► First ever 911 GT3 convertible
► Manual-only; lightweight S/T parts
► £200k and no production cap
Your eyes are not deceiving you – this really is a soft-top version of Porsche’s hardcore 911 GT3, a car likely to split opinion like no other recent 911 given the GT3’s road racer roots.
For potentially apoplectic purists, Porsche GT boss Andreas Preuninger offers a few words of reassurance on the new 911 GT3 S/C. ‘This is not a 911 cabriolet with the GT3 engine in it… it’s a GT3 Touring or an S/T without a roof,’ he tells CAR at a studio preview in Stuttgart.
Indeed, only the S/C’s aluminium rear three-quarter panel and rear deck lid carry over from the standard 911 Cabriolet. Everything else – drivetrain, chassis and interior – is replaced with full GT3 hardware, plus selected lightweight parts from the 911 S/T.
The roof itself opens in around 12 seconds at up to 32mph, and gets new magnesium flat bows under the fabric for a tauter, more precise appearance when closed. It also integrates more cleanly than the Speedster’s twin-hump rear deck, giving the car a more cohesive GT3-derived stance. Plus, the (optional) black windscreen frame visually hot-rods it too.
It sounds pretty light for a convertible…
The official 1497kg is only a small increase over a manual GT3 Touring, depending on spec, and nowhere near the 90kg or so penalty you’d expect. That’s achieved through extensive use of S/T components, including carbonfibre doors and front wings, not to mention the usually optional magnesium wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes.
Inside, weight-saving continues with lighter trim, reduced sound insulation and the deletion of rear seats, replaced by storage compartments.
That means the full set-up remains – including double-wishbone front suspension, rear-wheel steering and GT3 steering rack. Preuninger says they factored suspension recalibration into the development programme, only to conclude it wasn’t required (yes, you’re right to be cynical but our experience says Preuninger is a pretty straight talker).
Any key options?
Yes, the Street Style Package gets 18-way seats, four-colour braided leather extending even to the glovebox lining, and Race-Tex technical fabric for the top, A-pillars and sun visors. Expect to pay around £20k more for that.
Still not convinced? Here’s Mr Preuninger again with a few more words of reassurance: ‘[The GT3 S/C] feels like the same car while offering even more emotion… Enjoying this engine alone for me is like a sacred object these days, but without a roof, the sound, the emotion it provokes, is on a different level.’ We’ll know for sure after that first drive.