Daily Slideshow: Next 911 GT3 Reportedly Will Be a Turbo, PDK-Only Car

PDK Predicament

The facelifted 991.2 GT3s may just be making their way into customers hands, but rest assured Porsche is already developing the next generation 911 GT3. When the 991 GT3 was introduced back in 2013, there was somewhat of a protest by many Porsche enthusiasts that the car would only be available with a PDK transmission. Despite producing 475 horsepower from its 3.8L flat-six with a wailing 9,000 rpm redline, there have been numerous accounts of how the dual-clutch automatic makes for a less-involved driving experience compared to that of a traditional manual transmission. Although the 991 GT3 was and still is a great car, we saw a rather significant surge in 996 and 997 GT3's as they were believed to be the last of the manual transmission GT cars.

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Man & Machine

With a keen ear, Porsche listened to the grumblings that folks had about the 991 GT3. It seemed as if owners were not so much concerned with the outright speed that the car was capable of, but the watering down of the interaction between man and machine. When the 911R was announced in 2016, it was hailed as an exclusive "manual transmission GT3." Being that a stick-shift GT3 no longer existed, the 911R sold out immediately and commanded some huge premiums on the used market. PDK's are amazing transmissions that are considered the best performing automatics in the world, but a number of owners still want the experience of being connected to the car through a handshake with the shift lever and playing footsies with the clutch pedal.

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A Return To Normalcy

Fast-forward to 2018 and we have the 991.2 GT3 which seemingly offers owners everything they could ever want in a track-ready street car. The hellacious NA 4.0L flat-six equals the power output of the top-dog GT3 RS at 500 horsepower with all of the accompanying improvements found throughout the valvetrain and such, but now has the option of sending that power through a sublime 6-speed manual transmission. World order has now been restored and we can once again rest easy at night with such a GT3 back in production. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look things), the next generation GT3 is potentially in for some huge changes that may just cause all hell to break loose.

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The Last of The Breed

With ever tightening fuel standards and emission regulations, most manufacturers are moving on to smaller turbocharged engines. Porsche has done much of the same throughout their lineup with all of their sports cars now having switched to forced-induction, except for the GT3, that is. It is quite sad that the GT3 is the last remaining model to offer a naturally-aspirated engine. Turbocharging has seen great advancements where lag is nearly absent but still does not provide the immediacy nor instant response of an engine solely dependent on atmospheric pressure. The GT3 has long been the epitome of a naturally-aspirated engine that spins up with ease and sounds glorious doing it, but the curtain is about to close not only on the GT3 but an entire era of Porsche motorcars.

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Get 'Em While You Can

According to Australia's Motor magazine, the 991.2 GT3 is set to be the last run of naturally-aspirated GT3's as the next generation is set to join the rest of the flock with a turbocharged engine. Moreover, the "992" GT3 will reportedly feature an all-new 8-speed PDK as the only transmission option, thus leaving the beloved manual out to dry. Although this may be earth-shattering news to some, the bright side is that the turbo-GT3 is expected to see a healthy increase in power output (around 550hp) like its sibling 911/Cayman/Boxster models when switching to turbo setups. Having so many turbo models would seem to upset Porsche's current model hierarchy as they are likely to share similar engine configurations, but the designations will surely refer to the level of chassis tuning and intended usage of the car. In any case, many expect the new GT3 to debut sometime near the end of 2018. While it is highly likely that Porsche will offer the manual transmission in future turbocharged models, this is likely to be your last chance to own the pinnacle of the naturally-aspirated 911 flat-six rigorously developed over the last 50 years.

>>Join the conversation about the Developments of the Next GT3 right here in Rennlist.com.

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