911 Spy

GT3 Touring 911SPY

By James Vellacott

My quest for the ultimate analogue drivers car has been a long one. Back in 1987 virtually all affordable cars were analogue. Rev matching and rowing the gears was part and parcel of car ownership for all us young enthusiasts keen to impress our mates at the bus stop.

At 17 I remember rocking up at the local Rugby Social Club in a deteriorating mid engined Fiat X19 and telling the barmaid that it was a Lamborghini. I also remember heading off to Butlins with said barmaid and shortening the X19 by a couple of feet after losing the back end on a damp road. Only my ego was damaged thankfully.

At that point I decided that conspicuous Italian cars of any kind were not likely to be a part of my petrolhead future.

After an assortment of hot hatches and an all too brief spell in a superb Honda S2000, in 2004 I owned my first Porsche 911. It was a 4WD manual 997.1 4S. After trying to drift it, I ended up fishtailing and pointing the wrong way on a roundabout. At that point it was concluded that Porsche had designed the 911 to retain as much traction as possible as the alternative was often an undesirable outcome.

With this in mind I followed on with a 2 wheel drive 997.2 2S version with the Porsche double clutch auto gearbox (PDK). Just Wow! After using the

launch control and banging through the sprockets I realised how fast these cars really are. Although the 0-60 and top speed figures were similar in both 4WD and 2WD cars, the 2 wheel drive version just felt lighter and pleasantly but controllably skittish, especially on the B roads.

With the driving elation I found with the PDK 2S, I started to miss the manual gearbox. Although the PDK auto box was surgically precise and indeed faster, there was also a loss of the authenticity and fun engagement that could be felt with a manual clutch and gear stick.

In 2015 after moving on to a later model 9112S (991.2), I was made aware of a back to basics car that would bear a 911R badge and was being developed in Weissach Germany, home of the Porsche GT race cars.

The car would be wingless, offered as a 6 speed manual only, it was to be light and given the naturally aspirated engine from the GT3RS. Sadly it was also totally unorderable by the average Porsche owner like myself as only 991 units were ever built, and these were instantly reserved for the car collections and big spenders.

In 2017 Porsche launched the 991.2 GT3 which was offered as a manual if you so desired, my fanaticism as a back to basics Porsche driver had been recognised by my local Porsche Centre and my request for a new GT3 had been approved.

I was also aware of a rumour that the new 991.2 GT3 was to be offered in a wingless version for the first time ever. It would be named the 911 GT3 Touring as a tribute to the 911RS Touring of 1973.

With the planets aligning for my ultimate 911 I excitedly went onto the forums to ask the purists as to how I might best spec a GT3 Touring. A large majority were totally against the idea that Porsche might offer a wingless GT3, “sacrilege! A GT3 should have a wing”.

I understand their spiritual point of view, but unless you are in the top few percent of track drivers, I cannot see how a wing would improve the driving experience for my road trips around Europe, if anything it reduces the excitement in a lively rear end 2 wheel drive Porsche.

The Touring was announced a few months after the regular version was launched and I managed to re-spec the car 2 days before my original winged spec was locked down with the factory.

I decided on a classic look with subtle stripes in the vein of the 911R. Simple Carrara white with aftermarket GT silver stripes running down the centre of the car to distinguish it from the edge running 911R stripes. Folding bucket seats would also allow a firm grip on the hairpins of the Alps and Pyrenees and also let me load the rear section with wine from the vineyards of northern France on the way home. I decided that the car deserved the carbon ceramic

brakes, an expensive option but they look great and should cover their value if the car was ever to be remarketed. The wheels are standard silver and the door handles are painted black to contrast with the white giving a more retro look.

I took delivery of the car in Jan 2018 and was absolutely blown away by the naturally aspirated 4 litre engine that redlined at 9000rpm! I went out every weekend looking for fast twisty roads with a nice destination. I had never driven a Porsche GT car and almost couldn’t believe the leap in pure engagement with the car. It was tighter, faster, lighter in the corners, more reactive in acceleration, steering and braking that I have ever felt in the previous cars.

The GT3T is a relatively light car (200kgs lighter than a 911turbo) with 500hp and rear wheel drive, does command some respect but also instills confidence as it really does become part of the driver.

In July 2018 I drove the car to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed, I was glamping in a motorhome on site there and met the Director of the GT cars product line Andreas Preuninger who was staying in an RV nearby. He walked by the car every day to head down to the track and one day he stopped to have a chat with me about the car. After some talk about the spec he agreed to sign under the bonnet and jumped into the frunk to get a better angle. We chat on Instagram from time to time and he even asked me to do a Merry Christmas video for the team in Flacht last Christmas as one of their biggest fans.

Late 2018 I drove the car across the Alps into Italy to stay on Lake Garda, and then in 2019 I drove it across the Pyrenees to Barcelona with a fellow winged GT3 owner.

People have said that you can’t really use 9000rpm and 500hp on real roads, well this is certainly not the case. Once you know the car you soon find yourself bouncing off the rev limiter on fast, dry sweeping roads. It’s difficult to explain the adrenaline kick you get from all four limbs working together as you climb a fast mountain road shifting gear before a corner with one hand on the steering, one on the stick and both feet working in unison. If all elements work effectively a great sense of ‘nailed it!’ satisfaction is achieved as you look towards the next turn.

The GT3 Touring isn’t for everybody, with its wingless body and tiny ‘GT3 Touring’ badge only the more discerning Porsche nut actually knows what is under that slightly lower and wider Carrara White shell. At a supercar show it gets the least attention and likewise can be discreetly overnight parked on a European side street without attracting unwanted attention.

The GT3 Touring was largely misunderstood when announced, now it has firmly staked its claim as a truly analogue future classic. More importantly it’s a car that I want to drive as long as I am able. Looking into the future and forthcoming models, it seems we are approaching the end of the era of the new analogue car.

Without a doubt, for me, this one is a keeper.