Have we reached the point where sports cars can no longer be better/faster/more exciting? Have we already reached the peak of performance? If you ask the developers, they’ll probably laugh their heads off. In the background, they’re working on electric supercars that will accelerate us all unconsciously, reach cornering speeds we never thought possible and tear up the Nordschleife in five minutes. Presumably autonomously, too.
Or Porsche will just build a GT3 RS with even greater aerodynamics, making its perfect predecessor look like a schoolboy with a runny nose, but that’s another story.
We’re talking about the ‘little brother’ of the 911 GT3, and the first question seems justified. When the press release about the facelift came out a good three months ago, the power output for the first time was the same as before. Maximum torque was even lower than before.
Here you can see the 992.1 GT3 from 2021
Photo by: Porsche
And here is the facelift from 2025. Visually, the 992.2 GT3 shows marginal differences
At first glance, the rest of the facelift seems to have been fine-tuned with a nail file. Is there nothing left to improve on the undisputed saviour of sports car drivers in its current form (i.e. with a naturally aspirated engine)? Is the facelift worth the once again huge increase in price? Well, that’s the perfect excuse for a first test!
Jump directly to:
Exterior | Interior | Driving report | Conclusion
What’s that?
The saviour, the holy grail of sports car drivers, the King of the Ring. Its configurator has a devastating effect on the performance of all business students and investment bankers. For 25 years, he has been unbelievably, insanely good. And he is a dying breed.
You can’t seriously believe that the four-litre naturally aspirated engine will perform as well after the facelift as it did before, because the Porsche people suddenly say: “Oh, but 510 PS is really enough now”. Rubbish. During the test drive, we were shown five slides showing only where, how and how tightly the emissions thumbscrews had been tightened. The ideological official in the EU committee cheered and the engine developer in Zuffenhausen cursed. But in the end, of course, they got it right again.
And please don’t be sorry that the 992.2 GT3 doesn’t have the 525 PS it would have had after the model upgrade. You wouldn’t have noticed, honestly. You should be happy that it’s still got 510 PS. Because it wasn’t that easy.
Photo by: Porsche
Newly moulded wing blade, in carbon fibre for the new Weissach package
Photo by: Porsche
Compared to the standard rim, the magnesium wheel saves a total of 9 kilos
Photo by: Porsche
New front apron and headlights for the facelift
To comply with stricter emissions regulations, the powertrain is now fitted with two petrol particulate filters and four (!) catalytic converters. The two extra catalysts, of course, eat up power. Countermeasures were taken with technology from the GT3 RS. These include a camshaft with longer valve opening times and a flow-optimised single throttle valve, which alone generates 5 PS. This allowed the 510 PS figure to be maintained. The iconic 9,000 rpm redline is also retained.
| Fast data | Porsche 911 GT3 with PDK |
| Engine | 6-cylinder boxer engine; 3,996 cc |
| Power output | 510 PS |
| Max. torque | 450 Nm |
| 0-62 mph | 3.4 seconds |
| 0-124 mph | 10.8 seconds |
| Top speed | 194 mph |
| Base price | £157,300 |
To ensure that the lower torque (450 instead of 470 Nm) doesn’t ruin the driving sensations too much, the gear ratios have kindly been shortened by eight per cent. In the case of the manual gearbox (a saving of 17 kilos compared to the automatic), the gearbox has basically been adopted from the 911 S/T, which I’m sure no one will complain about. The PDK has also been shortened by eight percent.
The only thing that suffers is the top speed, which drops by a few insignificant miles per hour (if you don’t care, you don’t understand or deserve the car anyway). We’ll get to the advantages in a moment. They are considerable, believe me.
What else can you do with a car that most mortals would consider close to perfection? Surprisingly a lot, so please forget my feeble nail-file comparison from earlier. There is a slight panic in Zuffenhausen that the customer might not see enough difference to the 992.1 to spend another £157,300 of their hard-earned cash in the garage. And let’s face it, with all the Weissach and lightweight packages and the irresistible PTS special paintwork, it’s more like £210,000.
Photo by: Porsche
The 911 GT3 with Touring package has also been refreshed
Photo by: Porsche
New carbon seat and not shown here – a rear seat in the GT3 Touring for the first time
What helps in a situation like this? Exactly, more parts from the almighty GT3 RS. Unlike its predecessors, the GT3 RS has moved so far away from the GT3 in terms of aero, performance and sheer madness that you can easily steal a few cool gimmicks from it.
