The Turbo GT3 Rumor: The End of Naturally Aspirated Porsche
Okay, this is the one everyone's going to have an opinion on. Word on the street is that the next GT3 and the 911 R will be turbocharged, and the GT2 RS is set to get hybrid assisted turbo power. If that pans out, it makes it official: Porsche will no longer build a naturally aspirated engine, full stop. That's a massive deal and there's a lot to unpack.
What does this do to every N/A car that came before it? What happens to the GT cars specifically, which have always been the naturally aspirated holdouts even after the regular 911 line went turbo? Quick refresher for anyone not paying close attention, Porsche killed the N/A engine in the standard, non-GT 911 back in the 2017 model year, when the 991.2 generation switched to the 3.0 turbo. GT cars have been the last line of defense since then.
So now the question is how the market and the fanbase receive a turbocharged GT3. Good? Bad? We've already watched this play out once, there's been a clear camp for almost ten years now chasing the last true N/A 911s, the 991.1 generation specifically, and that divide has only gotten more pronounced as time goes on. If the GT3 goes turbo too, does that camp just get bigger, or does the car end up winning people over anyway? Let's dive in.
Rally Season: Get Your Cars Ready
PSA time. Doors to rally season are closing fast, officially. If your car isn't ready, now's the time. Oil changes, tires, coolant if you're due, brakes, all of it. Give your independent shop a real runway to get your car sorted instead of showing up last minute. We're only about six weeks out from some of the first rallies of the season, so don't sleep on this.
Luft Tickets Are Live
Luft tickets went on sale, so hopefully everyone who wanted in got their tickets locked down. Not sure if it's sold out at this point, haven't checked back in, but if you're looking to display a car they're still taking applications right now. Worth getting on that if you want to be part of the show and not just in the crowd.
The Ducktail GT3: Hillclimb Homage or Something Else?
There's a GT3 running around the Nürburgring wearing a ducktail, and rumor has it this is yet another GT3 variant, this one supposedly paying homage to Porsche's 1960s hillclimb cars. Before the turbo GT3 drops, are we thinking Porsche rolls out a wave of special models to send off the N/A era? Feels likely.
Here's the disagreement though: I don't buy the hillclimb homage story. I think people are reading this wrong. My take is this is the homage to the '73 RS with the ducktail that Porsche has talked about building for years, this is finally that car. Curious what you all think, hillclimb tribute or the RS ducktail we've been waiting on?
Thank you for your support!
Kimchi Crew: Steve, Leslie, Chris, Ken, Aaron, Matthew, Sean, and Nik
