The 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 Has A Welcome Surprise In The Back

In July 2024 — barely three months ago — Porsche fans across the U.S. were concerned after the company removed all instances of the Porsche 911 GT3 models from the company's website. A senior official from Porsche confirmed that the production run of the 911 GT3 had come to an end. Fast forward to today, and the company has just confirmed the launch of two new 2025 model year Porsche 911 GT3 models. 

2025 is an important year as far as the Porsche 911 GT3 lineup is concerned. Having been around since 1999, 2025 marks the 25th year of the 911 GT3's existence. To mark this occasion, Porsche has — for the first time in the GT3's 25-year history — announced two different versions of the car simultaneously. 

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Alongside the standard Porsche 911 GT3, the other model announced today is the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring. The 2025 model year Porsche 911 GT3 models bring small but important upgrades to the table. A sizable chunk of the changes concerns the vehicle's weight, which the company has been able to reduce significantly, thanks to optimizations to various aspects of the car, ranging from lighter wheels to smaller batteries.

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Another new addition for the 2025 model year 911 GT3s is the option to go for the Weissach package, an option that was hitherto not available for the GT3. This package essentially optimizes the vehicle configuration for track use. However, the most interesting addition to the 911 GT3 Touring Edition is the option to add rear seats, making the car somewhat of a small family tourer. "Somewhat" being the operative word, mind: Porsche says rear seats were "a longstanding customer request" but the snug pair of low-slung buckets are probably only going to be usable for kids or very small adults.

The 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 uses the same naturally aspirated 4.0-liter boxer engine as the previous Porsche 911 GT3. While the power figure of 502 hp remains unchanged, the torque has come down from 346 lb-ft to 331 lb-ft. The combined effects of the reduced weight and the fact that the car now has a much shorter gear ratio ensure plenty of performance: 0-60 mph arrives in 3.2 seconds with the PDK transmission, with a top speed of 193 mph. Opt for the manual and the 0-60 time extends to 3.7 seconds, though top speed is nudged up to 195 mph.

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The 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 lineup retains the familiar silhouette of the older car it replaces. Porsche claims to have "sharpened" the design of the Porsche 911 GT3 to make it look fresher. Several of these design changes have led to improved aerodynamics. For example, the new car gets a redesigned front diffuser, spoiler lip and underbody air guides. Porsche also claims better aerodynamic balance under heavy braking thanks to the front ball joint of the lower trailing arm sitting lower on the front axle. This setup is borrowed from the existing Porsche 911 GT3 RS and supposedly creates an anti-dive effect, further enhancing the overall comfort levels.

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Weight reduction attempts on the Porsche 911 GT3 include new aluminum wheels that reduce unsprung mass by around 3.3 lbs. For those wanting to shed even more weight, the company offers magnesium wheels as an option as part of the Weissach package (on the GT3) or the e Lightweight (Leichtbau) Package for the GT3 with Touring Package. This package promises savings of roughly 20 lbs. The 2025 model also gets a smaller 40Ah battery, which reduces another 9.9 lbs, as opposed to the 60 Ah battery on older models.

The 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 and the GT3 Touring models are both offered with various equipment packages. As mentioned earlier, the Weissach package on the standard GT3 model equips the car with features like an anti-roll bar and coupling rods. Opting for this package also ensures that several parts of the car — including the shear panel of the rear axle, the roof, wing, exterior mirror top shells, mirror triangles, the air blades in the front area, and the rear side plates — are made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP).

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For those opting for the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring, there is the Lightweight Package, which also makes judicious use of CFRP across several parts. This variant of the car also gets the aforementioned forged magnesium wheels and designed lighter door panels for further weight reductions. To differentiate it from other models, the car also gets a plaque with an inscription that reads "Leichtbau."

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Porsche has confirmed that it will start taking orders for the 2025 model year Porsche 911 GT3 and the 911 GTR with Touring Package by the end of 2024. The first of these cars will reach Porsche dealerships across the U.S. by the summer of 2025. Prices for the car start at an MSRP of $222,500, excluding delivery and other fees.