Even the GT3’s astronomical price of $245,000 before options doesn’t seem that bad after you’ve driven it.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
My eight-year-old son has had the good fortune of riding in the back seat of a Porsche 911. But that was the regular 911 – the kind someone would drive to work or the golf course.
He has never been able to go for a ride with me in the quarter-million-dollar, track-focused GT3 because it didn’t have a rear seat – until now.
Porsche somehow managed to make the GT3 more comfortable but also faster on the track while still complying with the latest emissions regulations.
For an extra $7,820, you can specify new lightweight carbon bucket seats, which fold forward to allow easier access to the rear seats.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
As usual, there are no drastic changes, rather numerous small ones and subtle refinements. Some give and some take to create a better package that’s more usable every day, including optional rear seats for the first time.
Andreas Preuninger, Porsche’s director of the GT line, told The Globe and Mail at the car’s launch in January in Spain, that the new rear seats on the Touring are to fulfill long-standing customer wishes without taking away any of the GT3’s legendary performance. He said GT3 customers are increasingly using these cars daily.
Kunal D'souza's son rides in the back seat of the 2025 Porsch 911 GT3 on his way to the water park.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
For me, the GT3 with back seats proved to be a fun and practical machine for a family day trip to the water park. The front trunk is deep enough to swallow two carry-on-sized roller bags, and easily swallowed our bags and our swim gear.
Once my son squeezed behind the carbon shell of the front seat, he had lots of space. It helps that he’s under five feet tall. He also had the best seat in the house, indicated by the grin on his face, considering the engine is back there under a few layers of carpet and metal.
The GT3 is powered by a glorious motorsport-derived four-litre flat-six engine that shreds the tachometer on its way to 9,000 revolutions per minute. The accompanying exhaust note is the automotive version of death metal. It makes the same 502 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque but has been modified to comply with stricter Euro emissions regulations.
Suspension, brakes and tuning are focused on maximum performance but, even then, the GT3 is a car that can be driven on the road without much issue. The Touring version bins the rear wing and comes exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. It’s the understated version, but that’s just on the outside. It gets the same double-wishbone front suspension and exhilarating performance, perhaps with a little less high-speed downforce.
Porsche says the rear seat addition was to fulfill long-standing customer wishes.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Rear seats aren’t the only concession made to increase the GT3’s daily usability; the suspension has been softened and given more travel by using shorter bump stops. It’s more stable on fast, undulating sections of road and through bumpy corners. Longer drives are also more comfortable as the retuned dampers are better at dulling the impacts of the bigger bumps. For an extra $7,820, you can specify new lightweight carbon bucket seats, which fold forward to allow easier access to the rear seats.
At speed, the cabin of the GT3 turns resonance chamber. The sound burrows its way into your ear canal. Shorter gearing for the six-speed manual, including a shorter sixth gear, makes it feel a bit quicker than before, but you also get to swipe through the first few gears more, which in the GT3 is a joy.
It makes the same 502 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque as the previous GT3 but has been modified to comply with stricter Euro emissions regulations.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
The stubby gear lever slots into its gates with a satisfying clunk and the clutch take-up is smooth and precise. Gear changes are lightning quick if you move fast enough, but an “auto-blip” function helps smooth out both up and downshifts.
The updates weren’t all about making the GT3 more accessible. The same suspension changes pay dividends on the racetrack, where it can better handle curbing and bumps, and the front suspension now uses new, tear-drop shaped wishbones that are more aerodynamic. There’s also less dive during heavy braking because of the improved dampers.
The stubby gear lever slots into its gates with a satisfying clunk and the clutch take-up is smooth and precise.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
You have to wonder how much longer Porsche will be able to increase the GT3’s performance given increasing stringent emission regulations without some sort of electrification. The naturally aspirated allure of the GT3 is probably the biggest part of its draw. It’s what makes the GT3 feel more special than just about any other sports or supercar out there.
Even the GT3’s astronomical price of $245,000 before options doesn’t seem that bad after you’ve driven it, if you have that kind of cash of course. Dealers are likely to charge well over that if you are lucky enough to get one of the few allocations. At least the new rear seats are free.
Suspension, brakes and tuning are focused on maximum performance, but even then, the GT3 is a car that can be driven on the road without much issue.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
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