These include changes to the front axle to reduce front end dive and an adapted bump stop in the damper that increases linear suspension travel by 25 mm. And yes, 25 mm is a world of difference in this case. All in the interests of better balance and a softer set-up when the road is really bad or the kerb is disgustingly high.
Airflow has also been optimised for better cooling of the brakes and the aforementioned plethora of catalytic converters. Without the latter, it would have been difficult to meet the stringent emissions regulations.
Exterior
Distinguishing the old 911 GT3 from the new one is difficult but not impossible. It is the usual mix of slightly modified skirts and headlights, which now allow the daytime running lights in the bumper to be omitted. Porsche claims 140 kilos of downforce at 124 mph, which is on a par with its predecessor.
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Things get more interesting when it comes to weight. Remember that the 992.1 GT3 weighs 1,418 kilos in its lightest configuration. The facelift is 21 kilos heavier because of all the bureaucracy (catalytic converters, new safety regulations). However, the GT department has taken remedial action. These include a new carpet and battery (-3 kilos) and the new Weissach package (or lightweight construction package for the GT3 Touring) with magnesium wheels (-9 kilos), carbon fibre rear axle components (-4 kilos) and carbon fibre roof (-1 kilo). The bottom line is 1,420 kilos in the best case. It works.
| Dimensions | Porsche 911 GT3 (2025) |
| Length x width x height | 4,570 x 1,852 x 1,279 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,457 mm |
| Weight | from 1,420 kg empty (with driver, without packages: 1,537 kg) |
| Payload | 303 kg |
| Boot capacity | 135 plus 373 litres |
If you don’t want the expensive magnesium package, the standard forged wheels are also 1.7 kg lighter than before.
Interior
The most important news for purists: unlike the facelifted 911 Carrera, the new GT3 is still a button-free zone, with a rotary switch to the left of the steering wheel. Seriously, though, the cockpit highlights will undoubtedly be the redesigned carbon-fibre bucket seats with folding function, which is seven kilos lighter than the standard Sports Seat Plus.
Apparently it’s damn hard to reconcile the rigidness with a satisfactory performance seating position, but I can confirm that it’s a success. However, there are two things I noticed here that are negative: Firstly, the old carbon bucket seat is nicer, and secondly, the new one is cut a bit more ruthlessly around the hips. So don’t treat yourself to dessert every day. Project manager Uwe Braun assures me that they are still working on the final upholstery. Perhaps they will show some mercy.
Photo by: Porsche
Minor changes to the cockpit, especially to the instruments. Excellent workmanship as usual
Photo by: Porsche
Lightweight package for the GT3 Touring with shortened gear lever from the 911 S/T
Photo by: Porsche
New, foldable carbon bucket seat – neatly cut tight
Also worth mentioning are the new, all-digital instruments, which offer a huge improvement in readability. There are no gimmicks, but the displays you really need are bigger and clearer. You can also configure the tachometer so that the red zone is now at 12 o’clock. Nice.
With the Touring Package, Porsche has added an absolute novelty to the GT3: for the first time, a rear bench seat is available. Good for the kids: they sit very close to the screaming, shrieking source of joy. Not so good for the kids: branded earplugs are not yet available in the Porsche shop.
Driving report
I don’t need to tell you that the pre-facelift 992.1 GT3 already scratched the surface of driving dynamics perfection. So I won’t dwell on the insane grandeur of the steering, the overwhelming lateral control and grip, which seems to get crazier and crazier as the corners get longer and tighter, or the hard-to-top enjoyment of the immense rev range of the four-litre naturally aspirated engine. But there were still a few small stumbling blocks, and I would like to address them now.
You might be interested to know what the drive does. Does Porsche’s performance medicine work against sinus congestion? It feels like it does. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a year and a half since I last drove a GT3, but below 4,000 rpm the engine feels more alive and – if that’s possible – more voracious on the throttle.
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It is noticeable that the upshift connection is extremely snappy and gives you a definite boost. The shorter gearing ratio puts more power at the wheel sooner, resulting in noticeably more bite at lower revs. But the GT3 RS’s sharper camshafts also make it more frenetic at the top end.
