Porsche 911 GT3 Creams Its Old ‘Ring Lap Time

If you aren’t already excited for the new Porsche 911 GT3, know that the car just posted a Nurburgring lap time that bested the previous GT3’s by 12.3 seconds, or 7:12.7. That’s quite the improvement.

Sure, ‘Ring lap times are controversial. Some people think they’re bogus, while others contend they’ve pushed automakers to engineer vehicles which are too harsh for road use. There are valid points brought up by these people, but the fact is how quickly a car gets around the Nurburgring has a different value than, say, 0-60 or 60-100 times. I’m not arguing for automaker’s obsession with the Nurburgring, because quite frankly it’d be great to see a few other tracks held in such high regard for vehicle development.

In any case, the important point is that the new GT3 weighs about the same as the previous one. It also only puts out 25 additional horsepower. In other words, it’s not crazy light or stupidly powerful. That means Porsche was able to squeeze out that big of a difference in lap times though changes to the car’s aerodynamics. That’s some impressive engineering.

Sure, the Porsche 911 GT3 doesn’t boast the best ‘Ring lap time out of production cars or even Porsches. But you’ll be able to get it with a manual transmission, and it’s better than before.