2025 Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 Touring Keep the Revs High and the Experience Intense

A Porsche flat-six screaming at 9000 rpm is an intense and unique auditory experience, with out-of-this-world intake wail that will snap you to attention. But it’s also more than that. You can feel the manic combustion buzz through your whole body, and if you unleash this beast windows down in a tunnel—and you should—the sonic energy ping-ponging around you is felt as much as heard. Using a 911 GT3 as intended will earn you frequent elevated-noise-level nags from your Apple Watch, but in this case loud is lovely.

The screaming Porsche 911 GT3 and wingless GT3 Touring are revised for 2025—this is the second 992-generation variant, or 992.2—and return with some of the highest-revving naturally aspirated power anywhere. While the 9000-rpm redline of the 4.0-liter flat-six is no higher than last time around, maintaining that threshold as emissions regulations continue to tighten is not a foregone conclusion. To comply with emissions thresholds that in some countries are 50 percent more stringent than those that applied to the 2022 model, Porsche added an additional two catalysts (now four total). U.S. models don’t get the particulate filters that European cars do, but their catalysts are modified to keep the back pressure, and thus the sound and power level, the same.

To arrive back at the same 502-hp peak output, Porsche employed some bits from the GT3 RS, such as its better-flowing individual throttle plates and revised camshafts. And the peak torque of 331 pound-feet is 15 lower than before, with slightly higher rpm peaks in both cases. To offset that 5 percent torque deficit, the final-drive gearing is now 8 percent shorter. That means more revs at any speed and gear combination, which mostly isn’t a bad thing, but cruising along at 80 mph now evokes ’90s-Honda levels of caffeination, with the engine at 3700 rpm with the six-speed manual versus 3400 rpm before. Both variants’ top speed suffers slightly (going from 198 to 193 mph with the PDK gearbox, 199 to 194 mph for the manual), but Porsche claims the 60-mph time is identical, which would put it at 2.7 (PDK) to 3.3 seconds (manual) based on our previous tests of 992.1 GT3s.

While the engine is a huge part of the GT3 experience, so is the chassis. For the 2025 GT3 and Touring, which share chassis settings, Porsche shortened the bump stops front and rear by about an inch. Spring rates are the same as before, which means there’s additional free travel to eat more curb or gnarly road than before. The adaptive damping is cranked up near the end of this newfound travel to soften the blow into the shorter bump stops. We often find that in European drive events like this—we drove outside of Valencia, Spain—the automakers choose routes with perfectly smooth pavement, which makes it difficult to judge ride quality. But Porsche threw us into some insanely lumpy sections in a GT3 Touring—we might have gotten air under its tires—and it handled the contorted pavement shockingly well. These latest GT3s also inherit the aerodynamically optimized front lower control arms from the GT3 RS that funnel air into the wheel wells, as well as the GT3 RS’s lower front knuckle that combats dive under braking.

A new adaptive steering function uses a sensor in the pinion to measure friction and adjust the steering assist accordingly. For a new car with tight ball joints, that might mean a little more boost to reduce on-center notchiness. It’s not like GT3 steering really needed improving, but the on-center behavior is light and hyperresponsive while remaining communicative.

As with horsepower, holding the line on weight is increasingly difficult, and the base curb weight climbs nearly 20 pounds. To combat that, Porsche is now offering the RS’s Weissach package on the GT3 for the first time. That $19,330 option includes a carbon-fiber rear shear panel and anti-roll bar, as well as a carbon-fiber roof, which shaves 11 pounds. In addition, magnesium wheels shed another 24 pounds while lightening your wallet by $16,820. Similar bits are available on the Touring, but on that car it’s called the Lightweight package, which costs $36,010 and includes the mag wheels. Manual Tourings with the Lightweight package also get the short shift lever from the 911 S/T. It’s a sweet-shifting, short-throw, light-effort manual, so it’s no wonder why 75 percent of U.S. Touring buyers opt for it. A new lithium-ion battery also saves roughly 10 pounds. All told, the new GT3 can be optioned to be slightly lighter than before.

The wheels and tires are the same size as before, 255/35R-20 front and 315/30R-21 rear, but the standard forged-aluminum wheels are lighter by just over three pounds total thanks to new cutouts surrounding the hub. Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport R, or Pirelli P Zero R tires are standard, with even more extreme Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R and Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires homologated as dealer-installed options. Across the board, these extreme summer performance tires have more wet grip to meet new European regulations, while Porsche claims dry grip has also improved slightly.

But, somewhat ironically for such a performance-oriented sports car, a bigger deal may be the added practicality of the latest GT3. In case you needed that last justification to be able to sell this purchase to your significant other, the GT3 Touring is available for the first time with rear seats. It’s a no-cost option too. There are also new carbon-fiber bucket seats, with standard heating function and the ability to fold forward to access that rear seat or better utilize the area back there for cargo. These $6860 seats are heavier than the previous fixed buckets but still about 16 pounds lighter than the standard seats. There’s also a simple latch mechanism to remove the headrest padding to create more helmet space. They still don’t offer any backrest-angle adjustment and require some work to get the belt latched to the buckle that’s deep in the heavy lower bolstering. But we found them to be plenty comfortable for hours at a time once we were in there. And, at six feet five, I often sit with a lot of knee splay that sometimes doesn’t play well with aggressive seats. They felt slightly more accommodating than the previous carbon-fiber buckets.

One area that Porsche definitely hasn’t held the line on is price. Just three years ago, the 2022 992.1 GT3 started at $162,450. Each year the company has raised pricing considerably, with 2025 prices landing at $224,495 for both variants. Whether talking percentage (38 percent) or dollars ($62,045), these are massive increases. But you can’t blame the company for adjusting to what the market will bear, considering used 992 GT3s are still going for comfortably over $225K.

In addition to a street drive in the Touring, we flung the GT3 around the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in eastern Spain, a MotoGP track with some challengingly fast sweepers. As before, the GT3 is easy to drive quickly, well balanced, and very communicative. There’s tons of grip, but the tires still give up progressively, and it rotates nicely with a little scrub of the brakes. The dual-clutch PDK automatic pitches in with insanely quick shifts and is always in the right gear.

Should you upgrade from your 992.1 because the new GT3 feels substantially different? No. Probably the most noticeable dynamic difference is the additional suspension travel. But the added practicality of a four-seat Touring and the foldable carbon-fiber buckets do make the GT3 a lot more usable.

And you still get the sound. Oh, the sound.

Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com