30 Mar 06
Of course the new GT3 is faster, better and plain juicier than the old GT3. Porsche doesn't do engineering regression, so it stands to reason that anyone tooling about in a late model 996 GT3 will want this car. Now.
But there is a reason beyond the 415bhp at 7600rpm and the claimed 192mph maximum that should have people pitching tents outside Porsche showrooms this summer. Walter Rohrl -that's ex-Cologne organ-apprentice turned world rally champ Walter - has just pummelled my kidneys with a three-lap hoon around Adria raceway. As the car sits stationary, the optional 380mm PCCB ceramic brakes sluicing heat everywhere and jangling like some post-modernist percussion outfit, he makes his primary GT3 observation:
"Now I am thinking that I will have to switch to one of these."
Sure, you're thinking that as Porsche's front-line hand he's paid to trot out such vacuous observations like he does insanely fast passenger laps, but Walter is demonstrably, categorically PR-un-friendly. He regularly goads the marketing lads for sport in press conferences, says he prefers his 997 to not have the PASM active dampers, opting for the 20mm lower sports kit and LSD. Walter also exerts strict delineation between road and track cars: 997 Carrera 2 for the road, GT3 for the track. But the crux of the 997 GT3 has blurred his polarisation.
