The death of the manual, naturally aspirated sportscar has been called early for many years. In 2013, when McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari released their “holy trinity” of hypercars, all of which were hybrids, it seemed like the beginning of a new era. Yet, a few brilliant, passionate engineers have kept it going. At the highest end, you have Gordon Murray — the genius behind the F1 — whose new GMA brand has exclusively released small, extremely light cars, powered by naturally aspirated V10 engines. Their second car, the T30, was to have an automatic option, but had to cancel the option after only three customers chose it over the manual.

For under $1 million, the true hero of that classic style of motoring is Andreas Preuninger, head of Porsche’s GT division, tuning up each generation of 911 to turn them into truly mad machines. He has done so without embracing turbos — except for the limited, super-race focused GT2 RS — and without losing the manual transmission. With EU emissions regulations continuing to get stricter, and Porsche pushing the 911 closer to becoming a hybrid, the new 992.2 generation GT3 may be the last generation to keep that spirit. The fact they have rushed it out, so soon after the announcement of the main model, rather than waiting a few years, is not an encouraging sign. It might be Prenuinger’s finest work yet.

On the surface, little has changed here over the 992 GT3; the few polishing touches here and there have dramatically improved the look of the car. The new splitter, front intakes, and spoiler caps have a far cleaner look; and the carbon-stripe and magnesium wheels of the Weissach package — debuting for the first time on the standard GT3, rather than the GT3 RS — only continue this. Both elements make the car look sportier, in a more classic Porsche way, reminding me of the legendary 2011 911 GT3 RS 4.0; and they also detract from the controversial bonnet “nostril” vents on this generation of GT3.

The trick here is that the GT3 is no longer really a single model, and rather, comes in a spectrum of options, based on your preferences. The GT3 RS — which will be announced next year — is a track car that you do not need to trailer. Then there’s the GT3 with Weissach Package, standard GT3, GT3 Touring, and GT3 Touring with the Lightness Package.

The new GT3, with the Weissach package, gets you much of its performance of the GT3 RS, but saves you a decent amount of money — and though still track oriented, will not be as uncomfortable to drive there. The Weissach package gives you the small, expensive edge improvements that reduce weight, but are expensive to implement, and will not be missed for the average driver. These include using carbon fiber on the roof, rear wing end plates, exterior mirror shells, mirror triangles, front air blades, interior door nets, and interior door handles; and carbon-fiber reinforced plastic on the anti-roll bar, coupling rods, and shear panel on the rear axel. They also have a lighter battery, and lighter aluminum wheels — saving 3.3 pounds — and let you option the expensive magnesium wheels, which save 20 pounds.

If you want the ultimate track toy, which you can still drive on the road, that’s the one to go for; but if you’re happy to save probably $30K for 90% of the performance, that’s what the standard GT3 offers. It still has the big wing, show-off look, and mental performance, without those more expensive touches. It still has 502 horsepower, and the performance figures are comparable to the last version, given how high the ceiling for that car was, that’s no issue. Worth noting though that the base price for the GT3 has jumped $40,000, now starting at $224,495; given the dealer-markups on the last gen, none of them actually sold for their sticker price.

The real fun comes with the GT3 Touring, which may be the greatest Porsche of the entire line-up. Compared to the normal GT3, you lose the wing and aggressive splitter, get softer suspension settings, and a nicer interior; or, to put it another way, you get the world-class driving dynamics of the GT3, without the wannabe racer look. The new version even has included rear seats, like the ordinary 911; and folding bucket seats to make them more accessible. The seats also have removable headrest, for when you’re driving with a helmet on; and the interior switches out the 992.2’s boring starter button for a classic key-like switch.

You can also now get it with a “Lightness” package — similar to the Weissach — and it means the new GT3 Touring is similar to the light-weight, limited-edition 911 R and 911 S/T special editions from 2016 and 2023 respectively; cars that both celebrated the manual driving experience that Prenuinger cherishes. There is no chance that the current GT3 would be naturally aspirated, and available with a natural transmission, without the outpouring of love — and 300 percent resale values — that followed the release of the 911 R.

The new GT3 Touring though will not be able to do the same trick, and aside from a few special editions, this may be the last proper GT series Porsche. The suspicion among those in the know is that, if forced to make a hybridised GT3 — let alone a fully electric sportscar — Prenuinger will resign; and who knows when that day will come.