Porsche introduced the 992-generation 911 GT3 in February 2021 and shared a video of the track toy doing a lap of the Nürburgring in just under seven minutes. The onboard footage was actually recorded on September 15, 2020, and the folks from Zuffenhausen waited until the car's big debut to release the full lap video.
As it turns out, German magazine Sport Auto had the opportunity to shoot its own video three days later, on September 18. Behind the wheel of Porsche's naturally aspirated machine was journalist Christian Gebhardt, the publication's official test driver. He has some racing experience and has been conducting these hot laps for Sport Auto for many years, so he knows his way around the Green Hell.
Gallery: 2022 Porsche 911 GT3
While Porsche's test driver Lars Kern completed a lap of the Nordschleife in 6 minutes and 59.93 seconds, Sport Auto's Christian Gebhardt needed 7 minutes and 4.74 seconds for the same task. Both times refer to the 12.944-mile (20.832-kilometer) configuration of the famous German race track and were achieved using the PDK-equipped model with the optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires.
As a refresher, Porsche says the new 911 GT3 is over 17 seconds quicker around the Nürburgring than its predecessor even though horsepower has remained largely the same. Those many seconds were shaved off after perfecting the aero using lessons learned from the 911 RSR race car program. It also boasts a newly developed double-wishbone front suspension to increase stiffness and reduce body roll under hard braking.
The 992 GT3 Has Arrived:
A lap time of 7 minutes and 4.74 seconds is quite the feat regardless of the car and who is driving it. Factor in Christian Gebhardt is not a full-time professional racing driver and that the 911 GT3 is still very much road legal, it goes to show the peeps from Stuttgart have engineered one heck of a track-oriented toy. Not only that, but an RS variant is only a matter of time, and you can rest assured Porsche has a few aces up its sleeve reserved for the hotter derivative.
Source: sport auto / YouTube