Do You Need a Reason to Watch the Porsche 992 GT3 Letting It Rip on the 'Ring?

On the one hand, you have the manual six with its mechanical feel and much higher level of involvement. You go for this for two reasons: one, you like to brag about how manly you are for buying a manual Porsche, or two, you really enjoy driving so much that you couldn't live without a little heel-and-toe every once in a while.

On the other hand, there's the sublime PDK with its lightning-quick shifts and proverbial German precision. This one you choose for performance. If those milliseconds between shifts count - and, regardless of the type of racing, they do - then there is no other way to go than the double-clutch automatic.

If you think about it, this is actually the only option that matters on a GT3, maybe with the sole exception of the car's color. For instance, you should never go for black. This test vehicle you see here wears that color for a reason, and that is to hide as many as its features as possible. As a car manufacturer on an unreleased vehicle, you want that. As an owner, we don't see any reason why you would.

Porsche is keeping silent on any technical details of the 992 GT3, so we're left to speculate. A naturally aspirated flat-six engine is a given, and it'll most likely come with a 4.0-liter displacement. The Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer must still have ways of extracting more power out of that beast, so expect a little improvement over the 500 hp output of the current 991.2 model.

Previous spy shots have shown that the Touring Package will continue to be available, meaning the GT3 can be ordered without that beautiful, but rather big wing, for all those looking for a more inconspicuous yet track-friendly car. If things remain the same as before, the six-speed manual will be the only option for the Touring Package, essentially taking what I've just said about it being more suited as a daily driver and throwing it out the window.

As evolution would have it, we expect the 992 GT3 to be better than the one we have right now in every aspect, so there's really no point in being nervous over the release of the new model. The only real question is when that is going to happen, and we're afraid we have no better answer than "next year." Well, at least we've got nearly five minutes of this wonderful sound, interrupted only by the PDK's blistering shifts. Oh, and if sound is your thing, you might be interested in hearing similar tunes from other brands: how about this drag race between two naturally aspirated V10?