Nearly a full year after it was revealed to the world, the facelifted Porsche 911 GT3 has finally been launched in Malaysia. The driver-focused rear-engined sports car, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, enters the 992.2 generation bearing no additional power but a substantial fine-tuning, plus the addition of several options hitherto reserved for other models in the lineup.
First, the price – the new 911 GT3 comes directly from Zuffenhausen costing a cool RM2,290,000 nett, inclusive of duties but excluding options and on-the-road costs. Launched alongside the standard winged model for the first time is the subtler Touring, which is supposedly a no-cost option but exacts a nominal RM2,018 premium here due to ISOFIX front child seat anchors fitted as standard.
All that cash buys you a car that, to an untrained eye, is hardly changed from the highly-acclaimed 992, but that would be a disservice to the amount of reengineering that’s been carried out under the skin. Let’s start with the engine, which has been substantially revised to counter the two particulate filters and four catalytic converters – required under stricter European emissions regulations – suffocating it.
The sonorous high-revving 4.0 litre naturally-aspirated flat-six, still spinning to a dizzying 9,000 rpm, receives hotter cams from the track-spec GT3 RS, along with flow-optimised individual throttle bodies and redesigned oil coolers – all to keep power at the same 510 PS as before. Peak torque, meanwhile, has actually dropped for the first time on a GT3 to 450 Nm, still all sent to the rear.
To make up for this deficit, the 992.2 gets an eight per cent shorter final drive ratio for both the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission and the no-cost six-speed GT manual. Zero to 100 km/h is again identical to the old car – 3.4 seconds for the PDK, 3.9 seconds for the manual – although the shorter gearing means the top speed is a trite lower at 311 km/h (313 km/h with the row-your-own shifter).
While Porsche hasn’t exactly moved the needle in terms of straight-line performance, a lot of work has taken place to make sure the GT3 is even more exhilarating in the corners. Like the latest ground-effect Formula 1 cars, the newest model employs anti-dive geometry – lifted from the RS – on the GT3-specific front double wishbone suspension to maintain downforce balance even under heavy braking.
Also derived from the RS are teardrop-shaped front trailing arms to increase front downforce and improve brake cooling. The dampers, on the other hand, have been retuned to provide a modicum of extra ride comfort to address the one bugbear of the current model, while the steering has been made to respond “more calmly from the centre position without losing any of its directness,” according to rally legend Walter Röhrl.
The tweaks were put to the test by former Daytona winner Jörg Bergmeister, who set the manual transmission track record at the fearsome Nürburgring Nordschleife with a time of 6 minutes 56.294 seconds. That is over 9.5 seconds faster than the “significantly more powerful” previous record holder and beats even the car’s PDK-equipped predecessor by 3.633 seconds.
Bergmeister, who was on hand for the Malaysian launch at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit today, told us that the a PDK-specified example would have only been around 1.5 seconds faster, due to it being heavier than the stick.
“On the track, the new 911 GT3 enables even better control because it holds even steadier and handles better on bumps and when driving over kerbs thanks to the optimised damper tuning,” he said. “The anti-dive system noticeably reduces the pitching movement when braking. As a result, the balance of the car remains significantly more consistent under all conditions.”
The lap record was set using the standard GT3 with the Weissach package, which is being made available for the first time on a non-RS model. Exclusive to the winged version, it includes a carbon fibre roof, front bumper corners, rear wing endplates, door mirror caps and A-pillar triangle, as well as the rear anti-roll bar, coupling rods and shear panel.
You also get additional leather and Race-Tex microfibre trim (including the upper dashboard for the first time to reduce glare), along with carbon door handles and storage nets. Speccing this sure-to-be-desirable option is not cheap, costing a heady RM203,447 (RM254,739 with the carbon rear roll cage), although the Clubsport track pack that throws on a steel cage, a six-point driver’s harness and a lightweight fire extinguisher is another no-cost option.
The wingless Touring is instead offered with the Leichtbau (German for “lightweight”) package that throw on the carbon roof (here painted in body colour) and rear suspension components from the Weissach pack, along with lightweight door panels and a manual short shifter from the limited-run S/T. Ticking this box will cost you even more money, coming in at RM381,182.
Beyond the mechanical changes, the GT3 receives the redesigned headlights and wider taillights from elsewhere in the 992.2 lineup, the former integrating the previously-separate indicators and position lights. This cleans up the design of the front bumper and enables the air intake – which now dispenses of the body-coloured surround hitherto exclusive to the Touring model – to be made wider.
At the back, the rear diffuser – still housing dual central tailpipes – and rear deck have been redesigned, while the larger rear vents necessitated the repositioning of the fog lights. On the “regular” GT3, the endplates have been slightly re-profiled, while the new forged aluminium alloy wheels (measuring 20 inches at the front and 21 inches at the rear) are over 1.5 kg lighter than the previous rollers.
On the options list (standard on the Leichtbau pack, hence the extra cost) are magnesium wheels that save a further nine kilograms. This, together with the 40 Ah lithium-ion battery that shaves four kilograms on top of that, means that the GT3 weighs just 1,420 kg in its lightest configuration – barely two kilos heavier than the outgoing model despite the additional emissions control equipment. The weight-to-power ratio is just 2.8 kg per PS as a result.
Inside, the GT3 again receives the upgrades from the greater 992.2 range, including the 12.6-inch fully-digital instrument display. This jettisons the analogue central rev counter but adds a rotatable digital version that places the redline at 12 o’clock, plus a reduced “Track Screen” mode.
The revised 10.9-inch Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment touchscreen also gains a unique-to-GT3 driver assist shortcut that allows drivers to quickly turn off the default-on nannies. For the first time, the Touring can be had with four seats, in response to customer demand.
In Malaysia, the rear pews are fitted as standard, throwing on the aforementioned ISOFIX mounts. Access to the rear is freed up by the optional lightweight sports bucket seats, which can now fold and feature removable headrests, making helmet-wearing drivers more comfortable. As with all the options you’ve already seen, these pews costs a pretty penny at RM70,324 (yeowch).
The revamp was summed up by GT boss Andreas Preuninger, who said: “The new 911 GT3 has become even more exhilarating and individual. We dug into a wealth of details and gave it many features that our customers wanted. This allows the GT3 to be adapted even more specifically to the purpose or preferences of the driver.”
GALLERY: 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 with Weissach package in Malaysia
GALLERY: 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring manual in Malaysia
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