When it comes to purist track performance, the Porsche 911 GT3 dominates.
The Porsche 911 GT3 is not only one of the most intensely performance-oriented variants of one of the world’s favorite sports cars, but it’s also one of the final bastions of a performance car formula that has long been cherished by enthusiasts: combining the power of a naturally aspirated engine with the visceral feeling of rear-wheel drive, and the unmatched joy of a manual transmission.
With a track-focused design, the 911 GT3 is one of the most desirable and celebrated performance cars on the market, and after being updated, the new Porsche 911 GT3 is continuing to build its legacy as a piece of traditional automotive excellence, by setting an incredible new record at one of the world’s most challenging and respected race courses: the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Used as a measuring stick of the abilities of manufacturers, engineers, cars and drivers alike, setting a record-breaking lap time on the Nordschleife is an admirable, revered feat for any car to achieve, and the new Porsche 911 GT3 with a manual transmission, driven by Joerg Bergmeister did that by completing the near-13-mile lap in 6:56.294. That time made the Porsche 911 GT3 the fastest production car with a manual transmission to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife, shattering the previous record by an impressive margin of nearly ten seconds.
In addition, the lap time was also faster than the previous 992.1-generation 911 GT3 with the PDK transmision by almost four seconds. While the new record certainly demonstrates the incredible performance of the new 911 GT3 with the manual transmission, it also makes a case for the preservation of the dying breed of manual transmission sports cars. With more 911 GT3 customers than ever opting for a manual transmission, the new lap record proves that performance excellence and purist tradition can be combined with Porsche’s engineering know-how.
Image Source: Porsche
