KEY POINTS:
Meet the Porsche 911 in its purest road-going form - the six-speed, manual-only GT3.
Described by the company as the "the ultimate integration of driver and car", the pumped-up 911 will go public for the first time at next month's Geneva motor show and arrive in New Zealand
around October.
No word on the price yet, but the existing GT3 is listed at $270,000 so expect the new model to be more expensive.
The naturally aspirated flat-six engine has grown by 200cc to 3.8 litres and now produces 320kW (429bhp), up 15kW over the previous model.
The boxer engine also offers a significant mid-range increase in torque, thanks in part to the appearance for the first time of Porsche's VarioCam valve actuation system for the engine's exhaust camshafts.
Porsche says performance is shattering - zero to 100km/h in 4.1 seconds, zero to 162km/h in 8.2 seconds and a top speed of 315km/h, again a marginal incremental increase over the outgoing model.
An updated Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system has allowed engineers to stiffen the suspension and tighten the handling on the new car.
The system also offers the option to deactivate both the stability and traction control in separate steps at the touch of a button.
More down force at high speed, uprated brakes - with the option of carbon-ceramic discs - and lighter wheels should make this the most focused version of the current 911 on the market to date.
The upgraded aerodynamics are said to increase down force, both front and rear, to such an extent that the overall pressure pushing down the car is more than twice that of the former model.
The new GT3 will also be available at a later stage with an additional feature to optimise its ontrack potential: Porsche Active Drivetrain Mounts (PADM).
These special engine mounts are suited to race track driving, making the normally elastic engine suspension hard and particularly resistant.
Porsche says that PADM retains all the motoring comfort of the GT3 in everyday traffic, while on the racetrack the car is not affected by any mass forces coming from the engine, as would otherwise be the case in fast bends and on winding tracks.
Unlike the rest of the 997-series 911 range, apart from the upcoming turbocharged GT2 and Turbo flagships, the GT3 does not feature Porsche's new twin-clutch automated manual transmission, PDK.
An optional lift system similar to the feature offered by some of its supercar rivals will also be available for the GT3.
It raises front ground clearance by a handy 30mm at the touch of a button, helping to make lighter work of awkward driveways, for example.
