2026 Porsche 911 GT3 S/C review: Quick drive

Fully 26 years after the revered model line first appeared in the Porsche 911 canon, the scintillating GT3 has lost its head for (almost) the first time – creating this new open-top sportster, the 911 GT3 S/C.

Self-appointed custodians of helmsmithery and opposite lock will, of course, immediately sneer and say that convertibles ruin the experience of a dedicated, focused driver’s machine. The GT3 was born as a road car with one eye firmly on the track, after all, and what good will making it heavier and less torsionally rigid do for the package?

But don’t let the doomsayers drag you down. Because there’s a very, very persuasive argument that says this new GT3 S/C might just be the best iteration of the seminal naturally aspirated 911 screamer yet seen.

To find out whether it is a hit or a miss, we headed over to Porsche’s homeland of Germany to take the S/C out for an extended spin on some of the best roads in the Schwabian Alps. Hoo, this one is going to be fun…

How much does the Porsche 911 GT3 cost?

Sitting down? In Australia, the new Porsche 911 GT3 S/C is priced from a cool $588,500 before on-road costs.

That’s a mammoth hike from the $449,100 before ORCs price that either of the hard-topped versions of the GT3 (winged or Touring) will set you back, and it makes the S/C the second-most expensive derivative of Porsche 911 currently on sale here, aside from the monster Turbo S Cabriolet with the T-Hybrid gear at $598,000 plus ORCs – a mere $9500 price gap to something with four driven wheels and which can outpunch the S/C by the not-inconsiderable numbers of 148kW and 350Nm.

That, though, is missing the point of the far more involving GT3 S/C. For starters, it’s effectively a GT3 Touring manual with the Lightweight Package fitted to it, and that item adds a staggering $71,120 to the Touring's price alone.

And when Zuffenhausen then sprinkles in some of the visual magic and engineering tricks of the limited-edition S/T Coupe (all of the doors, the bonnet and the front wings of the S/C are made of carbon-fibre, for instance), along with the allure of the 911 Cabriolet’s body, then you can see how the company gets close to a $600k admission price.

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What is the Porsche 911 GT3 like on the inside?

The interior of the S/C adopts cues from both the 992.2 GT3 variants, and the aforementioned 992.1 S/T.

This means it has a cabin which is a blissful blend of assuredly integrated technology, bang-on ergonomic correctness, immaculate material quality and just a sprinkling of special flourishes which mark it out as something special.

Like any other 992.2-series 911, the big change in the GT3 is the adoption of a digital instrument cluster. This is not a huge switch – the 992.1 had a central analogue rev counter, with two smaller digital displays either side, but now the entire panel is computer-generated.

In the S/C, which has a vaguely retro flavour to it which harks back to happier, purer times in the world of motoring enthusiasts, the cluster can be switched through various display modes, one of which uses colours and graphics to mimic the old five-dial analogue array of 911s of yore.

One thing we did note in the S/C is that, unlike in other 992.2 GT3s, selecting Track mode doesn't make the tacho rotate anti-clockwise to put the 9000rpm redline right at the top. Porsche made mention of this feature in its press material, though, so maybe we just needed to adjust a setting deep in the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment system to get it to work.

Elsewhere, on the door cards there are the fabric loop-pulls for the opening mechanism and carbon-fibre grab handles, two features the S/C shares with the S/T, and then down below the stubby H-pattern manual gear shift lever is a tiny badge which reads ‘911 S/C’. Just in case the opening roof above you has somehow escaped your attention.

The main defining characteristic of the S/C’s cabin, however, is the fact it is the only 992.2 Cabriolet which doesn’t have rear seats. In the pursuit of weight-saving measures, Porsche has deleted them, allowing the company to lay claim to 373 litres of storage space back there as a de facto boot, to go with 135L under the S/C’s bonnet.

Porsche also plans to offer a lockable storage unit in the back, which’ll take up to 80L of stuff and which can be secured so you can leave the hood down while the car is parked on sunny days.

There’s a big ‘911 S/C’ logo embroidered into the rear bulkhead of the latest GT3 derivative, but if all of this doesn’t somehow sound special enough, the Street Style Package for another $58,670 will be what you seek.

It adds Pyro Red body accents and graphics, tinted HD-Matrix headlights, and wheels finished in Slate Grey Neo on the outside, but also finishes the cabin with seat trim in a four-colour tartan pattern, and adds a dark open-pore wooden gearknob too.

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What's under the bonnet?

Under the gurney-toting rear deck of the Porsche 911 S/C is the same updated normally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six petrol engine deployed in the other two 992.2 GT3s.

It makes 375kW of power and 450Nm of torque, and as the S/C only weighs 1497kg DIN the performance is superb. The official 0-100km/h time is 3.9 seconds and the top speed is 313km/h, where permitted.

Sure, there are faster 911s in the 992.2 portfolio, and even a few swifter Cabriolets – not least the monstrous Turbo S – but that’s missing the point of the S/C.

