2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring 70 review: Road and track tested

Hang on, a special edition Porsche 911 GT3 Touring? Yep, that’s right. If you’re the type to consider the regular 992 Touring a little too ‘common’ Porsche is now offering 25 units of this limited run (deep breath time) Porsche 911 GT3 Touring 70 years Porsche Australia Edition.

Think of it as Porsche Australia’s birthday present to itself and you’re most of the way there. Naturally, they’re all sold, but even though you can’t get your hands on one from the factory (and expect them to sell for more than the list price on the seconds market), this is an intriguing car for two reasons: the first is Porsche has never allowed a market outside of Germany to make its own special edition before and the spec is tastefully done. And the second is this is our first chance to sample the 992 Touring on Aussie soil.

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Oh, and did I mention this car is actually a museum piece? Once we’re done with it, it’s being shipped back to Germany to be put on display. That also means we can’t drive it on the road, so we’ve arranged a day at the challenging and technical Haunted Hills (brilliant name) hillclimb circuit. An empty racetrack, a sonorous 4.0-litre flat-six that revs to 9000rpm and a manual gearbox? Days don’t get much better.

Pricing & Features

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The first thing you notice about the 911 GT3 70 years edition is that it isn’t actually silver. Officially, Porsche calls its exterior paint ‘Fish Silver Grey metallic’, and in Porsche’s own photography, the car looks about as silver as you can get. But when our test car catches the sun as it rolls off the back of the transporter, I’m intrigued to discover that in the metal it’s really a seductive shade of green.

Normally Porsche allows GT3 owners to choose from 14 exterior colours but for the 70 years edition, this beguiling green paintwork is the only option. Don’t like it? Too bad. The custom colour pays homage to the very first Porsche shipped to Australia – a pretty 356 Cabriolet imported by Norman Hamilton in 1951 – and it’s just one in a host of visual changes for this special edition.

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The most prescriptive is a badge stuck to the B-pillar that features a little Aussie flag but there are also ’70 years’ decals on the dash inlay and the illuminated door sills. The leather on the central storage cubby is embossed with a ’70’ logo and owners also score a graphite blue car cover emblazoned with ‘GT3 70 Years Porsche Australia Edition’ on the side. Here’s hoping owners drive their cars regularly and don’t just tuck it under that cover to appreciate.

Other changes are more subtle and arguably more effective. The outer edges of the dark silver wheels are finished in body colour (we shudder at the repair cost if you accidentally nudge a gutter), and the 12-o’clock marker on the steering wheel and the shift-pattern icon on top of the gear stick are both finished in crayon grey.

Porsche calls its exterior paint ‘Fish Silver Grey metallic’ … when our test car catches the sun it’s really a seductive shade of green

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The team at the Porsche Exclusive Manufactur department has also been busy with the interior.

Slip inside and you’re ensconced by heavily bolstered fixed-back bucket seats (an $11,250 option on regular Touring models) that have been trimmed in blue leather but feature chequered fabric inserts. There’s extended leatherwork throughout the rest of the cabin too, and it’s all beautifully done with what feels like miles of millimetre perfect stitching. The whole cabin feels special, and expensive, which it is.

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A ‘regular’ 992 Touring costs $369,700 but this special edition carries a sticker price of $494,400. That’s a hefty $125K premium but as all 25 units are sold, it’s clear the market sees value here. Blame limited supply and ferocious demand.

Other minor changes compared with the regular GT3 Touring abound (the brightwork around the side windows, for example, is black not silver, as are the exhaust tips). Porsche has made all of the spec decisions for the customer, but there is one important choice owners had to make: what gearbox they wanted.

That PDK is arguably the best performance automatic in the world but we’re pleased to report the majority of 70 Years owners went for three pedals

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Unlike the original 991 Touring, which was manual only, Porsche is offering a seven-speed PDK for this 992 generation. That PDK is arguably the best performance automatic in the world but we’re pleased to report the majority of 70 Years owners went for three pedals: 17 manual vs 8 PDK. It’s a smart decision because, as we’ll get to, the manual shift better allows you to revel in the 4.0-litre’s operatic top end.

