Porsche 911 GT3 2007 review

I discovered something in the GT3 which I've never noticed before in a 911, despite sampling almost every one of the 14 varieties currently available here. In any other car it would be a flaw, but in the 911 it's character. A reminder that this is basically an evolution of a 40-year-old design which lost touch with logic a long time ago.

What I twigged was that the driving position, something I'd previously regarded as perfect, was a little compromised. The throttle, brake and clutch are all offset a bit to the left. Stretch your feet directly out in front of you from the driver's seat and your toes don't alight automatically on the pedals. You have to adjust to them.

I've no idea whether this is simply a consequence of moving the steering position from the left side of the car to the right. But I was amazed I'd never rumbled it before and could only put it down to one thing: for every flaw in this classic sportscar there is a more-than-compensating piece of perfection. Set your size 9s to work and you quickly appreciate the effort that has gone into connecting these metal tabs with the mechanicals. They're so precise and direct you feel like you could flex a toe and the engine would respond. They make the controls in other cars seem like baseball bats by comparison.

Explore the 2007 Porsche 911 range

• Porsche 911 GT3 2007 review
• Porsche 911 2007 review
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That's the way it is with the 911 and why it retains its appeal. It's unique in the car world in retaining a rear-engined layout that defies physics by placing all the heavy bits somewhere south of the rear axle. The consequent handling qualities, even as ironed out by today's ubiquitous software systems, make it unlike any other car.

It means you discover a 911 over time. One-week press loans are like little holiday romances, which leave you wanting to go back for more. The 911 has more than enough personality to suggest a long-term partnership would be a rewarding arrangement.

The GT3 is one of the more extreme 911s, pitched at those who want to spend time at the track. In the 911 range, it sits at the other polar extreme to the Turbo Cabriolet I sampled a couple of months ago. That car, despite blistering pace, is a softie. It's really about being seen in the most expensive 911 money can buy.

The GT3 is a wholly different beast. It forms the basis for Porsche's race series car, the GT3 RS, and bridges the gap between road cars and motorsport.

It's also a pin-up for naturally aspirated engine performance, with a monster 305kW output from its 3.6-litre horizontally opposed six-cylinder. It revs through its power peak at 7600rpm to reach 8400rpm and generates loads of fabulous noise while flinging the GT3 to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds. The GT3 will reach 310km/h flat out, hitting the 160km/h in a blistering 8.7 seconds. A sport button liberates a little more power and torque, with the bonus of more sonorous depth to the sound emanating from behind the cabin.

Unlike most other Porsche variants, there's no automatic option with the GT3. Just six, closely spaced ratios and one of the best manual gearshifts you're ever likely to use. There is a shift-up display in the rev counter, too. Despite being a few tenths slower on paper than the Turbo, with its superb throttle response the GT3 feels every bit as quick.

Among extreme 911s it's more pleasing on the eye, too, and it gets more looks than any other Porsche I've driven.

The GT3 sits noticeably lower on its suspension and the wide haunches, deep front intakes and especially the imposing two-element rear wing speak directly to the car's purpose. There's function in all this: some vents direct cooling air to the impressive brakes and the GT3 is one of the slipperiest 911s with a drag coefficient of just 0.29.

That's just the beginning of its performance tuning, with 19-inch alloys running sports rubber, a limited slip rear differential and Porsche's active suspension available for the first time on GT3. There are two settings: firm or extremely firm. The latter delivers a very harsh ride on Australian roads but would come into its own on a track. The normal setting keeps things very tight in any case, with firmer settings than for other 911s.

After the Turbo Cabriolet, the GT3 seems light, agile and responsive. There's a purity to the steering that seems to be diluted in the four-wheel drive Porsches and appeal in the fact it has to be driven more precisely.

A highlight of the GT3's performance credentials is its weight reduction to just 1395kg — or around 250kg less than the Turbo Cabrio.

As well as aluminium panels the interior has been stripped out, although not as radically as some skeletal track-focused machines. The rear seats, which are not especially useful at the best of times, have been removed. But the carpet stays and alcantara — the performance machine's interior fabric-of-choice this season — makes a welcome appearance, especially on the wheel and shifter. The cabin plastics are typically ho-hum and the control layout is standard Porsche, leaving the cabin feeling a little plain. But in a GT3, there's little reason for it to be otherwise.

The racing bits fitted to the test car make it almost motorsport-ready, and turn driving the car on ordinary roads into an occasion. The sports pack adds a rollcage, racing seats, six-point harnesses and a fire extinguisher. Porsche had fitted its Sport Chrono gear to the test car too, which is a fancy electronic stopwatch that records lap times and the like.

The seats really hug, even when you're strapped in with standard seatbelts, and unlike ordinary 911 pews, they lack height adjustment. Another ergonomic drawback? Well, if you've bought a GT3 and the driving position is starting to irk you, you know where to send the keys.

This week Motor magazine awarded its Performance Car of the Year to the GT3 against some tough competition from Lamborghini, among others.

“If there is one Porsche that best demonstrates that what we as a company learn on the race track we are able to build into our road cars, then the GT3 is that car,” said Porsche Cars Australia managing director Michael Winkler. “The GT3 is in many ways the ultimate Porsche.”

Difficult to disagree. Although the 390kW turbocharged GT2 hasn't arrived yet...