Spy pics: Facelift GT3 DFI

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I guess Porsche could not stand their car getting whipped by new Z06's and upcoming GT-R's, so they shot all their current 997 GT3 owners in the foot and will release this? Any mention of when this will be out?

Looks like it has bumperettes on the front.

Here is a video: Porsche 911 GT3 facelift 09-05-2008

The car is beautiful. No porsche compares to the GT3. I love the color.

One day... one day... Is it just me or are the LED's rear brake lights flickering at the end of the video? Almost like they're not getting a constant power supply.

Are the rear fenders C2 or C4? The video server says that's a GT3RS (C4 fenders) but the fenders look like C2 (base GT3) to me, I'm not sure. I love the new rear wing.

I was thinking that was just to draw more attention to you applying the brakes.

the new taillights are well and good, but am i the only one who finds the tweaked/refreshed 911 front-end treatment an unnecessary detraction from what was a pretty nicely balanced look? i shudder to think what the turbo's going to look like, since the 997 turbo's appearance epitomizes perfection.

What do you predict will be the crankcase of the 997.5 GT3 DFI? a) Same old GT1 block b) The new 2-piece wet sump block c) Dry sump version of the new 2-piece block :argue:

C is my prediction, since the engines are all changing anyway it makes sense to try and streamline this to use the new design (assuming new design is in fact stronger as advertised) and use the new design with something like an external sump for the GT3, Turbo, etc. which would also mean an easier time of swapping those engines into a Cayman.

I also predict C. The design of the current GT3 engine is long in tooth and that shows when one compares power to weight ratios. Because it's based on an old design (air-cooled) and has water jackets, etc added after the fact, it actually doesn't stack up very well with more modern machines on a power to weight basis. If Porsche builds a new GT3 motor you could expect it to drop ~150 lbs for the same power output. I suspect this is what's needed to hand it to the R8s and Ferrari 430s.

I think they'll stick with the current block until the 998 for homologation purposes and rumor has it there will be an all new motorsport engine in the 998.

Why is this shooting current owners in the foot? They still got everything they paid for. The car does not come with an insurance policy stating that they'll never release a better model. As a matter of fact, who buys a car thinking there won't be a better model out later?

I agree. A mid-model make over will not result in a new block. Porsche has a history of mild revisions on the mid-model changes and and the DFI is enough to satisfy (DFI gives better power and better fuel economy). I think Porsche saves a new block design for the 998.

It is shooting owners in the foot because anyone who pays 100K+ for a car would hate to have it change in less than 1 year of release, look at the GT2 to see what I am talking about. I know that all cars change eventually, but how do you redesign a car so soon after initial launch?

So, do you buy a car for the qualities it actually has (which don't change when they release a new model), or do you buy it for how it stacks up against other cars? Besides, a lot of people miss the 50's, when automakers would change details on a car pretty much every year. You could name the year of the car as it drove by. So, quick redesigns, and minor detail facelifts are nothing new.

Wonder how the GT2 will fare with DFI ? ________________________ "Sir! We're surrounded!" - "Excellent! We can shoot in any direction!" A good car will get you from point A to point B. A great car... will just get you into trouble!

Apparently it has been confirmed (Rennteam) that the TT, GT3, and GT2 will receive the new 9A1 block rather than continue w/ the old Metzger designed split case block. There is naturally considerable angst in some corners regarding the end of the true dry sump block which has served Porsche so well for so long. The move suggests that Porsche will offer PDK across the board, and it also suggests that you may be able to fit a GT3 or GT2 engine w/ PDK into a Cayman down the road. Finally, it would seem that Porsche has confidence that the new block will not suffer oil starvation or oil ingestion issues even in their highest performance offerings. I'm a little surprised we've haven't discussed this topic in more detail since it signals major changes for Porsche going forward.

It'll be interesting to see what they do for their motorsport application.

I agree, Porsche's choice of engine for racing will tell us volumes about the new block its capabilities. What would be the impact on sales if Porsche continues to race the split case but sells the new design in the TT, GT3 and GT2??

Gentlemen, According to these pics, the next gen GT3 will not get the 9A1 engine :banana: In the first pic you can clearly see the flat bottomed sump whereas in the second pic you can't.