The star attraction here is that you cannot specify this 4.0-litre jewel of a vehicle with a PDK automatic; it comes with a six-speed manual transmission only.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about our aside in the intro, while many are saying this is the first open-top GT3, on a technicality it isn’t. That honour instead falls to the 991 Speedster of 2019, which used the 375kW 4.0-litre boxer six as well.

But that car was a limited-build special with a fiddly manual roof, whereas the S/C has no restriction on production numbers and the same 12-second opening lid, which can be operated at speeds of up to 60km/h, as with any other 992.2 Cab. It also wears official GT3 badging, something which the Speedster lacked.

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How does the Porsche 911 GT3 drive?

It is sensational. Sublime. As good as the GT3 ever has been, if not even better because the car’s lucky occupants are exposed to the elements.

One spirited session behind the S/C’s sumptuous GT Sport steering wheel will convince you this is the purest distillation of every ounce of dynamic goodness Porsche has learned over the past 25 years and more of making these things.

Using the GT3’s underpinnings means the S/C is the first 911 Cabriolet in history to get flighty yet super-advanced double-wishbone front suspension. Brilliantly, the S/C doesn’t get some weird bespoke tune to help it cope with any additional mass.

In fact, with the forged magnesium centre-lock rims at all four corners, saving 9kg, and the standard-fit Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB) trimming another 20kg of unsprung mass, the German firm decided that exactly the same suspension settings as the GT3 Touring would suffice here.

The net result is a car which is little short of dynamic perfection.

When it comes to handling, you won’t ever complain about this car’s open roof. This is because the S/C has pin-sharp, feelsome and immaculately weighted steering that makes placing the car to within the millimetre a cinch, and you can adjust its line mid-corner with laser-like precision too.

You don’t notice any scuttle shake whatsoever, while the front-end of the S/C is just as ridiculously eager and immediate of response as the nose of either of its tin-topped siblings.

Running on sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, we even drove the S/C through a German rainstorm, and while grip levels obviously diminished in the soaking wet conditions, the car didn’t suddenly become evil and spiky. It remained exploitable and insanely communicative, allowing its driver to lean on its immense reserves of kinematic ability.

And yet, the damping is so exquisite that the 911 GT3 S/C functions perfectly at lower road speeds. There’s a supple, elegant way to the manner in which the Porsche covers off lumps in the road surface; there’s always an underlying firmness to everything it does, but the graceful way it floats down the road speaks volumes about the comparative lack of unsprung mass at the corners.

Finally, overlaying the whole drive is that engine.

To hear it howling away as it goes from 7000rpm around to that spine-tingling 9000rpm redline is one of the all-time great motoring experiences. And because there’s no roof in the S/C, you can hear it sing even more clearly here than you can in any other GT3.

It's one of the many reasons why this delightful car could well be the best 911 GT3, certainly from a road-biased basis, we’ve ever had the pleasure of sampling.

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What do you get?

The days of Porsches coming with almost nothing as standard have long gone, and as a high-end variant the 911 GT3 S/C has a generous standard specification with some key tech highlights included.

2026 Porsche 911 GT3 S/C equipment highlights:

• 10.9-inch Porsche Communication Management infotainment
• 12.6-inch Curved Display digital instrument cluster
• 20-inch front, 21-inch rear forged magnesium alloy wheels
• Four-way electrically adjustable Sports seats Plus
• PASM Sports suspension
• Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes
• Matrix LED main headlights
• GT Sport steering wheel
• Stainless-steel Sports exhaust system with central tailpipes in black
• Two-zone climate control
• Keyless Go
• Cruise control

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Is the Porsche 911 GT3 safe?

The Porsche 911, GT3 S/C or otherwise, has never been independently crash-tested, but it is fitted with a variety of standard safety gear that should help drivers feel more secure.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Traffic sign recognition
• Reversing camera
• Rear Park Assist
• Lane keeping assist
• Warn and Brake Assist including pedestrian protection
• eCall and bCall emergency call systems
• Driver awareness detection

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How much does the Porsche 911 GT3 cost to run?

Porsche Cars Australia doesn’t have the most extensive warranty or roadside assistance cover, and nor does it offer capped-price servicing.

This makes running an S/C a process that won’t be for the faint-hearted (or faint of wallet), especially as it also likes to consume petrol at a fair old rate. During our road test, the S/C’s trip computer showed an economy figure of 17.0L/100km.

To see how the Porsche 911 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert's Take on the Porsche GT3 S/C

There’s a simple summary of this car and it’s this: the Porsche 911 GT3 S/C might well be the most joyous, riveting and downright majestic machine this storied company has ever made.

If you want something that can turn every single kilometre into a special event and which drives like no other open-top vehicle in the world, accept no substitutes for the S/C.

Rather amazingly, taking the roof off the GT3 hasn’t harmed this outstanding performance car one iota.

In fact, it has done quite the opposite and improved the package even further.

Gobsmacking stuff from Stuttgart.

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