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By
EWAN KENNEDY
9 February 2009
It
would be very difficult to back up this statement, but we feel a
bigger percentage of Porsches are bought by true sporting drivers
than are sports models of any other marque.
Without
wishing to upset the owners of Italian and other German makes,
many of these cars are bought to pose rather than to punt.
Not
so with Porsche, particularly in its iconic 911 format. While
there are 911 drivers who only ever cruise, there are plenty of
bruisers out there as well.
And
these guys are eagerly waiting for the GT3 version of Porsche's
997 series 2, the hottest performer of them all. Technical details
have just been released by the German factory and the car will go
public for the first time at the Geneva motor show in March.
The
first imports of RHD models will be shipped to Australian sometime
in the second half of the year.
The
Porsche 911 GT3 will benefit from the major changes to the engines
and transmissions which highlighted the standard 997 models midway
through 2008. In particular the direct injection flat six engines.
The capacity of the engine has been increased from 3.6 to 3.8
litres. Efficiency has been further improved by the use of
variable cam timing (VarioCam) on the exhaust valves, previously
only the intakes were altered.
Power
isn’t up by a huge amount, it’s now 320 kW instead of 305 kW.
The engineers tell us their big emphasis is on torque, not power,
particularly in the mid range. Porsche is being coy about the
exact details of the torque figures, but if the improvement is
similar to that of the standard 911 we have already driven the new
GT3 should be very impressive.
What
the Porsche guys will tell us is that the 997 Series 2 can
accelerate from rest to 100 km/h in just 4.1 seconds on its way,
when conditions permit, to a top speed of 312 km/h.
Just
as importantly its huge brakes let speed be hauled off very
promptly. Not only are the brakes larger than ever, but changes to
the shaping of the air intakes make for improved brake cooling.
Ceramic brake discs are offered as an option for those planning
serious track work.
Also
aimed at the track, though if you’re good enough you can try it
on the road yourself, is a special variant of Porsche's Active
Suspension Management (PASM) electronic control system. Set to
higher limits than on the standard models, PASM in the GT3 can be
turned off entirely, and won’t re-engage itself automatically no
matter how hard the car is driven.
Appearance
changes are limited to modified air intakes and outlets and, of
course ‘GT3’ badges.
Lighting
is by bi-xenon headlights and the tail-lights feature the faster
lightup of LED units.
These
new Porsche GT3s are very serious cars aimed not only at the road,
but also at the track. Perhaps not in full-on racing format, but
certainly at the weekend drivers who have a pretty good idea what
they are doing behind the wheel. Can’t wait to sample them for
ourselves…
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Marque Publishing Company
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