My Husband’s Researching the GT3

The other day, my husband placed an order for a 911 GT3 Touring (991.2) at lightning speed. Since then, he’s been constantly researching the car at home, reading online reviews and magazine articles.
I can’t help thinking, “Now that you’ve ordered it, do you really need to keep researching?” But then I remembered how, before our 971 Panamera was delivered, he ordered and devoured every magazine he could find about it and pored over every detail of the specifications, saying,

“Now we’re ready for the Panamera, whenever it arrives!”

So with the GT3 Touring, he probably wants to “understand every last detail and be fully prepared for delivery day” more than ever.

Does It Match Engine Speed Automatically?

As for me, I’m a little worried: “The GT3 Touring has a manual transmission… I’m getting more comfortable in the Boxster, but will I actually be able to drive it?” (Talk about a first-world problem.) When I mentioned this the other day, my husband said:

“I think it’ll be easier to drive than the 981 Boxster with a manual, so you should be fine. Also, in an article about the GT3 in the May 2017 issue of GENROQ, someone from Porsche’s GT division says, ‘When shifting during sporty driving, you can keep your foot on the accelerator. The engine momentarily adjusts the ignition timing.’”

Wait… what exactly does that mean? (-_-)

“I mean, with the Boxster’s manual, when you shift up, you briefly lift off the accelerator and match the revs yourself, right? Apparently, with the GT3, you can keep your foot on the gas and the car takes care of matching the engine speed. So even though it’s a manual, it should shift smoothly—almost like a PDK.”

That sounds great. “But if you’re buying a manual, doesn’t that take away some of the feeling of changing gears yourself? Wouldn’t it be less fun?” I asked, rather boldly, despite barely being able to drive a manual myself. He replied:

“Hmm, I’m not sure. Even if the car can automatically bring the revs down when you keep your foot on the gas, surely you can still lift off yourself if you want to—the revs will drop naturally, so that should be fine.
“With auto-blipping, the car raises the revs to match engine speed on a downshift, and if you blip the throttle yourself on top of that, things can get jerky. So I think this is a little different. We’ll have to try it to know for sure.
“Still, even if it’s not quite as seamless as a PDK, it should make for fun, uninterrupted acceleration. But I wonder if this only works in Sport mode. What happens in Normal mode? I’m curious, so I’ll look into it.”

He started searching online, but couldn’t find anything in Japanese. After trying various English-language searches, he finally found a video explaining how to upshift in the GT3 Touring.

How the 991.2 GT3 Touring’s Manual Transmission Works

He sent the person who posted the video a direct message to ask about it. The reply was:

Shifting up without lifting the foot from the gas can be done all the time, no need for sport mode.

In other words, it seems the feature is “always available, even outside Sport mode.”
He also checked the English-language 2018 GT3 owner’s manual, which says:

When changing gear, the accelerator pedal can remain pressed while the clutch is disengaged and engaged for optimum engine-speed compensation.
In this case, the engine speed is controlled automatically.

In other words: “When changing gear, you can keep the accelerator pressed while the clutch is disengaged. When the clutch engages again, the engine speed is adjusted as needed. Engine speed is controlled automatically.”
My husband wondered,

“Maybe the 981 Boxster can do this too. I’m so used to lifting off when I shift up that I might not have realized it’s possible!”

But it seems the 981 Boxster doesn’t have this feature.

For drivers who want to change gears entirely by feel, this might be an unnecessary feature. But for someone like me, who isn’t confident driving a manual, it’s encouraging news. Then again, maybe someone should tell me, “You’re nowhere near ready to drive a GT3 Touring! Come back in a million years!” (-_-)
Either way, the new GT3 Touring sounds like it’ll be easier to drive than the Boxster. One of this blog’s readers previously left a comment saying,

“The Touring Package is fantastic! The clutch is light, and it’s the best 911!”

So I’m already really looking forward to its delivery in May!