The 2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring Is the Ultimate Sleeper 911

[00:04] new 992.2 model. That's what the Porsche people say, and it's a sharp-focused sports car with serious power and performance. And while people drive these on the road, it's really designed for focused

[00:19] racetrack driving. Today, I'm going to review this, the new 992.2 GT3, and show you all of its quirks and features.

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[01:45] and I can't wait to see those protected cars hitting the auction block. All time for the quirks and features of the newest 992.2 GT3, starting with the basics. Obviously, you know the Porsche 911

[01:59] sports car and the GT3 has been a track-focused version of the 911 for many years now. Now, the 992 generation of 911 came out a few years ago and it was recently updated to become the 992.2.

[02:14] That's what the enthusiasts call it when a 911 gets sort of a refresh in the middle of its model cycle. And of course, that means updated models including this, an updated GT3. So, what's new with the new GT3? Well, not

[02:30] the powertrain. The engine is carried over from the previous model and that's a good thing because everybody loves the engine in this car. It's a naturally aspirated 4-liter [snorts] flat-6 and it makes about 500 horsepower and about 330

[02:46] pound-feet of torque. Pretty strong figures for a car this size and it sends the GT3 from 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds. Now, you want to take a look at this monstrous special naturally aspirated powertrain. Too bad you can't. Open up

[03:02] this rear flap. Of course, this is a rear-engine car and you do not see an engine under here. Instead, you see a few cooling fans there and also a couple few cooling fans there and also a couple of caps where you insert fluid. And then

[03:15] in the very center, there's a badge that brags about this being a 4.0 liter brags about this being a 4.0 liter engine, but you cannot see the 4.0 liter engine itself. You can't access it at all. That's been true of Porsches for a

[03:29] while now. It's a little bit crazy for Porsche, sort of the enthusiast car person brand, you can't even tinker with the powertrain, but it's probably all complicated engines. Anyway, shut the

[03:42] the outside, there was a badge and it says GT3 and not just that, but GT3 Touring. And that's because there are essentially two flavors of the 911 GT3.

[03:55] You have the regular GT3 that most people think of, which has a lot of aerodynamic bits on the outside, and most notably a giant rear wing to maximize downforce. But, there's other aero stuff, too. That's the regular GT3,

[04:10] the one we've all come to know. But, there's also this, the GT3 Touring, while now, and it's sort of a more subtle GT3. Think of it as a GT3 without

[04:22] the wing, and you'd be right in the right place. That's basically what this is. Now, although it doesn't have a large rear wing like the regular GT3, it does have a little flap on the back here. It's called a Gurney flap that

[04:37] apparently does do more than you might think to manage airflow and aerodynamics for the car. And when you were driving fast, there is an active rear spoiler that will raise up, and you can see it's raising up here. That comes up at a

[04:51] certain speed to provide more downforce, even though there is not a giant fixed wing in place like in a standard GT3, you do still have these aero bits to try to maximize performance as much as possible. And it's worth pointing out

[05:04] that even in your wingless GT3 Touring, if you want to, there's a setting in the infotainment system where you can manually put the wing up to try to flex, specifically because it doesn't have a wing, you do have that option. Now,

[05:21] because the GT3 Touring is not equipped with that giant rear wing and some of the other aerodynamic exterior bits from the standard GT3, it's probably slower around a racetrack. The GT3 Touring doesn't have the same level of

[05:36] downforce, and it's not going to be quite as fast. But, it's also a lot less shouty, especially for normal kind of around-town driving. You don't have to wing on the back of his car. You can still get all of the GT3 benefits, the

[05:53] powertrain, the suspension, the car's overall focus on performance and sport, but without sort of telegraphing your GT3-ness everywhere you go. But, don't go thinking that the GT3 Touring is any

[06:09] less of a true enthusiast-focused performance car just because it loses the aero stuff. On the contrary, this car in particular is equipped with the GT3 Touring Lightweight Package, which is a $38,000

[06:30] makes it extra, well, lightweight for racetrack lap times. And it includes some interesting features. One is a carbon fiber roof, which interestingly, you can't see. They paint it, but they swear that it's carbon fiber up there,

[06:46] and of course, a lighter roof panel is a big deal because not only does it lower center of gravity by removing a heavier piece that's higher up in the car. Beyond the carbon roof, there are some other lightweight upgrades like, for

