Porsche 911 GT3 (996 and 997) – Ultimate Buyer’s Guide

Overview

The GT3s are the low volume 911s, road-going production cars homologated for what was Group 3 competition. The original homologated 911 was of course the famous RS 2.7 in 1972. After that Porsche concentrated on the higher Groups for which the 930 Turbo served as the homologation model. In the 1980s, Weissach’s focus was on sport racing cars and Group C and it was only in 1991 that a new 911 RS appeared. This was the 964 RS designed to qualify the Porsche 964 for the Porsche Cup series in Germany. This became the Carrera Cup and over thirty years has expanded into the largest one-make race series in the world. As the 964 gave way to the 993, an RS version appeared in 1995.

The MY 2000 Type 996.1 Porsche 911 GT3 was only sold in Europe

Type 996 GT3

The first GT3 was revealed in 1999, once again a limited run to qualify the race credentials of the latest 911, the 996. However, the GT3 was significantly different from its RS forebears: it was not lightened, though its chassis underwent considerable modification, and for the first time, it did not use the 911 production engine. Porsche knew that the new fluid cooled M96 engine of the 996 which effectively had a wet sump (although its marketing people talked about an ‘integrated dry sump’) would experience oil starvation at lateral cornering forces exceeding 0.7g. This would convey entirely the wrong image of Porsche said then engineering director Horst Marchart who commissioned engine builder Herbert Ampferer to create a suitable race engine.