New Porsche 911 GT3 2025 review: the ultimate driver's car just got even better
The new Porsche 911 GT3 is an engineering masterpiece, although it now costs more than ever
Verdict
Just as exhilarating and exciting as before, but with a friendlier road-driving demeanour, the latest 992.2-generation Porsche 911 GT3 remains the pinnacle of sports-car engineering. If for one minute you think its package feels a little tired or predictable, you’d be missing the point entirely; this car is about feel and precision, not raw figures. The price has gone up, though, and with the top-tier options fitted to our test car the GT3 has slipped into the domain of the ultra rich. Lucky sods.
It’s nice to see that with so much change in all parts of our daily lives, there’s at least one constant that remains the same. Porsche continues to offer a 911 GT3 with a naturally aspirated flat-six engine, rear-wheel drive and no sign of turbos, hybrid systems or active suspension. It’s even still available with a six-speed manual transmission, along with the seven-speed PDK we’re driving here.
But don’t for one minute consider this as stagnancy. Because while it may only have just 507bhp and 450Nm of torque, the GT3 still sings to a tune that over the years has been honed to within an inch of perfection. So what exactly has changed for this new 922.2-generation, and have they made this package better or worse?
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We’ll start with Porsche’s new optional bucket seat, which features a folding backrest – handy if you specify the optional rear seats – and a removable head-rest for when you’re wearing a helmet on track. These are not just practical evolutions; the seat is also far more comfortable and feels bolted even lower in the chassis than before. Look ahead and you’ll notice the dial pack is now a single curved screen. While we’d usually lament the removal of a physical rev-counter, the added versatility is welcome, so too the new track-view with its clean layout.
Twist the key-like starter switch to your right and the engine fires with a coarse tone. No effort has been made to cloak the 4.0-litre flat-six engine, and despite new layers of exhaust particulate filters, it still feels totally authentic to the experience. Unlike less track-focused 911s, the GT3 retains an older seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission, which isn’t only lighter, but also ditches the silly keyfob-like gear selector for a traditional lever.
Pull away and you’ll notice the gearbox’s actuation is also a little more old fashioned than most new 911s, and can feel a little jerky when crawling around at low speeds. No complaints here, though, as it once again channels a certain level of authenticity to this car’s motorsport connections.
It’s up and running where the small changes between this new model and the original 992-generation GT3 come into clearest focus, though. Drive down a typically rutted UK road and you’ll instantly notice that the nose is much less nervous, and doesn’t hunt around looking for cambers like it used to. Yet it’s done this with steering that feels just as connected and lively as the before. When you speed up a bit, this makes the new GT3 feel less busy and hyper-reactive, allowing you to focus on the other bits that Porsche just gets so right – such as the powertrain.
This is a highly-strung engine, but even with a redline the fun side of 9,000rpm, it never feels lazy at low revs. Instead, it builds speed with urgency, almost willing you to hold onto your chosen ratio until the bitter end. It might only produce 450Nm, but the flat-six still feels wickedly fast, and has more than enough grunt to overwhelm the rear tyres with ease.
The steering is also worth mentioning, as no car manufacturer has mastered an electric steering rack in quite the same way. It’s actually a pleasurable sensation to turn the wheel under load, and unlocks unparalleled confidence when driving fast on road or track.
Don’t go thinking the GT3 has turned into some sort of softie, though. The limited sound deadening and huge tyres means road noise is deafening. It’s even slightly too much for the optional Bose sound system to overcome, and renders the basic system largely unusable. The low-speed ride is also punishing, while the steering and brakes feel heavy and a bit cumbersome unless you’re pushing on. Even with the optional nose lift, scrapes at both ends will be a common occurrence.
There are other considerations when it comes to the overall package, too. There are a few shockingly expensive options fitted to our particular test car that don’t fundamentally change the driving experience, even if they do seem to add a further bit of pomp to what is hardly an understated package in the first place.
Our car’s £19,531 Weissach Package includes goodies like a carbon fibre roll-cage, but you’ll note that despite this quite astonishing price, it doesn’t include the £5,390 bucket seats, £13,759 magnesium wheels or £9,797-worth of carbon-ceramic brakes.
Yet Porsche seems to know that it has this end of the market sewn up; £158,200 is a lot of money for any 911, but the need to charge quite so much for accessories feels a little opportunistic. Yet those who want their ‘perfect’ GT3 at any cost, why not throw in a £10,310 paint-to-sample (PTS) colour option and £10,217 worth of bespoke leather in there, too?
Ignoring these fripperies, though, the GT3 is still a complete force of nature. As a fast road car, there’s little to rival its combination of grip, grunt, engagement and excitement. Granted, this is a sentiment that’s often applied to this genus of 911s, but even with its constant fiddling, Porsche’s GT department seems to only make the package better and better with time. Whether on a fast road somewhere in the upper Hebrides, or a silky-smooth race track, the GT3 never feels out of its depth or over-stimulated.
The weakest part of the 911 GT3 package is often the driver sitting behind the wheel. The fact that GT3s are continuously used by their owners for track days and road trips is a testament not just to the loyal fanbase, but the fact Porsche has delivered a car that so many of its customers have enough confidence to repeatedly sink their money into – generation after generation. Long may that last.
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| Model: | Porsche 911 GT3 |
| Price: | £158,200 |
| Powertrain: | 4.0-litre 6cyl petrol |
| Transmission: | Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive |
| Power/torque: | 507bhp/450Nm |
| 0-62mph: | 3.4 seconds |
| Top speed: | 193mph |
| Economy/CO2 | 20.5mpg/312g/km |
| Size (L/W/H): | 4,570mm/1,852mm/1,279mm |
| On sale: | Now |
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