Porsche 911 GT3 crowned MOTOR’s Performance Car of the Year

Porsche’s 911 GT3 has officially been crowned MOTOR’s 2016 Performance Car of the Year.

Announced at tonight’s Australian Motoring Awards ceremony, the 911 GT3 beat 11 other contestants in the revered annual mega-test to bag Porsche’s 12th win in the event’s 20-year history.

It wasn’t easy, either. PCOTY 2016 saw the 911 GT3 meet strong competition from the likes of the GT S, Mercedes-AMG’s brand new sports car, Jaguar’s new all-wheel drive F-Type, and the hottest hatch of recent times, the Renault Sport 275 Megane Trophy R, on road, strip, and track.

But its sizzling performance, defined largely by its cutting-edge chassis and 3.8-litre atmo flat-six, enchanted our judges, which was evident when it came time to rank the line-up.

With the victory Porsche now not only joins forebears from its own stable, but various legends like BMW’s M3 in 2002, Lamborghini’s Gallardo in 2004, and Nissan’s GT-R in 2011 in PCOTY’s halls of winners.

For the full results and analysis, grab MOTOR’s February issue, out now.