Tuesday 27th January 2015
Porsche 911 GT3 vs The Road
It scared the hell out of Dan on the track; how does the GT3 fare on Welsh roads?
Like a male voice choir, with six cylinders
Even without the appearance of said warning light, it had been a day of frayed nerves. I'd spent most of it at, exploring the GT3's amphibious capabilities with Dan. Then, on the way home, the low oil warning light came on. Dan consulted the manual and filled it back up. Or rather, overfilled as it turned out, by 200ml. And this triggered a different oil warning light...Now, bearing in mind the ignominious debut of the 991 GT3, I didn't want to be the one standing next to a dead engine with oil on my hands. So followed a call to Porsche Assist, then Porsche Press Office's out-of-hours emergency line. 10 minutes later a flatbed turned up - service, I'd wager, unheard of even for lone females in the dead of night. With fingers crossed, I waved away the overzealous recovery and prayed for a positive response from Porsche PR. My gamble was rewarded half way through Homeland with a green light from the press office; that much additional oil wouldn't be an issue.
Generation game
Back in 2013 we undertook a similar journey in a different car wearing the same plates. It was theas a Riviera Blue Gen 2 997 GT3. Partly it was a fond farewell to a much-loved and well (ab)used press hack and partly it was a shallow excuse for a blat around South Wales. But it also had a deeper significance as a spiritual send-off for a GT3 with an engine of rich motorsport heritage, a manual transmission and hydraulic steering all wrapped up in a gorgeous slim-line Carrera 2 bodyshell. Faced with the impending seismic shift of the 991 GT3, we all took a deep breath. Of course the replacement would be impressive, but would it mark the end of an era in which the ultimate driver's car actually required a skilled driver?
Any better than on the track?
As a static object, the new car is a triumph. It now squats with even greater menace - broader across the rear thanks to that Carrera 4 body, the pinch at the waist exaggerated by the swollen arches. Although I've seen plenty in the flesh, it's such a devastatingly intense shape I still can't help but gawp.It seems I'm not alone. On the early morning run down the M4, we attract a steady stream of admirers, including a guy in a 996 who shadows us all the way from Swindon to Bristol. Even the flamboyant Riviera Blue plumage of the 997 didn't draw as much attention.
All about that bass
There's a practical penalty for the new, engorged, form however. Having pulled carefully up to the barriers at the Severn Bridge toll, mindful of those beautiful forged centrelock wheels, I find myself closer to Chepstow than the credit card slot. Mild embarrassment quickly turns to acute humiliation as I realise the only way to reach is to extend my entire torso out of the driver's window.
Same roads, same plate, very different car
I depart the M4 at Bridgend and, sticking to the route we travelled, take the A4061 north. So far the 991 has proved everything but the highly-strung thoroughbred. I'd trickled along with the early morning traffic, a light foot on the throttle and PDK in auto, the revs never straying beyond that tonal change at 3,500rpm that would interfere with our enjoyment of Radio 4.My mind strays back to last year and my first experience of the 997's hefty clutch, deliberately mechanical gate and hyperactive response; trying to pull out of a lay-by onto a busy dual carriageway in the pitch black and pouring rain. Such mundane, yet anxiety-inducing, scenarios are shrugged off with ease in the 991. Running the 997 GT3 as a daily driver would require commitment, but in the 991 commuting would be as taxing as a bank in the Cayman Islands.
The slow crawl up the Ogmore Valley takes an age, but eventually there's the sound of Pilot Sport Cup 2s on cattle grid that pre-empts the looming cliffs of the Bwlch. I snap the gear selector across the gate, depress the PDK Sport button, twitch my left fingers a couple of times until '2' registers on the dash, and push on the floor-hinged pedal. At three and a half the bass drops, followed at around six by the brass section laying a sharp, metallic wail over the top. And then, at eight and a half, all hell breaks loose and a violent, shrieking, symphony shatters every molecule of air in the valley. It bounces off the sheer walls and swirls around the amphitheatre so that it almost feels like driving into my own wall of sound. Forget Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and Katherine Jenkins; for today the valleys will be home to a whole new voice.
