2019 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring 991.2

Porsche’s first GT3 Touring is one of the most coveted naturally aspirated models of the past decade. Total 911 joins an enthusiast on collection day, who heads immediately for the open road…

ROAD TRIP IN A PTS VIOLA GT3 TOURING!

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991.2 GT3 Touring road trip

Written by Wilhelm Lutjeharms

Photography by Peet Mocke

GT3 on tour

Wilhelm Lutjeharms explores South Africa’s picturesque roads in a special Paint-To-Sample Viola metallic 991.2 GT3

“I’m not chasing lap times, I bought this Touring for the driving experience”

A Porsche 911 GT3 is a car that’ll grab the attention of most 911 enthusiasts. Whether it’s the car’s performance, its presence or a combination of the two, there’s little to dislike about these models made in Flacht. However, there are enthusiasts who have always preferred the clean lines of the original shape: a 911 without a rear wing. Explain and debate as much as you like about the aerodynamic importance of that rear wing, purists will keep saying that wingless 911s are the prettier and more elegant shape. And that’s understandable. Thing is, if you wanted a GT3 experience housed within the standard 911 silhouette you could never have had it – at least until Porsche released the 991.2 GT3 with Touring package in 2017.

The subject of this article started with a simple phone call one morning a few weeks ago. This collector’s late father had been a car collector and motoring enthusiast his entire life, and this has rubbed off on his son. Be it a pre-war Bentley or a low-mileage E46 BMW M3 CSL, he’s been meticulous as a petrolhead in terms of maintaining and enjoying his cars. That’s also been the case with any possible sales or purchase. What about 911s? Curiously, not a single one in the collection.

The reason for this isn’t because he doesn’t find them interesting. He’s simply set his sights on one of two particular models: a 993 Carrera S or a 991.2 GT3 Touring. As he explains to me, he’s sure the rest of the line-up is impressive, but in terms of design and performance those are the two models that he adores. Offering the GT3 Touring was a clever move by Porsche, appealing to a very specific clientele, just like our collector here.

It’s easy to see the similarities. Both are wingless, both are manual, both have added performance and both have the wider hips. Our enthusiast tried to order a 991.2 GT3 Touring, but only a limited number came into South Africa and none were available. Then a pristine 2019 Viola metallic GT3 Touring would become available some time later, which got the ball rolling all over again. In fact, fast forward an hour later from the car going live online and I was standing next to the car with a Porsche salesman showing me around the car. It had only 5,000 miles on the odometer and was essentially brand new. Several pictures, videos and phone calls later between my enthusiast friend and myself, I found out that he’d purchased the car. Then came the really good news: he and his wife would be flying to Cape Town to collect the car, and then driving back home over the course of five days and 1,000 miles. The stage was set, and we’d be joining them for the first hours of the trip!

Fortunately, there’s no oversized red ribbon on the bonnet – Porsche isn’t as vain as other dealerships – but the salesman carefully explains all the car’s functions to its new owner, who’s understandably very excited. When goodbyes are shared with his sister and mother, the luggage is loaded (there’s quite a lot of space behind the rear seats), and we immediately thread through Cape Town traffic on to the N2 in the direction of Sir Lowry’s Pass. The N2 is one of three national highways that leave Cape Town. The N7 heads north to Namibia, the N1 north-east to Johannesburg and the N2 heads east.

In traffic the car receives a little less attention than a GT3 would have, but at the same time the dark purple hue does turn some heads. It’s a beautiful, deep plum-like colour that alters a little as the sun shines on it. The car looks purposeful with the bodywork squatting down over those wide wheels – front and rear.

The specification also partly drew the collector to the car. It’s fitted with Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB), a front axle lift system and the sports bucket seats. Thankfully, the latter can fold forward a little, allowing some contorted access to the rear storage space (no seats here). The purple colour has also selectively been included in the cabin. The air vents’ surrounds and top inserts in the seats are painted in the same colour, while the instrument dials feature the white background. For the open road, cruise control has been specified, with the 20-inch wheels being painted in Satin aluminium – a neat contrast to the dark exterior colour.

We head up Sir Lowry’s Pass, the first mountain pass as we leave Cape Town and the surrounding area. Road works mean there’s no chance to stretch the Touring’s legs. Arriving at the top we pull in at the lookout point. The owner is, for now, very conservative in his approach: “So far so good. I can’t wait to explore the rest of the rev range. I’ve had it to 6,000rpm, and there’s still another 3,000rpm left!”

With the GT3 at idle and at really low revs, the unmuted metallic sounds of that naturally aspirated flat six can be clearly heard and even the gear changes produce an unmistakable sound from the engine as the clutch is either engaged or disengaged. The next stop is Peregrine Farm Stall. Farm Stalls are scattered throughout South Africa’s vast motoring network. These are farm-style shops and resting places for motorists. They can be big or small, and can offer anything from condiments, small or big restaurants, home-baked goodies to even antiques for your house.

All of us are feeling peckish, so the GT3 is parked and we head inside for a bite. I discuss some road options with the owner, because he’ll be covering around 1,000 miles on this five-day road trip back home. He’s keen to hear about some mountain passes they can explore on their way home while also stopping to see family members – and show off the new car, naturally!

