Porsche is adding to the GT3 lineup again. Months after dropping the hardtop S/C model. They keep the promise, mostly. No bloat. No power binges.
Andreas Preuninger runs the GT stable. He has a number in his head. 500 horsepower. 1,500 kilograms (about 3,306 lbs). That is the target.
The 4.0-liter flat-six engine works. It will satisfy emissions laws for a while. No need to panic about forced induction yet.
Preuninger told GoAuto that 1500 kg is the sweet spot. Usable power. Not paper tigers.
“Horsepower figures nearing the three digits… wait, no.” He meant four-digit power looks good on a spec sheet. Maybe at a coffee meet. Useless on the street.
Go heavier, go stupid. Add 50 horsepower, suddenly you need bigger brakes. Thicker suspension arms. A stiffer, heavier chassis.
The weight creeps up. You hit two tonnes. It stops being a Porsche GT mission. They avoid the active-ride, heavy-suspension trap. They don’t care about being the loudest in the showroom if it means losing the soul of the car.
Is there another car? Yes. Probably.
Demand forced the Touring variant into existence. Some buyers wanted less extreme. Then came the S/C. Now the spy photos from the Nürburgring show something new.
Red prototype. Bright. Working hard on the track.
Look at the back.
It has a ducktail. Not the giant fixed wing on the standard GT3. Not the hidden deployable spoiler on the Touring. This one has the smooth, raised lip at the rear deck. A classic look.
There is a brake light in the middle. That means it isn’t a random test mule with a bumper off. This is near-production design.
The shape has history. Back to the 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7. Porsche claims it was the world’s first production spoiler. True or not, it defined a look.
Then it disappeared. For decades.
It came back in 2009 on the Sport Classic. A limited run. It showed up on the rare Club Coupe. It returned again on the 2022 992 Sport Classic. Always special. Never a GT model.
Until now.
A photo of the rear badge is clearer than usual. It reads GT3 Touring.
Interesting.
This could be a package for the Touring model. A middle path between the aggressive fixed wing and the stealth spoiler. Or, Porsche does what Porsche loves best.
Make a new limited edition. Slap a price tag on it. Call it something cool. Sell it in minutes.
Who knows. The badge says one thing. The history suggests another. The car just sat there, red and silent, letting the photographers do the work.
