake deal with Dr Ferdinand Porsche.
It’s fitting, then, that the worldwide debut of a right-hand drive 991 Porsche 911 took place in Melbourne at an invitation only event on the weekend held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Porsche in Australia.
The car shown above, a 3.8 litre Carrera S, will remain in the country ahead of the first batch of new 911 deliveries expected in March 2012. Start saving, you only have until then to get your $230K together if you want to be one of the first to get your hands on a new 911.
While there’s no official press material as yet, we can thank AUSmotive reader Wayne for sending in these exclusive pics. Nice to see the Carrera GT is still in the country too.