5 Things I Love About the Porsche 997 GT3

Written by Matt Parker

One of the first features I did for Supercar Driver magazine back in 2016 was a driven review of a Porsche 997.1 GT3. The weather was vile, and having just spent two hours in a Caterham getting there, mostly on the motorway, left knee going numb, water running down the inside of the windscreen, I had been in better spirits! Despite all that though, the GT3 really left an impression.

Since then, I’ve driven countless 997 GT3s including two of our own and all three variations of RS. The 4.0 is the daddy, no doubt, but the 3.8 RS comes pretty darn close for a third of the money, but if we’re talking money, it’s still the original 3.6 GT3 that I think comes out on top pound-for-pound as it gives you the essence of what the really special models do in a less extreme, more usable package, for a fraction of the price. Here’s why I love it so much.

5 - It works on the road So many modern sports and supercars have become so stiff in almost direct correlation with our roads becoming like rally stages. I don’t know if it’s to give the sensation of ‘being sporty’ as Clarkson said in his best American accent about the original BMW Z4, or if it’s all in the name of chasing lap times, but I wish they would stop.?

Sports cars don’t have to be stiff to handle if they have a great chassis and light weight, and the 997 GT3 proves this. With the comfort seats, you could honestly drive one every day without a chiropractor on speed dial, yet the handling is sublime when you get to your favourite roads, and if you push the PASM sport button, it’s more than stiff enough for track work too.

4 - You're on your own Ok, there’s ABS and fairly basic traction and stability control to keep you from being too silly, but they’re so unintrusive and the traction can be disabled at the tap of a single button. No holding for eight seconds or going into a menu which repeatedly asks if you’re sure. Yes, I’m sure, just give me a button! It’s not just that, though, it’s how pure the GT3 is. Nothing is overly assisted, there’s no rev-matching, torque vectoring or rear-wheel steering, it’s just a car that gives you back exactly what you put in, so it’s up to you to extract the most from it.

3 - The stick in the middle Ah yes, the stick I’ve banged on about so many times, and one which plays a big part in my previous point. Customers missed the manual ‘box in the GT3 so much when it disappeared in the 991.1 GT3 that they simply had to bring it back in the 991.2, and it’s so much of what makes the 997 such an involving experience because it isn’t just any manual. There’s no flicking it into gear lazily with your finger, it takes effort, you’ve got to mean it, and when you’re playing something as musical as the GT3’s engine with said stick, it’s just an all-consuming experience.

2 - It's all about the feel 408bhp is less than you get in a 2.0 hot hatch from Mercedes nowadays, but no one cares, the GT3 is not about outright power, it’s about how it feels. 400bhp in a car with overly assisted steering, four-wheel drive and a seamless auto ‘box can be pretty boring, albeit affective, but the same level of grunt in a 997 GT3 is more than enough because of the sensations coming through the wheel into your fingertips, from your feet dancing to get that perfect heel and toe on the weighty pedals, and your left (or right) arm grabbing that next gear at redline. Not many cars communicate with and involve you like a 997 GT3.

1 - Mezger's masterpiece A GT3 would be a blindingly good car with any engine. In fact all 911s are great, even now some models have less vocal turbocharged engines, but the pièce de résistance of any GT3 is the engine. That’s what makes it truly special and gives the sensation of being in a Cup car at the Nurburgring when you’re out on a Sunday drive in the Peak District. The Mezger engine in the 997 generation GT3s really does sound like the Cup cars of that generation too, and it feels alive whether it’s chuntering at idle, barking on downshifts or screaming its way to the 8,400rpm redline, it defines the car and it is a masterpiece.