In the mid-1990s, Porsche had to modernize the 911. Building an air-cooled car with bones dating back to the early 1960s simply wasn't sustainable, so Porsche had no choice but to go radical.

The resulting car, the 996, was the profitable sales success Porsche so desperately needed, but it came at the expense of credibility with enthusiasts. In embracing modernity, fans felt 911 was no longer the car they had grown to love. In their eyes, it became a sell-out. A pretender. A shadow of itself

I always thought the 996 never got its fair shot. Even ignoring its genuine faults—intermediate-shaft bearing failures among them—the 996 was going to have a hard time in life. Purists weren't ready to accept that the 911 had to change, and that negative sentiment carried on long after it left production.

The 996 GT3 calls bullshit on those purists. It's proof that Porsche never lost sight of what made the 911 great as it entered the 21st century.

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Last year, Porsche brought this beautiful 1999 GT3 out of its museum to a road-trip in Scotland celebrating the millionth 911. In a group of amazing old and new 911s, this 996 stood out as a singular achievement. It's one of the last truly old-school 911s, and easily one of the all-time greats.

This becomes evident as soon as you climb inside and start its 3.6-liter flat-six. It might've been one of the first water-cooled engines ever to find a home in the back of a road-going 911, but in 1999, it was a proven workhorse. Created by Hanz Mezger, Porsche's most famous engine designer, the 996 GT3's flat-six can trace its origins back to the turbocharged flat-sixes that helped Porsche dominate Le Mans in the 1970s and 1980s. Its four-valve cylinder heads were derived from those in the 959 supercar—the first 911-based street car to employ water-cooling—and its dry-sump lubrication system came straight off of the 1998 Le Mans-winning 911 GT1.

This engine is naturally aspirated in the 996 GT3, and all the better for it. Firing it up immediately fills the spartan interior with noise. A clatter, to be more accurate. Even if you miss the whirring of an air-cooled 911's belt-driven fan, there's plenty of honest, mechanical noise to make up for it.

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Blip the throttle and the engine revs up quickly before it settles back down into an uneven idle. It's a hint of what's to come, as redline is set just a few ticks below 8000 rpm and its 355 horsepower comes at 7200. With its peak torque of 273 lb-ft of torque only coming at 5000 rpm, this is an engine that's happiest closer to redline.

The engine is controlled with a six-speed manual gearbox with a shift action that's nothing to write home about—accurate enough, lighter than expected, long throws—and a heavy, springy clutch. A lightweight flywheel means the engine responds quickly to the tiniest throttle inputs, which makes things a little tricky at first. The car is all the better for it.

This is the least powerful of all the so-called Mezger engines that found home in GT3s made up to 2011, yet it helps the 996 feel fast even by today's standards. It can't match the effortless twin-turbo shove of the current Carrera's 3.0-liter flat-six. If that sort of thing bothers you, you're missing the point. This car is all about making you work for its performance, and it rewards you with not just rapid forward motion, but all kinds of sweet motorsport-esque noises too.

Porsche

All of that noise and power is matched to one of the sweetest 911 chassis I've ever driven. A lot of people forget that the 996 was a lighter, sharper car than its predecessor in standard form, and the GT3 was even better still. Porsche Motorsport fitted the car with adjustable springs and anti-roll bars designed for the track, but what it didn't install was just as interesting: traction or stability control. The only driver aid is ABS.

It only took a few corners on the A roads surrounding Scotland's Knockhill circuit for me to fall in love with this chassis. It feels like an incredibly well-sorted old 911. More 993 than 997.

The steering isn't as quick as a modern 911, but weight builds beautifully off-center with all the feel and precision you need. It has the light front-end feel you expect from an early 911, and still has an incredible sense of agility. With a curb weight less than 3000 lbs, the GT3 is eager to dive into corners. Modern 911s, as excellent as they are, don't drive like this.

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Problems? Well, it was probably a little too stiff for Scotland. The country's roads are as beautiful and curvy as they are rough and bumpy. The GT3 tended to skip around on the worst stuff. The damping is good enough that it was never uncontrollable, merely annoying. You could also probably dial some of that out, since everything's adjustable.

I got out of the car after just a half-hour mesmerized. I wondered if it was perfect 911. Others are more daily-drivable, lots are much quicker, and I didn't care in the slightest. This car does the whole race-car-for-the-road thing beautifully. It's my Goldielocks 911.

While I'd suspected all the hate the 996 receives wasn't deserved, I didn't expect to fall for this car quite so hard. After all, Porsche brought a choice selection of 911s to Scotland—a 1985 Clubsport prototype and a new 911 R among them. Even if the 996 GT3 was good, there was no way it could live up to those heavy-hitters.



That's exactly what happened. Thirty seconds elapsed between me shutting the GT3's door, and my mind racing to come up with ways to afford a 996 Carrera to turn it into something like this.

Porsche

That night, I hit eBay to find 996 GT3s sell around $75,000. Far more than I could afford. Maybe someday?

"Shit," I thought. "If I had the money, I'd buy one in a heartbeat."

Why? The 996 GT3 is one of the all-time greats, a fond farewell to old-school Porsche charm and handling as the 911 entered the 21st century. It's not just great by 996 standards. It's just great.

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