New cars: What the critics say

Autoweek

Nobody does raw better than Porsche. This “ultra-high-performance” machine is for purists only. The six-cylinder boxer engine, with its old-school split-crankcase block and sequential fuel injection, generates 435 hp and redlines at 8,500 rpm. Only one transmission mode is available—six-speed manual. The shifter won’t move into the next gear unless “the driver puts it precisely in the slot.”

Automobile

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The 911 comes in 14 models, but the GT3 is its “most potent distillate.” Upgrades include a bigger antiroll bar, “enormous” 15-inch front and 13.8-inch rear disc brakes, and a center-lock bolt on each wheel instead of the conventional five bolts. “Let the poseurs have their turbos,” old men the Carrera, and their wives the convertibles. This Porsche is meant for one thing only—“to be driven flat out.”

Car and Driver

Need we add that, on winding country roads, the GT3 is “simply superb”? Steering just doesn’t get any better. The GT3 can “lunge through the gears,” at least up to 145 mph. On Germany’s autobahn, only traffic prevented us from “exceeding 175 mph.” Given the hefty base price, you may as well spend another nine grand for ceramic brakes, and about four more for the nose-lifting system.