[07:01] example, carbon fiber interior trim, as you can see sort of in the center here and on the dashboard. You also have a lightweight door panel situation which includes this carbon fiber door pull, which I'm sure has saved a few precious

[07:15] ounces and certainly looks cool. Interestingly, one other upgrade is that the lightweight package cars have a shortened gear selector. A gear lever is actually smaller, physically shorter, than in cars without the lightweight

[07:31] package, which I guess saves a little bit of weight because it's less part, but what an odd thing to save weight on. There's also some extra carbon fiber hidden under the skin including a carbon fiber anti-roll bar. Obviously, the

[07:46] now it's carbon fiber and so it's lighter and maybe even stiffer and it's all just better. But, the real party trick of the lightweight package for this car is the magnesium wheels, which are incredibly expensive, but they're

[08:03] responsible for the bulk of the 45-lb weight savings of the lightweight package. Magnesium wheels are pretty cool upgrade for the GT3 Touring, especially losing weight in the corners of the car right on the wheels, that's a

[08:17] big deal. Now, the lightweight package also includes some carbon fiber bucket seats, but you can option them out and this car has. Instead, this car has sort of a more traditional seat with more power adjustments and heating elements

[08:32] and so it doesn't have those carbon seats that typically come with the lightweight package, but you can get them. One other important upgrade for the Porsche people in the GT3's lightweight package is that it comes

[08:46] with a tiny little badge in the center console that says "Leichtbau", which I guess is German for lightweight and that little upgrade for a lot of the people

[08:58] who buy this car, if we're honest, is probably worth the $38,000 just so when you get in, you see that and you know this person is a serious track enthusiast spending big money to drop those 45 lbs and the plaque is

[09:14] proof. Now, the lightweight package is distinctive to the GT3 Touring, but the regular 911 GT3 has a similar package, the Weissach package, which offers

[09:26] similar sort of lightweight and focused upgrades that kind of enhance the track-ready capabilities of this car. Indeed, the lightweight package is an interesting one, big money for not a lot of weight savings, and it adds up. The

[09:39] sticker price of this car as equipped with that package is just under with that package is just under $290,000.

[09:51] almost 300 grand. These cars have gotten a lot more expensive over the years, and you know what? People keep paying it. They're really popular. But anyway, I also want to get back to what's new with the 992.

[10:05] 2 GT3 versus the 992.1 GT3, and the answer is actually not all that much. There are some changes under the skin that the Porsche people will get really into, the little tiny details

[10:18] that make it a little bit better and lighter and faster. But for my audience and for me, who doesn't usually get into the little tiny stuff, there are, in my estimation, only two major changes to this car. Number one, this is the first

[10:34] this car. Number one, this is the first GT3 Touring to be offered with back seats. They're not available on the standard GT3, but they are optional on the GT3 Touring. Unfortunately, not equipped in this car, but if you want to

[10:47] take around your children in your GT3, well, you have that possibility, apparently, with optional back seats. The other interesting change is that the start button is gone, and it's been replaced by a switch that you twist to

[11:03] the left of the steering wheel. Other 911 models retain the start button, which is on all the 992s, but the GT3 specifically switches back from a button to a switch like it used before. I guess to give more of that feeling of real

[11:20] mechanical happenings when you're starting up the car. You can't access the engine, but at least you have a plastic switch to turn to start the car. plastic switch to turn to start the car. Those are the only really major changes

[11:33] you'll want to know about. The only big stuff that's important, at least as far as I'm concerned. Not really all that much, but then again, this car is pretty optimized. The 911 over the years, a lot of evolving to get it into this state,

[11:47] which is a pretty focused, dialed-in place to be. But anyway, moving inside more to discuss in here [clears throat] than just a new starter switch, but let's begin by just talking basics. This is a pretty focused interior. It always

[12:04] has been in the 911, and even though the materials in here are very nice, they're high quality, they look and feel good, I wouldn't call it beautiful. It's focused. It doesn't have sort of modern swoopy lines and a concentration of

[12:18] ambient lighting to try to create a mood. It's a focused sports car interior, very purposeful, which definitely fits with the ethos of the definitely fits with the ethos of the 911 in general, and specifically the GT

[12:30] 3. You don't have kind of anything excessive or overwrought. It's all just pretty functional in here. As for interesting quirks, well, I have always can see in the center there is a cup holder, but there's a little tab at the

[12:45] top. You push the button to remove the cup holder, and then it can be swapped out for a little removable storage tray. So, you can decide whether you want cup holder or storage tray in your center

[12:58] console. As for the passenger cup holder, it's hidden over on the dashboard on their side. This little panel pops open and reveals the passenger side cup holder. This stubby little gear selector that's on the

[13:12] lightweight package GT3 Touring models, I actually love it. I love how it looks, and I especially love how it feels notching into each gear. It is a beautifully, wonderfully designed shifter, and it just makes shifting

[13:25] gears an absolute joy. Now, this car is not manual only, even though it seems most GT3 buyers go that route and brag about it. This car is offered as a manual three-pedal like this or with Porsche's dual-clutch PDK automatic.