However, before we wave the couple off on arguably one of the most exciting motoring trips they’ve done, I have to show them one of the best and prettiest stretches of road the Western Cape has to offer. Located close to the Peregrine Farm Stall, the Elgin Valley features some wonderfully twisty roads. Some of them are more frequently used by enthusiasts than others. The R321 leads from the N2 north towards towns such as Villiersdorp and Rawsonville. It’s a relatively quiet road, with some long straights but also a number of cambered corners, as well as one 180-degree hairpin. You also pass the small Nuweberg Dam, which looks like a scene from Alaska or Canada with cold-coloured mountains in the background and the dark blue water front and centre completing the picture.

I sense that the owner now eagerly wants to unleash the full 493bhp of the flat six engine. After all, it’s now been around three-and-a-half hours since he walked into the Porsche dealership and he hasn’t been able to explore the top echelon of this engine. The rear quarters of the 911 squats and from the photography car we can hear it all too well as the engine is revved out – what a symphony! The owner is now clearly starting to warm to and really enjoy the car. Nevertheless, he pulls over and hands me the key. The original launch of the 991.2 GT3 is still fresh in my mind. I remember it fondly, because I drove the manual versions at the launch at every available opportunity. There were talks that it might be the last GT3 to offer a manual transmission, so you just had to make use of the chance to savour the experience.

It’s the steering wheel that first grabs my attention. No button in sight, just three double spokes covered in leather. Want to press any button or turn up the audio? You’ll have to look mostly to your left. The clutch initially feels slightly heavy – and it is – but at the same time you don’t expect it any other way and within a few shifts you forget about it. There’s the 9,000rpm redline and then the directness and short shift action of the gear lever – what a pleasure. I pull off and even at a sedate 40 to 50mph I’m immediately impressed by the pliancy of the suspension, yet simultaneously notice how the car is reacting at each axle. That also goes for the steering feel. It might be all electric now, but Porsche’s engineers have delved into their development resources to present a respectable level of steering feedback. It’s especially the undulations and camber on the road that you sense through the steering wheel.

The result is that you can’t help but drive the car as it was meant to be driven. Rev it to 7,000rpm and you feel as though you’re already digging into the full performance of the car. It revs with utter ease and you can quickly and confidently execute a shift. However, with another 2,000rpm left, keep the throttle pinned and the engine continues around the clock with even more vigour, which momentarily makes you think it can probably rev past 9,000rpm. As the corners approach (I had Sport mode activated), I press the clutch and engage a lower gear. The auto blip function perfectly matches the revs and the gear lever slips into gear without any inertial effect on the engine.

It’s a fascinating onslaught on the senses and I can’t help but do it another couple of times. Make no mistake: there’s sufficient torque if you prefer to change gears lower in the rev range. After all, with a 4.0-litre capacity the sheer size of the motor helps with torque delivery. Needless to say the feel of the brakes is also good, although on this occasion I never had to use them in too much anger.

As I park the car and hand the key back, I know the collector made the right decision in flying down and driving his first Porsche purchase back home. The Touring represents one of the pinnacle 911 experiences from the past decade. The fact that it doesn’t have the wing makes it, to an extent, the quintessential “pumped-up” Carrera – that shape that we’ve all have been falling in love with since the early sixties.

That morning’s drive would stick with me. No other sports car offers all those ingredients in such a package. What a car! “I’m not chasing lap times, I bought this Touring for the driving experience,” its new owner says. What an experience it is.

ABOVE The 991.2 GT3 pulls in for a pit stop at the Peregrine Farm Stall while driver and passenger get a bite to eat

LEFT Driving along the E321, the GT3 makes short work of overtaking any fruit-bearing lorries that threatened to slow the journey

TECHNICAL DATA

• Model: 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring 991.2
• Year: 2019

Engine

• Capacity: 3,996cc
• Compression ratio: 13.3:1
• Maximum power: 493bhp at 8,250rpm
• Maximum torque: 460Nm at 6,000rpm
• Transmission: 6-speed manual

Suspension

• Front: Independent, MacPherson strut, coil springs, anti-roll bar.
• Rear: Independent, multi-link, coil springs, anti-roll bar
• Wheels and tyres front and rear: 9x20-inch, 245/35 ZR20 (F); 12x20-inch, 305/30 ZR20 ®

Dimensions

• Length: 4,562mm
• Width: 1,852mm
• Weight: 1,413kg

Performance

• 0-62mph: 3.9 seconds
• Top speed: 194mph

Market watch: 991.2 GT3 Touring

It’s clear that owners and collectors are holding on to these first GT3 Touring models – we could barely find three examples for sale. Do keep in mind that production numbers of the Touring were far lower than that of the standard GT3 without the Touring package. Prices are currently in the £200,000- £250,000 bracket, although two sold for less via online platforms in 2021. With all the production issues Porsche (and other manufacturers) is currently experiencing, it’s safe to say that values are set to remain high for the foreseeable future, as demand will likely continue to outstrip supply.

ABOVE The Satin aluminium finish of the 20-inch wheels contrasts nicely with the dark exterior in Viola metallic. BELOW The sports bucket seats can be folded forward, giving access to storage space in the rear of the cabin.