Yes, this really is Wales in winter
Repeat after meGod it's addictive. And thanks to that instantaneous, near seamless, PDK shift it's more accessible than ever. Sure, it's easy to be wistful about the loss of manual interaction over a pint in the pub, but when you're pinging through the ratios and conducting that six-cylinder orchestra there's no inclination to shed a tear. Likewise with the loss of the Mezger engine. Sure, the new direct injection lump is unembellished with motorsport pedigree, but the first time you hear it approaching that limiter, you'll swear it was lifted straight out of a pit-lane.
I conduct run after run up the spiralling blacktop as photographer Roo scales the treacherous grass slopes looking for the best vantage points. It's no hardship, but I can feel the GT3 is yearning for smoother, wider Tarmac on which to stretch its legs, so we pack up, crest the Bwlch - noting the Welcome to Wales mural juxtaposed beside a big pile of litter - and descend into Treorchy.
The climb towards Hirwaun is accompanied by mist boiling and bubbling in the bottom of the valley and a low winter sun glinting off the road. Well-sighted straights, and a road surface that has been slowly drying out, relaxes both car and driver. I can feel some heat getting into the tyres at last and it's giving me some tantalising glimpses at the grip on offer. Stiff sidewalls and unflinching suspension - even in comfort mode - are daring me to lean ever harder into the corners. I'm sensing a firmer ride than in the 997 - perhaps a side-effect of the move to 20-inch rims - but on the bumps and hollows it feels a lot more rooted to the road. Until you hit a shadowy damp patch that is...
Fast, filthy and utterly thrilling
BandwidthI recall the words of Andreas Preuninger, who chauffeured me up the hill at Goodwood in a GT3 18 months ago. He talked about a greater bandwidth compared to its predecessor - both in terms of its versatility in day-to-day use and its upper limits. I've already experienced the former, now I'm beginning to see what he means about the latter.
From Hirwaun we take the supreme A4059 and the GT3 really hits its stride. Coincidentally, this is where the 997 began to make sense just over a year ago. And now the 991 is doing it all again, albeit at another level altogether. While the 997 would occasionally raise a slight question mark on turn-in, the 991 is steadfast and resolute. With a smooth, dry surface to work with, there is a seemingly inseparable union that sends waves of confidence up the steering column.
I take a right at the A470, track across to the famous hairpin on the B4560, then decide to explore the area around Talybont Reservoir - somewhere new to me. With the sun inching towards the hills in the west, I point the GT3 down some ever narrowing lanes and barely-Porsche-width bridges. It's a different, but equally nerve-jangling experience to yesterday's on-track antics, but it proves worthwhile as the motionless surface of the reservoir finally appears to the left.
A different GT3, no less enthralling for it
The dying throes of the day are spent panning for photographic gold in the epic light. It's not quite the Tarmac nirvana I'd hoped for, but there are no disappointed faces in 911 GB as we re-emerge back in reality along the Heads of the Valleys road. The roads have been spectacular, the weather has been particularly un-Welsh and, best of all, the GT3 has been everything I'd hoped for. It may be transformed from the car that wore this plate previously, but it's no less a GT3 as a result. True, there's not as much reward on offer to the purist. And if you want to play the instruments rather than conduct the orchestra, it won't be for you. But the fact that the 991 raises the bar so high, and boasts talents that are both more inclusive and more exploitable, means I defy you not to fall hopelessly in love with it anyway.PORSCHE 911 GT3 (991)
Engine: 3,799cc flat-6
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto (PDK), rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 475@8,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 325@6,250rpm
0-62mph: 3.5sec
Top speed: 196mph
Weight: 1,430kg (DIN)
MPG: 22.8mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 289g/km
Price: £100,540 (£115,796 as tested, comprising Club Sport pack £0, Porsche Composite Brakes £6,248, Bluetooth £558, auto dimming mirrors £372, fixed sports seats £2,258, clear rear lights £344, LED lights with Porsche Dynamic Lighting System £1,926, DAB £324, Porsche Communication Management £2,141 and Sport Chrono pack with 'Track Precision' app £1,085)
Previously on PH ... 991 GT3 archive
PDK or the highway: PH Blog
Porsche 911 GT3 timeline
Porsche 997 GT3 farewell blog
Why GT3 is just a trim level: PH Blog
Flaming GT3s - the official line
Flaming GT3s - the owners bite back
Porsche 991 GT3 Chris Harris video
Porsche 991 GT3: Review
Porsche 991 GT3 vs The Track
Photos: Roo Fowler