2010 Porsche 911 / 997 GT3

The Porsche 997.2 GT3 was produced in limited numbers in 2010 and 2011, with only 2,256 units delivered worldwide. The 997.2 was highly sought after in period, as well as currently, due to its pure mechanically unadulterated driving experience married to its purposefully curvaceous bodywork, which was a welcome departure from the 996 design features. The 997.2 GT3 is a true modern classic that boasts comparable performance to the modern naturally aspirated GT Porsches, producing 435hp from its 3.8L Mezger based flat 6 cylinder engine shrieking to 8500rpm, but in a smaller, tidier package than the newer 991/992 Porsches.

This iteration of GT3 is particularly desirable to enthusiasts offering legendary Porsche hallmarks that are no longer available on many newer Porsche GT cars such as:

- The final iteration of the race-derived, Mezger based engine architecture that powered the Porsche 911 GT1 to victory at LeMans in 1998.

- Hydraulic power steering that offers the texture and feel from the road that serious drivers have come to expect from a race-bred 911.

- 6 speed manual gearbox that demands the driver to operate the vehicle as a tool, with precisely timed inputs and full body/mind interaction, to extract maximum speed and engagement. For me, this personification of the dialogue between man and machine, allowing the car to become an extension of the driver’s own body, is the quintessential quality of a true driver’s car.

The 911 GT3 essentially invented the “track day sports car” category. It is the ultimate vehicle to drive to work during the week and on the track on the weekends. To exemplify this, in 2010 Porsche took a random stock 997.2 GT3RS 3.8 off the assembly line, fitted it with the necessary safety equipment for endurance racing, drove from Stuttgart to Nurburgring and entered into the Nurburgring 24 hours. It finished P13 overall piloted by Chris Harris, Pat Simon, Roland Asch, and Horst Von Saurma, before being driven all the way back to Zuffenhausen.

My 2010 example is 1 of only 15 997.2 GT3s finished in the very rare and desirable Aqua Blue Metallic (Aquablaumetallic). This beautiful shade of royal blue strikes an incredible balance between modern Porsche metallic blues Azzurro Thetys and Midnight blue. It is a true crowd pleaser recently winning 1st Place for the Modern Exotics class at the 2025 Hudson River Showcase.

Universally regarded as one of the most engaging and driver focused sports cars ever produced, this car is almost perfect from the factory. With that in mind, one the only upgrades I have installed is a DSC controller, which essentially is a “tune” for the PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) control module. The DSC controller is a more powerful control module than the stock 997 PASM computer, allowing it to make dampening adjustments faster based on the inputs from the various steering, yaw, and wheel height sensors. This results in vehicle dynamics that are more compliant over harsh impacts and more reactive to suspension inputs during spirited driving. Sticking with the dual nature of this car, the only other modification is a RSS center muffler bypass, which still retains the car’s stock exhaust valves.

In my ownership, this GT3 has seen many local curated car shows (Porschella, Gears on the Piers XV, Hudson River Showcase, Rennzeigen, etc), but more importantly has seen some incredible driving roads and spirited drives both locally and nationwide. In 2023, I shipped this car to Los Angeles and drove to Monterey through the Malibu canyons and wine country to Rennsport 7 at Laguna Seca with a few close friends. I drove this car on Laguna Seca, where just hours before historic LeMans winning 917s and 962s were being put through their paces at full tilt. Most recently, I trailered the GT3 to the 2025 Rennsport Dragon Rally and drove the legendary Tail of the Dragon and myriad other equally breath taking surrounding roads in the Tennessee and North Carolina Smokey Mountains. This example is truly driven and maintained in a manner commensurate with its engineered purpose and provenance.