Along with the GT2 and the GT3 RS, the “regular” Porsche 911 GT3 is the closest you can ever get to a Porsche motorsport experience. Following tradition the GT3 version of the 911 always had rear-wheel drive, a naturally aspirated “screamer in the trunk” and a manual gearbox.
Those nutty German engineers from the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart have kept every bit of what makes a GT3 the hardcore machinery which it is but they have modified and improved more than meets the eye when it comes to performance and refinement, thus creating the fastest normally aspirated 911 in history.
The six-cylinder normally aspirated Boxer engine in the rear is now producing 435 hp(320 kW), which is an increase of 20 hp over the previous version. The power upgrade has to thanks in part the 200cc increase in cubic capacity to 3.8 liters and an improved gas cycle. Now, not only the intake but for the first time ever the exhaust camshafts also are adjusted by the Porsche VarioCam system.
Offering an increase in torque at medium rpm brings better performance in both everyday driving and on the track. The facelifted GT3 can accelerate from naught to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.1 seconds, while another 8.2 seconds bring it to 200 km/h(124 mph). Its top speed now reaches no less than 312 km/h (194 mph).
The new 911 GT3 benefits in standard from a modified Porsche Stability Management system (PSM), which now offers the feature of deactivating the Stability Control (SC) and Traction Control (TC) systems in separate steps for good. In other words, the systems won't be automatically reactivated no mater how crazy you began to drive the car, but only with the help of a button.
Apart from a somewhat minor array of styling and aerodynamic enhancements, which include new bi-xenon headlights, LED rear light clusters and modified air intakes and outlets, the MY 2010 GT3 brings a novel feature for a sports car, the Porsche Active Drivetrain Mount (PADM) engine bearings. In other words, the car's two engine mounts are actively and automatically modified, depending on the g-forces acting on the car, thus making the flat-six actually move by itself to provide more efficient inertia forces into a hard corner.
The actual car launch will take place on the 3rd of March, at the Geneva Motor Show, while sales for the new model will begin sometime in May all over Europe. Expect a starting retail price of Euro 98,100 in Germany. On US shores the 2010 911 GT3 will arrive in October and will cost $112,200 MSRP without taxes.
Google News