Old-fashioned thrills from a Porsche 911

The new Porsche 911 GT3 Touring reaches 62mph from rest in around three and a half seconds and goes on to a top speed of near 200mph. But the numbers don’t matter, says Ollie Marriage in Top Gear. “If they do matter, go and buy electric. You’re looking at the Touring for the wrong reason. This is a car for the feels.” And how does it feel? Truly “awesome”. It’s unusual for a car to be this special without “drawing attention to itself”, but the Porsche is understated. “The engine chunters and rattles slightly at idle, the clutch has a springy action, you need some throttle to pull away” – there’s no anti-stall technology – but the result is “a car as cars used to be”. Despite the “hardcore” performance, it’s also one you can “drive daily without concern”. This is “a ten out of ten car”.

You wouldn’t have thought that the last 911 GT3 left much room for improvement, but “somehow Porsche has made the new one feel like a noticeable step forward”, says Matt Robinson on Car Throttle. While other supercar makers put out models with ever-fancier technology and “ludicrous” levels of power and speed, Porsche relies instead on “decades of honing the same effective recipe”.

The GT3 is the “antithesis of the turbocharged, pointlessly powerful supercar elite” with “old-school sensibilities” that make for a “fabulous” drive. After a few plays on a track, the GT3 will quickly become “your best friend” and you’ll have years of fun exploring its potential. If you have supercar money to spend, this is the one to buy.

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Marriage, Robinson and Steve Sutcliffe in Evo all agree that the manual is the model to go for. It makes the already brilliant car “even more engaging to drive”, says Sutcliffe – the shift quality is “peachy” – and the car a lot more civilised on the road than you might have thought. “Even on soaking wet bumpy Welsh B-roads”, the car has an “entirely unexpected knack of being able to cope with whatever comes your way”, making you “appear to be an even more highly skilled wheelman than you already are”. In short, the manual GT3 “is one of those cars that makes your heart beat faster every time you climb aboard”, whether on the road or the track. It is exceptionally good value too, with no obvious rivals for the price. Demand, though, will considerably outstrip supply. “Nice work – if you can get it.”

Price: £127,820. Engine: 3,996cc, flat six, six-speed manual, rear-wheel-drive. 0-62mph: 3.9 seconds. Top speed: 199mph. Power: 503bhp at 8,400rpm. Torque: 346lb ft at 6,100rpm.