Sport Auto supertest: Porsche 997 GT3
 

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Nurburgring:

With a lap time of 7:48 mins the new 997 GT3 is just one second off the time set with the 996 GT3 RS before. The best time eas achieved not with PASM "Sport" setting hut the basic setup as the damers were not that hard and the car better to control. The PASM "Sport" setting is only suitable for flat tracks like the Hockenheimring.

Hockenheim:

here the new 997 GT3 was 1.5 secs. faster than its 2 years old predeccessor 996 GT3 and even 0.1 secs. faster than the sportier 996 GT3 RS. Tthis due to the progress made in driving dnymamics. The change from light understeer to light oversteer is easy to control, the 996 GT3 offers best handling.

0-200-0 kmh in 18.6 secs

it is hard to find the right grip. it took a dozen of attemps to get used to it and to achive the best time as there is no launch control and the driver has to find the right balance between the clutch and the throttle. The clutch even stand all these attempts.
The shifter of the 997 GT3 is not as easy to handle as of the Carrera S even though the gear shifts are exact and clear.
The cewramic disk brakes allows better breaking and also lasts longer than the standard brakes.

aerodynamic:

the 997 GT is well ballanced with no up- and no downforce at 200 km/h, so the aerodymanic has no influence to the handling at any speed, it si neutral.
Even though the aero package with the front apron and the rear wing, the drag coeffcient is pretty low: Cd = 0.29.


max. lateral acceleration: 1.3g

the new Michelin Cup Sport tyres, not the same as for the M3 CSL at that time, have a different geometry and offer a better wet handling. 1.3 g is not the max. for s supersports car but pretty much enough.
The 997 GT3 is at the same level as the Ford GT, Gallardo and 996 GT3 RS

specs:

3.6-litres flat-6 eingine
415 PS at 7600 rpm
405 Nm at 5500 rpm
115.3 PS/litre

gear ratios, 6-speed manual, limited slip differential, ASR:
1st 3.82
2nd 2.26
3rd 1.64
4th 1.29
5th 1.06
6th 0.92
axle 3.44

tyres:

Michelin Pilut Cup Sport
235/35 ZR 19 in front
305/30 ZR 19 in rear

length/width/height: 4445/1808/1280 mms
wheel base: 2355 mm
track: 1491/1524 mm in front/rear
weight: 1440 kg
power-to-weight ratio: 288.19 PS/ton
weight ditribution: 38.9/61.1% in front/rear

acceleration:
0-100 km/h in 4.3 secs.
0-160 km/h in 9.2 secs.
0-200 km/h in 13.9 secs.
Vmax = 310 km/h

slalom 18m: 71.8 km/h
slalom 36m: 141 km/h, better than the Koenigsegg CCR (138 km/h) and the Zonda F (137 km/h)
evasion test 110m: 158 km/h, same as the CCR, 1 km/h less than the Zonda F and 1 km/h quicker than the M3 CSL or CGT

wet handling:

best time for the 997 GT3, even 0.3 secs. quicker than the Audi RS4 at the wet hnadling track thaksn to the new Michelin Pilot Cup Sport tyres

verdict:

the 997 GT3 is true sports car and takes you into the spell pull. The 3.6-litres flat-6 engine shows its racing heritage. Even though the pursitc 997 GT3 is an every day racer for the experienced driver, not that challenging but less comfortable.

the 997 GT3 is a perfect sports car, it scores 77 pts., more than the CRR (77) and the Zonda F (74), both are more extreme.

the 997 GT3 has set two new records in the sport auto Supertest:
36m slalom and wet handling!

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Compared to old 996 GT3
Hockenheim: 1.13,2 min
Nordschleife: 7.54 min
0 - 100 Km/h 4,6 s
0 - 200 Km/h 14,8 s

Very intersting test, thanks for the scans!

Wow, awesome of you for sharing the scans. Thanks a billion.

Just one question - was the nurburgring time in the wet, if so thats a ridiculously fast time.

for 100hp less than the Z06 it did pretty damn well.. but then again, the z06 is what, half the price?

Porsche are King of the Ring.... but Vette isn't far behind....

I'm looking forward to the Z06 supertest to eventually make it up.

thanks Just_me for the scan, and summery!

It was slower than the 996 GT3 RS :shock: :shock: That's weird.... I thought it would be much faster than the CSL too.

Anyway, it's a damn good car!! 8)

^^ The Z06 is half the price of a GT3 ? :shock: Not in Portugal, for sure. Here, a Z06 costs 157.000 euros and the GT3 140.000 euros :wink:

the GT3 has less aggressive tires, and would last some extra laps the CSL would need to pit ;)

Sounds like you have punitive tariffs against US goods.

No more Portagweese goods for me.

Thanks a lot for the scans, the GT3 is fantastic :o

thanx fot he scan and translation

gt3 is one of the best looking car onsale rite now.. is just so stunning

Thanks for the scan. The GT3 is definitely one of my favorite current cars. That is great that it is so close in performance to the 996 GT3 RS, especially now that you can actually live with the GT3 on the road.

have been waiting for this test to surface for a while, thanks a lot for the scans ;)

All Supertests are more than welcome.