[13:41] That transmission is just plain quicker, so better for track use, but the manual's the manual and it really adds an enjoyment factor to the car. Next up, an interesting quirk, the gauge cluster, as you can see, is fully digital,

[13:55] completely no analog gauges in here and I really love this cluster. I know it doesn't have the sort of old-school feel you might want. Some enthusiasts might want to bring back the analog gauges, but I just love how easy this is to see

[14:09] exactly what you want and how configurable it is to dial up precisely the information you're looking for at any given time, from a power curve to a G meter to a map showing where you're going to music. It's all just so

[14:22] incredibly easy to use. And I think it's kind of a cool little quirk that Porsche has made the center tachometer digital dial able to be shifted from its standard position here to this position where the 9,000 RPM redline is at the

[14:38] top of the dial, meaning that you can more easily see it in your periphery you don't necessarily have to look down at the gauge cluster quite as far or quite as much to see where your revs are, since at the racetrack you're

[14:52] almost always going to be right near the top of that redline right at the top of thing. And by the way, it actually defaults to that position if you switch the car into track mode. There is a drive mode dial that hangs off the

[15:08] steering wheel. You can see it here and if you twist it, you can go from normal to sport to track mode and when you do that, various different changes occur like the tachometer. It also will auto blip the throttle on downshift, the

[15:22] exhaust gets louder, etc. All of that to prepare for your racetrack driving experience. Next up, the infotainment system in this car, the other big screen in here. Not much to say about it. It's not a huge selling point of the car like

[15:36] it is in some vehicles since this one is so driving focused, but it works great. It looks good. It's easy to use, intuitive, responsive, high quality. It is smaller than a lot of other modern car infotainment, but that's kind of by

[15:50] interior looks, and the fact that they don't want to dominate the interior of a Porsche 911 with a giant center screen. Just doesn't sort of fit the ethos of the car. But, I also like the fact that the climate control is completely

[16:05] separate from the infotainment screen. So, you have traditional dials and control. You don't have to go into the screen. And, I also like the fact that the axle lifter has its own completely separate dedicated switch. see right

[16:20] here, which is excellent. Some cars make you go into menus or screens to lift the axle. But, the truth is that's usually something you want to do right away. behind you. You want to get that thing lifted so you can keep going, and it's

[16:34] nice to have a dedicated selector for that exact purpose. Beyond that stuff, really that much to discuss, and certainly not much that's new. The 992 has now been out for quite a while. I think coming up on 6 years, and I've

[16:49] reviewed a lot of different variants of the 992 911. There's really not that many more interesting quirks and features to go over in this interior even with the updated model. It's still fairly similar, and you've pretty much

[17:03] seen everything at this point. I know I have. Then, finally, we move up front to not much interesting to say here except that it's pretty big. This is the same trunk from the 992, the regular car. You don't lose anything by getting a GT3,

[17:17] And there's actually a decent amount of space up here for storage, for luggage, which does help make this even more of a touring model since you can really take it on a nice tour. The only unusual quirk in here is that the little button

[17:30] you'd press to get out if you get kidnapped and stuffed inside, it says exit. It's very German. It's not like the picture of the person climbing out exit, please. Just exit, push it, and then it pops

[17:44] open. And well, I guess you're exiting. So, those are your quirks and features of the GT3 Touring. And now it's time to get this car out on the road, get behind the wheel, and let's see how it drives. All right, driving the 992.2

[18:01] GT3 Touring. I'm going to say right off the something that I haven't really felt in other new Porsches that I've driven. I other new Porsches that I've driven. I don't love driving this car around town.

