My husband is currently away on a business trip overseas. Before he left, he took the GT3 on a tour of Awaji Island and wrote about the experience. We hope you enjoy reading about it.

Heading to Naruto in a Porsche 911 GT3

With a business trip to the United States starting the following week, I knew I wouldn’t see my cars for a while, so I decided to squeeze in a short tour.

My destination was Awaji Island. To be honest, though, the island doesn’t have many roads that are especially fun to drive. The loop around the island offers lovely scenery, but traffic is often heavy and average speeds are low. It might be great for a leisurely date drive, but it can leave more spirited touring enthusiasts wanting a little more.

So this time, I set my sights on the Uzushio Line and Naruto Skyline.

I’d driven the Naruto Skyline many times at home in the Windows racing simulator rFactor 2, using an add-on mod called Naruto Skyline (NSuka), and had always wanted to experience the real road for myself.

I left home just before noon and crossed the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. There are often unmarked police cars in the tunnel leading up to the bridge and on the bridge itself, so I took it easy and drove safely.

Once on Awaji Island, I joined the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, an unusually fast-flowing highway by Kansai standards. The route is mostly straight, the pavement is in good condition, and it makes for an exceptionally comfortable drive. The GT3 cruised planted to the road, matching the pace in the passing lane. Its high-speed stability is truly outstanding. What a pleasure.

Whenever the road ahead opened up, I’d drop into third or fourth and accelerate. The exhaust note has a character all its own, distinct from the Boxster’s, and it’s as dramatic and thunderous as ever.

Before long, I reached the Seidan-Mihara exit and headed south on Prefectural Route 477. This is where the Uzushio Line begins, continuing onto Prefectural Route 25. It was apparently a toll road in the past, but it’s now completely free, with no hint of its former status.

Prefectural Route 477 has plenty of straights and gentle curves, making it a pleasant drive as long as there’s no traffic ahead. At Anaga, I turned left onto Prefectural Route 25, where the road quickly becomes a compact mountain pass with a series of bends.

The road isn’t especially wide, and its tight corners and constant elevation changes make for a string of low-speed turns. The GT3 has more power than you can really use here, and second gear feels a little too potent, so I cruised in third and enjoyed the handling.

On uneven or rough pavement, especially when accelerating out of a corner, even a little throttle in second gear can make the rear tires feel ready to break loose.

Prefectural Route 25 has beautiful views, but there aren’t many good places to pull over and take photos. I tried to remember a spot I’d visited shortly after taking delivery of the Boxster, found it, and stopped for a short break.

Taking in occasional spectacular views of the Naruto Strait, I made my way to the eastern side of the island via Prefectural Route 76. The southeastern part of Awaji Island’s coastal loop has little traffic and is easy to drive. Head too far north, though, and the road narrows, so I usually turn back before reaching that stretch.

After stopping here and there to take photos along the coast, I continued to the final destination of the day: Naruto Skyline.

I got back on the expressway, crossed over to Shikoku, and exited at Naruto-Kita. From there, I headed north to drive Naruto Skyline from its northern end.

Naruto Skyline is Prefectural Route 183. Seeing it in person, I realized it was exactly like the simulator at home. “Wow, it’s rFactor in real life!” I thought, thrilled, as I urged the GT3 on and charged up to the Shiyomi Observatory.

I deliberately opened the windows so I could hear the engine and exhaust directly. Lately, whenever I take the GT3 out, I try to drive with the windows down as much as possible. That way, the mechanical sounds come through clearly, making it feel almost as if I’m driving an air-cooled Porsche brought back to life in the modern age.

It’s a shame that there are occasional raised sections in the pavement to slow traffic. Without those, the road would be hard to fault—but it’s still a fantastic drive. There are plenty of relatively straight sections, and the scenery keeps changing as the route crosses bridges connecting the islands.

Naruto Skyline isn’t very long, but there are plenty of places to turn around along the way, so you can drive the same stretch again and again. That’s part of its appeal.

After spending a good while enjoying the GT3, I took some time to simply unwind and admire the spectacular view of the Naruto Strait.

“There’s nothing like driving alone,” I thought, savoring the moment before heading home.

Kansai’s Roads and the GT3

Driving around Kansai again reminded me that many of the region’s roads are simply too small to make full use of the GT3. Of course, it’s still fun to drive, and I’m not complaining. It’s just that the roads are often too modest in scale to let the GT3 show what it can really do.

You can almost hear this track-focused car saying:

“I was born in Flacht, Germany, and raised on the Nürburgring. Roads like this barely scratch the surface of what I can do. If you’re driving around here, take the Boxster instead.”

I feel you need to take it on the sweeping mountain roads of Hakone or Izu, or the grand routes through Shinshu or Tohoku, to get even a glimpse of its true potential.

That said, once you’ve fallen for the GT3, even the Boxster can feel a little underwhelming in many situations. It’s hard to walk away from the GT3’s appeal.

I covered around 300 km this time, with an overall fuel economy of 12.5 km/100 km (about 8 km/L).
With colder weather approaching and road conditions getting worse, this may be the GT3’s last drive of the year.