Comfort & Space

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There’s always more room in a 911 than you expect and that’s never been more true than with this larger 992 generation. Now built around a bigger and stiffer bodyshell, the 992 GT3 is 11mm longer and 8mm taller. It feels larger behind the wheel, and may actually be at risk of losing its famous 911 wieldy-ness, but the upshot is a cabin that’s surprisingly practical and comfortable by supercar standards. There’s room behind the front seats to throw soft bags and a deceptively large boot in the nose.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the ‘Touring’ spec of the GT3 is softer in any way. This car is just as hardcore as the regular bewinged GT3

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Don’t, however, make the mistake of thinking that the ‘Touring’ spec of the GT3 is softer or more comfortable in any way. This car is just as hardcore as the regular bewinged GT3, with no concessions in the suspension set-up for comfort. That means it can feel overly stiff on gnarly B-roads but the trade-off to this tautness is incredible precision and speed, which is exactly how a GT3 should be. If you’re chasing long-distance comfort, there are umpteen other 911 variants to consider. This one is about delivering pure, unadulterated driving thrills.

One point to make, though, is that you can’t option the Touring with the Clubsport pack, which adds a roll cage, racing harness and fire extinguisher. So if you’re planning on regular track work, keep that in mind.

On the Track

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Time to talk about that engine. Just like the suspension, the 4.0-litre flat-six in the back of the 70 years edition is unchanged from the regular GT3. In fact, all of the powertrain and chassis hardware is identical and given the GT3 has just won MOTOR’s Performance Car of the Year, we can attest that this is a good thing. This car is an event.

Press the starter button and the flat-six fires before settling into a metallic-sounding idle. The clutch is light and you need some revs on board to get moving but even at low speed, the soundtrack is engaging. A new exhaust system is 10kg lighter than before but it also now includes a petrol particulate filter, which is often kryptonite to exhaust noise. Happily, early signs suggest the GT3’s aural signature remains intact.

The soundtrack suddenly becomes all consuming, its ferocity and timbre changing as it rushes to the 9000rpm redline

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Power and torque haven’t changed dramatically compared with the last GT3. Outputs of 375kW and 470Nm represent a 7kW and 10Nm bump over the old GT3 but they’re easily outgunned by turbo rivals like the McLaren 720S (530kW/770Nm) and Ferrari 296 (610kW/740Nm).

But the GT3 has never been just about outright grunt. The magic here is how the power builds, the linearity of its delivery and the crispness of its throttle response. And trust us, 375kW is ample in a car that weighs 1420kg.

The more revs you have on board, the better the GT3 feels. Flip flop through a tricky sequence before Haunted Hills’ short back straight, notice the rev needle hovering at 4500rpm on half throttle in second gear. Gun it. The 70 Years leaps forward. There are no turbos to spool, no delay from flattening your right foot to feeling the car respond. The soundtrack, which has been a vocal backing track suddenly becomes all-consuming, its ferocity and timbre changing as it rushes cleanly and hungrily to the 9000rpm redline.

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And it’s here the manual comes into its own. The PDK is whipcrack fast but trust us, it’s more satisfying to manage the shift yourself. And it’s worth wringing out every last rev (max power is at a lofty 8400rpm), so juggling your shift action while also judging your braking markers is just more involving than simply pulling a paddle. Is slower than the PDK? Absolutely. Is it more exciting? Absolutely.

If the engine is an evolution of what we’ve had before, the way the 992 GT3 Touring corners feels entirely new. The front suspension now comprises double wishbones instead of the previous strut arrangement and the nose of the car is noticeably more eager. Combine that positivity with the agility of four-wheel steering and the 992 Touring dives into turns in a way no GT3 has before. Immense traction and drive on corner exit have always been a 911 strength but now it’s equally impressive on the way into turns.

Grip is immense on Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber but there’s also plenty of playfulness and adjustability on offer. As ever, this is a car with layers to explore

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Grip is immense on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber (255/35 R20 up front, 315/30R21 out back) but there’s also plenty of playfulness and adjustability on offer. As ever, this is a car with layers to explore. Still, despite the fact it demolishes Haunted Hills’ technical sections, it’s soon apparent this circuit might be too small to extract the best from the 70 Years. We’re really only able to fully exploit second gear, and half of third, before we’re hard on the anchors for the next sequence of second-gear turns. Giving the car its head on a quicker track with higher-speed corners would be immense.

VERDICT

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But even scratching the surface confirms the usual GT3 magic remains. This is a car that rewards and challenges the driver in equal measure. And the spec changes made for the 70 Years limited edition do make a special car feel even more so. Deleting the eye-catching rear wing also adds a degree of anonymity, which I find appealing.

So it’s another smash hit from Porsche’s GT Division and one that offers further proof you don’t need turbos or a zillion horsepowers to make a car feel properly exciting. The sting in the tail, of course, is that you can’t actually buy one of the 25 special editions made for Porsche’s 70th anniversary.

But the silver lining is that, if you can live without the special paint and tasteful interior/exterior spec changes, you can buy a ‘regular’ GT3 Touring that delivers the same driving experience for $125K less.

2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring specifications