[18:14] It's not the harsh ride, although that I don't love either. Um but that's sort of cars, and you kind of get into the car knowing that. The thing I'm not obsessed with with this car is actually, believe it or not, the clutch. And and also sort

[18:30] of the the steering driving situation. I'll get to that in a sec, but the clutch I I don't remember this from other Porsches. And previous model, but it just feels like such an on-off switch, and I find it

[18:43] very difficult to really shift very smoothly driving around town. And it's funny because obviously I have four manual transmission sports cars myself, and all four have very different clutches. And I've been thinking driving

[18:56] this car that this car really makes me appreciate really appreciate uh those cars. Some of them are rather difficult, others are heavy, but they're me of sort of some of the not as great

[19:10] BMW clutches where it really is kind of more of an on-off switch, as opposed to a linear clutch feel, which is what I typically have associated in the past with Porsche. Now, I will say when you get moving, that problem goes away.

[19:22] Driving on the highway right now, I can fire off a great downshift. It's lovely. The clutch actually starts to linear up at speed. But, when you're doing like low-speed stop-start, stop signs, traffic, traffic lights that you're

[19:36] constantly doing in city driving, it isn't the most enjoyable experience, if thing that I'm a little bit surprised by at low speeds is that the car feels certainly doesn't feel like as planted or as solid. Again, driving at sort of

[19:51] or as solid. Again, driving at sort of on like a 35-mph kind of curvy road, the steering is just so precise, I think that it's hard to really get the feeling like the car is completely solid. Like it's all It's just a little bit too

[20:04] quick almost to turn when you're just doing normal driving. Now, I don't fault this car for any of this stuff, because it is not intended for normal driving. And you get a lot of people who like to drive it normally just so they can flex

[20:16] and go, "Oh, I have a GT3. Oh, I put up with the harsh ride cuz I'm real." You people. The people who drive it on the track, I think will be rewarded by what ends up being a really wonderful experience once you start going. Once

[20:30] you start accelerating, once you start really driving this car. But, I am surprised by, even beyond just the harsh ride, which has always been a characteristic of GT3s, I'm surprised by just sort of my general feeling that it

[20:42] just sort of my general feeling that it isn't actually that enjoyable to drive around town for reasons other than the harsh ride. Now, with that said, couple things that I absolutely love, the powertrain is amazing. I don't want

[20:55] evangelist, in part because I think it's clichéd, and in part because it's just not the way the world is going. And And a lot of turbocharged cars are just so damn good. But, this car reminds me of why naturally aspirated powertrains are

[21:09] just so great. Uh the linear power delivery, the rev-match downshift where you get exactly what you want as opposed to in a turbocharged car where you might be coming into boost where certain parts of the rev range have like a different

[21:23] acceleration profile than others. That is not the situation with this car and that is not the situation with this absolutely perfect, incredibly smooth, excellent powertrain. Like it is just a great engine. The shifter is also a

[21:37] magic experience. Like the feel of this shifter, the throws, the positioning, with this shifter. And I think the really impressive thing about this car that obviously everyone knows is like the handling, the chassis is so

[21:51] exceptionally good, particularly when you're pushing it really hard. You go hard around a corner, the car squats, it's planted, you do you're never going which is what logically you would think from all that weight back there. It is

[22:04] just such a wonderful car. Overall, I love this car. I think this car is wonderful and fantastic and special in so many ways. I am a little bit surprised by just how how racetrack oriented to me that it feels. And I

[22:18] really think ultimately that the GT cars are starting to get into the world of like the Huracan STOs and the and cars like that that are really really getting to the point where they

[22:31] are just simply better enjoyed and better vehicles on a racetrack or in a etc. You do not want to drive these cars frequently. It just it's not them at for something different that actually kind of compromises them in that

[22:46] situation. So, that's the new Porsche 911 GT3, the 992.2 model. This is an impressive car with serious performance, but I'm surprised how much I didn't enjoy normal driving

[23:03] with it. It's fun, it's fast, it's exciting, but it's really none of those things around town. This car was meant for the track, for the canyons, for really going hard, for serious fun. That's where this car truly comes alive,

[23:18] where it really shines, that's where it's best. And now it's time to give it's best. And now it's time to give this new GT3 a Doug score.

[23:31] 100, which puts the new GT3 Touring here in the exact same spot as the old one, Porsche models, except for the noticeably even more amazing 911 ST. Truthfully, these cars really are

[23:44] it's hard to imagine improvements on this design from here as updates and upgrades are slow and evolutionary once you're this good. The new GT3 may not knock the old one out of the water, but all of these cars are wonderful, unless

[23:57] you're in low-speed around-town traffic stop-and-go driving.