The 2027 Porsche 911 GT3 S/C is a thrilling blend of quintessential 911 elements, GT3 go-fast characteristics, and cabriolet goodness, offering an unmatched driving experience. They say you never know you’re in the good old days until you’ve left them. For car folks, it’s a relatable sentiment. So many of the vehicles now regarded as legends, or at the very least respected, were discredited in their day. It’s only when some years have passed, and the status quo has degraded, that we’re able to appreciate what we’ve lost since.
Strangely, I don’t think we’ll have that problem with the 2027 Porsche 911 GT3 S/C. What Porsche has arguably delivered in this surprising turn for its iconic sports car is a greatest hits collection. Naturally aspirated flat-six? Check. Six-speed manual gearbox? Check. Double wishbone front suspension, lightweight construction abounds, and, last but certainly not least, an automatic folding cloth roof? Check in triplicate. It’s the ultimate purist sports car, like the 911 S/T with which it shares plenty of what makes it tick, with the added exhilaration of wind in your face and a song at your back.
View Price on AmazonPorsche has developed the 911 GT3 into a veritable family unto itself that ventures far beyond the track. You can have yours with a wing or without, with three pedals or a paddle shifter, and with seats locked in for maximum attack at the circuit, or with seats that twist and tilt in 18 different ways. The S/C is best described as the limited-run 911 S/T done up as a convertible, and the S/T was already like a GT3 Touring, with tweaks of its own.
I could spend forever and a day comparing and contrasting every permutation of GT Porsche, so in the interest of time, I’ll focus on what makes the S/C what it is. It starts with a 4.0-liter, naturally aspirated flat-six that revs to 9,000 RPM and makes 502 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque. The transmission, as previously noted, is exclusively Porsche’s GT Sport manual with three pedals sandwiched close for proper heel-toe action, though auto-rev-matching is available by engaging Sport mode.
The doors and fenders are made of carbon fiber to keep weight down, as are the rear anti-roll bar, rear-axle drop links, and shear plate. Composite brakes shed another 44 pounds around the car compared to the standard equipment on the 911 GT3, while magnesium wheels save about 20 pounds. The wheels are shockingly light to lift, even though they measure 20 and 21 inches in diameter from front to rear. To get them on a regular 911 GT3, you need to option the lightweight Weissach package, but that kit comes with every S/C.
All those weight-saving measures might be unexpected for a convertible, but if you look at it from the opposite perspective, they afford this GT3 the agility of all the others, even with the roof mechanism. Besides, it’s not like the top and its associated gear even weigh that much; thanks again to extensive use of magnesium and clever design that minimizes the number of components that need to be hydraulically actuated, the whole thing tips the scales at 80 pounds. And, despite the missing lid, Porsche touts 25% improved torsional stiffness over the old 911 Speedster.
The end result of subjecting a 911 GT3 cabriolet to this diet is a curb weight of 3,322 pounds. That’s pretty scant when you consider that a drop-top 911 Carrera T weighs 180 pounds more. A regular Carrera T also wouldn’t have this engine or double-wishbone suspension and, believe me—you want them.
Porsche flew me to its home territory of Stuttgart and the Swabian Alps to sample the S/C in its preferred environment. With the 911 GT3 S/C, Porsche has created something truly special, and it’s clear that this car will be remembered as one of the all-time greats.
Source: thedrive.com
