Porsche Carrera GT3 Makes North American Debut at New York

<img src="http://germancarfans.com/photos/3021219.002/1003.jpg" alt=" - " /> <img src="http://germancarfans.com/photos/3021219.002/1010.jpg" alt=" - " /> <img src="http://germancarfans.com/photos/3021219.002/1011.jpg" alt=" - " /> ATLANTA --- Porsche Cars North America will bring the ultra high performance version of its 911� Carrera Coupe sports car to the 2003 New York International Auto Show for the car�s North American debut. The new model, named the 911 GT3, represents the most powerful non-turbocharged Porsche ever offered for street use in the United States and Canada. Based on the previous 911 GT3 that was not available in North America, the 2004 Porsche� 911 GT3 features a 3.6-liter, flat- six cylinder engine producing 380 horsepower (SAE) and 285 pound-feet of torque. With a power output of an impressive 105 horsepower per liter, the engine propels the 911 GT3 from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, from 0 to 100 mph in 9.4 seconds, and to a top track speed of 190 mph. To handle this increased performance, the 911 GT3�s transmission is fitted with transmission oil cooling and injection oil lubrication and has undergone some additional reinforcements. <a href="http://germancarfans.com/News.cfm?NewsID=2030418.001" target="_blank">More</a> info <img border="0" alt="[burnout]" title="" src="graemlins/burnout.gif" />

this car is going to be fun..... nice pix thanks

Nice pics, tks. Is that guards red?

Yes, that is Guards red. BTW, is it just me or does that car look like it is ~10 mm higher in front? Porsche may have raised the front of the US GT3 as a result of complaints from GT2 owners who scraped the bottom of their bumpers.

viken...from this distance it looks like 9.38 mm...: )

Viken, Good eye, but... I went out in the garage to check and the GT 2 also sits a little higher at the front. It appears it's about 10 mm (on the finger scale) as well. I'll measure it exactly after my first cup of coffee. I don't think 10mm would help much with the scraping anyway. I always try to approach driveways at a 45 degree angle to avoid (scraping) when possible. On fast, bumpy roads the 10mm is probably enough.

Colm, The US GT2, as specified by Porsche, rides at the same height as the ROW models. All the other 996 models and the Boxster are raised 10 mm at front to avoid scraping complaints from owners. Since many US GT2 owners have complained of this, I wouldn't be surprised if Porsche decided to raise the GT3 as well. Believe me, 10 mm makes a world of difference in preventing scraping. At any rate, this is not an issue as the coilover suspension will allow further lowering if wanted.

I wonder if having the car higher in the front compared to the rear could cause problems with aerodynamics (lift at the front at high speeds)

According to PCNA, ride height is the same as ROW. Perhaps this GT3 has higher tire pressure for display purpose only?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by GrantG: <strong>I wonder if having the car higher in the front compared to the rear could cause problems with aerodynamics (lift at the front at high speeds)</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">I wouldn't call it a problem but, everything is thrown off when you alter ride height. Not only in terms of aerodynamics but in terms of handling too.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by jac: <strong>According to PCNA, ride height is the same as ROW. Perhaps this GT3 has higher tire pressure for display purpose only?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Tire pressures do not cause any visual height differences. This car just appears to have a bigger gap between the front tire and fender. Or, maybe it's just the wide angle lens throwing it off.

The stand isn't level, so it's possible for safety reasons the car is mounted in such a way that raises the front - chassis bolted directly to stand.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by MetalSolid: <strong>The stand isn't level, so it's possible for safety reasons the car is mounted in such a way that raises the front - chassis bolted directly to stand.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">That makes sense.

I have a 2000 GT3 and its front chin is lower to the ground than the GT2. The low front is my only complaint with the GT3 - very difficult to manage any kind of ramp, driveway entrances, etc.

Viken, I think you overlooked something on my post. There is more space between the front fender and the top of the wheel at the the front of my GT2 than there is at the rear. Therefore, it appears higher at the front that the rear, and it still scrapes (unless you're careful) a lot. This example parallels what you so astutely pointed out about the GT3. So I'm not sure I buy into the speculation of PCNA raising the cars. An alternative might be to measeure the distance of the chin spoiler from the ground and compare that to the specification. I don't know anything about the rest of world car and I've never seen a show car bolted to the stand (but NY is NY)