American Buyers Can’t Get This Sweet Porsche 911 GT3 Option – CarBuzz

If you want one of the most track-focused sports cars on the planet, the 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 should be high on your shopping list. Porsche’s latest track weapon arrives sporting a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine producing 502 horsepower and 346 lb-ft of torque. With all of its aerodynamic improvements, Porsche says this new GT3 laps the Nurburgring faster than the outgoing GT3 RS.

The GT3 sounds like the perfect track toy, but depending on where you live, it may be missing a rather important feature. Some of Porsche’s press photographs showed the GT3 rocking a race-inspired half roll cage behind the rear seats, but if you live in the United States, this option will not be available from the factory.

Porsche North American product communications manager Frank Wiesmann confirmed to CarBuzz that US customers will not be able to purchase this option. “The half roll cage is part of the Clubsport Package, which is a no-cost option for the 911 GT3 offered in Europe and other global markets that can be ordered with the optional Full Bucket Seats,” Wiesmann explained.

“It includes a black steel roll cage for the rear of the car, a fire extinguisher, six-point harnesses for the driver, and a provision to install a battery kill switch. This package has been offered in Europe for every generation of the GT3 since the 996. Due to homologation and regulation reasons, it was not offered in North America in the past and will not be on the 2022 model,” he added.

While this news comes as a slight disappointment, Wiesmann shared some more exciting information. We spotted the car testing more than a year ago, and now Porsche has officially confirmed that the wingless GT3 Touring model is coming soon. During a live stream to present the GT3, Andreas Pruninger, Director of the GT Product line, confirmed that the Touring Package is still a part of Porsche’s plans.

“We love the spoiler, but we love the Touring Package as well,” Pruninger joked at the 36-minute mark of the presentation. “I think we can confess that a Touring Package will come out later this year. It has been very successful, and we found this new niche that’s very interesting for our customers and us.”