Although the rev range is longer than an evening with the in-laws, the rev counter reaches 9,000 surprisingly quickly. There is plenty of pull up to 6,500 revs, but then it gets wild. And I mean even wilder than before. You’ll never get tired of it, although I still maintain that we can’t quite match the almost hypnotic intensity and utterly insane scream of a 991 GT3, which still managed largely without a particulate filter and sound castration.
Once again, the engineers had to take their foot off the gas acoustically. At least that’s the story. Compared to the pre-facelift, I didn’t notice a thing. Nothing on the outside as I drove past on the track, and twice as little on the inside. Two kilos of insulation have been removed, especially around the rear wheel arches. You can take comfort in the fact that no matter how much the rules and regulations are tinkered with, a GT3 cannot be beaten acoustically. Even if the piercing, metallic screech of earlier 4.0-litre engines will never be matched.
Photo by: Porsche
More balanced steering, more reserves in the chassis
Photo by: Porsche
Photo by: Porsche
The second big issue is the steering: those who saw the 911 GT3 as the benchmark for electro-hydraulic systems were certainly right. Then came the 911 S/T. I was lucky enough to drive both back-to-back and the difference was huge. Not necessarily in favour of the GT3. Porsche, of course, reacted immediately with optimised software and – get this! – Automatic Friction Compensation specifically for axle friction”, designed to counteract natural dispersion and wear in terms of steering feel.
Sounds great, but more importantly, for me, the steering is now moving more towards the S/T. This is very welcome as the S/T steering is probably the best available. The steering is now more rounded and balanced. It is no longer so sharp and angular from the middle position. Of course it remains the benchmark in terms of feedback. Especially on the track, it is hard to beat.
Later in the GT3 Touring, the road was often dusty and quite slippery, so the car is naturally a little light on the front axle and the steering accordingly. But the amount of input and information you get most of the time, even on public roads, is crazy.
Here on the public roads, the magnificent mountain roads around the Ricardo Tormo circuit outside Valencia (one of the epicentres of the flood disaster), the improvements to the suspension were particularly evident. Rarely, if ever, did I encounter any major distortions or bumps, as if Porsche had been working on the tarmac to show what the new GT3 is capable of.
In short, thanks to the suspension changes, the car is fuller and better, it doesn’t shift as much (well, not at all, it’s like a miracle) over crests, potholes and all the very bad roads, of which heaven knows there were more than enough. Various other sports cars would have gone straight into the Spanish mountain botany at the … ahem … slightly increased speed. The GT3 didn’t bat an eyelid. None at all. The bump stop with the increased travel really helps.
Even on the racetrack, where it feels like you can iron over the kerbs with even more ease, this makes the car feel more stable and controlled.
Photo by: Porsche
Photo by: Porsche
The question remains as to whether it is still worth opting for the manual gearbox. Especially in the GT3 with the Touring package, which you will probably drive off the track more often. This is where the two centimetres shorter gear knob of the 911 S/T with the lightweight package comes in.
After all, two centimetres less is a good thing. Don’t just think of the lower centre of gravity (OK, that was bad), but simply a more compact clack clack clack. However, nothing has really changed in terms of the general feel of the gearbox. The clutch and gear lever are surprisingly light. The latter is very smooth and low-friction, but incredibly short and precise through the gears.
If the focus is more on track days, the superb 7-speed PDK may be more appropriate, but with the quality and ease of use of the manual gearbox and its ability to maximise the feeling of being in the thick of things, there is much to be said for this solution.
Conclusion: 9/10
It is becoming increasingly difficult for Porsche’s GT department to improve the icon. The more stringent the regulations, the more obstacles they have to overcome. Once again, the mission has been accomplished and the fine-tuning in detail is noticeable.
Don’t expect any quantum leaps. This is a model upgrade and the starting point is incredibly high. GT3 connoisseurs will certainly benefit most from the (even) better steering and the greater stability and composure of the more forgiving but still razor-sharp suspension. It’s also good to see that ever-tightening emissions legislation hasn’t affected the sheer fascination of the four-litre naturally aspirated engine. On the contrary, it seems to have become even more biting.
Once again, a masterstroke by those responsible for the car as a whole. The 911 GT3 remains unique in its mix of focus, excitement and everyday practicality, even though it has now moved into the price range of much more powerful cars.
