The 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 is priced from $189,700 in Canada, with or without the wing.
There’s only one GT3.
I’m still fizzing inside.

Here’s a brief GT3 lesson. The Group GT3 was created just over 15 years ago as the third ring in grand touring (GT) motorsports, behind GT1 and GT2. The GT3, the series not the car, grew exponentially shortly after its launch to the point where about 20 automakers around the globe joined the series. Even so, there is only one Porsche 911 GT3.

2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring | Photo: Olivier Delorme

Imagine being Mercedes-AMG, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, or BMW, all car companies that have participated in the series invested heavily in developing GT3 cars. Still, because Porsche essentially “claimed” the GT3 moniker in 1999 with the 996.1 911 GT3, no one has truly dared use it on their production cars.

Imagine the pressure on 911 GT3 engineers who, twice per generation, must come up with the most mind-altering driving machine ever to consume petrol. But, like almost all modern Porsche vehicles, to them, it’s just another day at the office.

The gentleman’s GT3

In fact, it’s almost too easy, or so it seems. And, in Touring guise, it’s downright deceiving. Look, the Porsche 911 GT3 is to car and driving enthusiasts what Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s relationship (or breakup) is to mainstream trash media – they can’t get enough of it.

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to drive the 997, 991, and now 992 GT3 and the tested Touring is by far the greatest, the one that left me winded, weak-kneed, teary-eyed, and craving for another hit. Just one…

As a Touring, the 911 GT3 goes without a massive rear wing but what the car is cannot be mistaken for anything else. The subtle clever aero, the centre-lock wheels, and the car’s presence are dead giveaways about the power and performance afoot. The cabin follows the same idea where it features leather instead of Race Tex materials. In this car’s case, it was fitted with an Exclusive Manufaktur leather interior over lightweight carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) full bucket seats.

Yes, the GT3 Touring is also surprisingly comfortable. More below.

Naturally-aspirated

The main element that endows the GT3 with GT3-ness is the horizontally opposed high-revving naturally aspirated 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine – there is nothing else like it. Not nothing else quite like it, NOTHING LIKE IT. There is 502 horsepower at 8,400 rpm, 347 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,100 rpm, and a 9,000 rpm redline. The result is loud, all-encompassing, and ever-present speed.

As configured, the test car was fitted with the 6-speed GT Sport manual transmission. I’m honestly at a loss… I don’t know how to describe the feeling one gets from briefly rowing the shifter from one cog to another as the engine speeds sharply rise and drop as the heavy yet forgiving clutch pedal is activated. Be warned when getting back on the throttle as stabbing it instead of gently caressing it will send your head back that, combined with the H6’s rising crescendo will take you to a state of euphoria – a dangerous place to be when doing twice the speed limit.

Street GT3

Like all Porsche cars, the 911 GT3 Touring’s chassis is honed to perfection. Unfortunately for me, my loan lasted barely 24 hours which meant that I barely managed to exploit 25% of its capacities – kind of like using a Dalstrong Cimitar butcher knife to spread room-temperature butter on a toast. Truth be told, unless you’re Chris Harris rounding the Bedford Autodrome at full tilt, there’s no way to fully appreciate what the aforementioned engineers have done to make this car.

From my time on the road with the GT3 Touring, I got to experience what the new front double-wishbone suspension can do. No, not in the sense of track-worthiness but by how comfortable, relatively speaking, it is. With the included Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), the car is forgiving, almost. On my countryside cruise, I came across railway crossings and traversed them with ease. Even over rougher surfaces, although I could feel everything, I wasn’t disturbed by the messages sent from the tires through the car and up to my fingertips and buttock. As well, the tested car was fitted with the front axle lift system which can raise the car’s front by 40mm, or 20mm more than the Carrera (because PASM).

As a tool for driving, the 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring features all excuse-negating elements, from rear-axle steering, Porsche Torque Vectoring with a mechanically locking rear differential, and huge front and rear disc brakes. And steering is nothing short of telepathic.

There’s only one GT3

I truly feel as though I’ve not done this car justice but that matters little. In the world we live in, there truly is only one GT3 and it’s a Porsche. If you want to try and fool people into thinking you’ve got a “regular” 911, get the Touring version of the GT3 – I know I would. Otherwise, the GT3 will allow you to celebrate Wing Wednesday every week.

Again, there is nothing like a Porsche 911 GT3.