These two cars need no introduction. Everybody knows by now what the 911 Turbo S can do in a drag race. If they don't, they'd better not be the driver of the car lining up next to the Porsche because, if they are, they're about to find out the hard way.
The Germans have worked wonders with the 992 generation of the Turbo S and have turned it into a bit of a monster. Its launch is second to none and the 650 hp of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six feel like a lot more than that (and, if we know Porsche, they probably are). The car just keeps on pulling spurred forward by the all-wheel-drive system as well as the blistering-fast double-clutch PDK gearbox.
The thing with the Turbo S is that, when you don't want any of that drama, it can very easily turn into a calm, comfortable daily driver. In fact, you could argue it would be much more appropriate for the Turbo S to wear a "GT" badge than the GT3, but Porsche thought otherwise.
However, the GT3 gets its name from the model's connection with Porsche's FIA GT3 class race car, being very aptly described as essentially a road-going version of the latter. That doesn't necessarily do the 911 GT3's interior justice (it may be less refined than the Turbo S's, but it's still a nice place to be in), but it's meant to highlight the model's main focus: going around a track and doing it quickly.
So, what we have here is a car designed for raw acceleration power (the Turbo S) and one honed for the circuit (the 911 GT3). It's the classic strength versus agility, and we couldn't have asked for a better pair to illustrate either of the two attributes.
Photo: AutoTrader / YouTube screenshot
Don't, however, make the mistake of thinking the GT3 is some feeble athlete that's all about weight loss. It does have an advantage of over 440 lbs (200 kg), but its ticker is quite strong as well. We're looking at a 4.0-liter flat-six just like in the Turbo S, except here it's naturally aspirated. It still produces 503 hp (510 PS), though with 347 lb-ft (470 Nm), its peak torque figure is nowhere near its opponent's (590 lb-ft / 800 Nm).
"And then there's this thing down here," Rory, the presenter, says. Nah, Rory, we're not falling for that trick again. Oh, you mean the manual gearbox. Yeah, well, that, together with the gap in torque and the lack of an all-wheel-drive system is made glaringly obvious by the quick drag race between the two. The GT3 looks slow, which we can guarantee it is not.
The real question, though, is whether that will have any impact on how quickly these two can lap a relatively short track (the Llandow Circuit in the UK). Just by looking at them during the warm-up laps, you can tell the GT3 is the professional - where the Turbo S slides around like a hooligan, it remains planted, eyes fixed on the objective ahead.
For this section, Rory steps aside and lets Adam Christo, an experienced professional driver take the wheel. Experienced, yes, but not with Porsches, because Adam doesn't seem to know how to start one. Either he's never driven one before or he's a very good actor going for the comedic effect.
We're not going to keep the results from you just to make you watch the clip because you're going to give the clip a go anyway. Who doesn't want to see two beautiful Porsches doing their thing around a track? So, to answer the question, yes, the 911 GT3 is quicker around the track. According to Rory, with a time of 42.4 seconds, it even set a new lap record. However, the Turbo S was not that far behind with just half a second separating these two (42.9 seconds). Considering everything else you get with the Turbo S - practicality, day-to-day livability - it might just be the more rounded car out of the two. For fun and track performance, though, you can't do any better than the GT3. At least not until the GT2 comes out.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News