First Look: 2021 Porsche 911 GT3

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You gotta wonder if Porsche engineers ever get tired of building the best naturally aspirated supercars in the world. With full-blown electrification on the horizon and turbochargers killing the naturally aspirated high-compression internal-combustion engine, you really do have to wonder why they carry on.

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And then you hear the sound of the all-new 2021 GT3 screaming its way to a seven-minute lap time  — 6:59.927, to be exact — around the Nurburgring’s famed 20.8-kilometre circuit and it all comes back to you. Those 4.0 litres of oversquare boxer-six. Nine thousand rpm. Five-hundred-three horsepower.

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It’s an incredible thing, the Porsche GT3. Consider all the other “production” cars that have slipped below the magic seven-minute mark round the ’Ring. If they’re not turbocharged (Mercedes-AMG’s GT Black), they’re sporting double the number of cylinders (Lamborghini’s V12-powered Aventador) or a fancy-Dan hybrid electric drive (Porsche’s own 918 Spyder). Take a look through the bunch and, if you exclude the purpose-built track cars — the 991.2 GT3 RS and something called the Radical SR8 LM — the GT3, even this new one, is giving away at least 100 hp. In other words, like the slick boxer lacking a knockout punch — think Floyd Mayweather, here — it gets by on savvy and smarts.

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Indeed, according to Porsche, much of the engineering that went into getting 10 more ponies out of the 4.0L — an evolution of the Speedster unit — was getting the big boxer engine past emissions standards. “Lightweighting” was the goal for this generation of GT3, with Porsche claiming the manual version — yes, there will be a stick version! — has to motivate just 2.8 kilograms for every horsepower. There’s even more carbon-fibre than before — even the roof is now available in carbon-fibre — and a lithium-ion battery now cranks the big 102-millimetre pistons to life. Even the exhaust system, despite the need for two particulate filters to pass emissions tests, is lighter than before.

Yeah, yeah, yeah — emissions, schmissions , you’re saying. Tell us more about the manual transmission. Well, there’s not much to say other than yes, you can order the new GT3 with a six-speed stick. Be forewarned, however, that despite having a fancy auto-blip function, the manual GT3 will be a half-second slower to 100 km/h than the seven-speed PDK version — 3.9 seconds for the manual, 3.4 for the PDK. Go retro if you must, but understand you’ll be slower off the line for it. The manual version is, however, marginally faster at the top end — 320 km/h versus 318. Whether that has to do with the manual’s slightly taller rear axle ratio or the fact the PDK version weighs 17 kilograms more than the manual — 1,435 kg versus 1,418 — Porsche is not saying.

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You’ll note that neither qualifies the GT3 as the fastest 911 in a straight line, so other than light weight, what exactly makes the new car so very fast over the ultra-curvy Nurburgring?

Well, the big news in the chassis department is that, for the first time in a production 911, the front sports a double-wishbone independent suspension instead of MacPherson struts. Based on the Le Mans-winning 911 RSR, Porsche says independent setup offers higher camber rigidity, extraordinarily agile turn-in behaviour and “predictable” drivability. The rear suspension has been essentially carried over from the 991.2 GT3, meaning it still has a multi-link arrangement with rear-wheel steering that allows up to two degrees of movement in the same or opposite direction as the fronts depending on the speed.

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Perhaps an even bigger deal are the aerodynamic improvements, the huge rear wing combining with more efficient diffusers for a 50-per-cent increase in overall down force in street trim compared with its predecessor. In its “Performance” configuration, there’s a whopping 150-per-cent increase (at 200 km/h) compared with the old GT3. And taking advantage of all that stick-to-it-ness are some massive 408-mm front discs that are some 28 mils larger than before. No wonder, then, that Porsche is also offering a roll cage as part of its Clubsport package,  which also includes a six-point harness on the driver’s side, a motorsport handheld fire extinguisher, and a battery disconnect switch.

To give you some idea of how far the 911 — and indeed, all sports cars have come — it’s worth remembering, 20 years ago, the first-generation GT3 — in the hands of the immortal Walter Röhrl — was the first road-going sports car to lap the Nordschleife in less than eight minutes. That works out to about 156 km/h on average. The new car’s 6:59.927 time works out to 178 km/h. Still without a turbocharger.