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The 2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Has A Secret Weapon: Its Tires

Driving the 911 GT3 with a new Pirelli Trofeo RS tire proves it can get even better.

2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Review

Photo by: Porsche

Travis Okulski

By: Travis Okulski

Mar 16, at 2:02pm ET

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For 2025, Porsche updated the 911 GT3 for the 992.2 generation. Per usual from Porsche, the updates are evolutionary. Styling that meshes with the updates all other 992s received for the facelift, eight percent shorter gearing, some updated programming for the traction and stability systems, suspension changes, and more detail tweaks like a fully digital dash. It’s not a revolution.

The 2026 car receives a bit of a further update, and that’s new Pirelli tires. Much like how the 911 Cup (which I also drove) is running on Pirellis, there are new Pirelli tires for the GT3. The P Zero R is the tire that comes from the factory, while the Trofeo RS is the new track tire, the first time this tire has had a fitment for a GT3. This is the highest-performing tire Pirelli makes, one they say is 95 percent for the track and five percent for the road.

2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Review

Photo by: Porsche

This tire is very much performance-oriented, which is clear from the way it’s designed. It’s not a slick, but there are minimal sipes on the tire to evacuate water. In many road situations, it’s likely fine, but when it gets cold or wet, and especially if there’s standing water, things will get hairy. On track, though, it’s excellent.

I found out thanks to time spent in a 2026 GT3 on track at the Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles.

2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Review

Photos by: Porsche

2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Review

Photos by: Porsche

It comes up to temp and starts producing grip quickly, and that’s because the compound is based on what Pirelli uses for rally. It sounds like an odd choice, but it makes a lot of sense. Rally compounds are usually very soft and need to heat up fast to give drivers grip immediately.

On a track in a GT3, the tires are usually the last thing to think about. Typically, I’m just stoked to hear an engine rev to 9,000 rpm and am just pushing to go quicker and quicker through each corner, working to manage the front-end grip in the tight stuff and keep the rear in line when I go through faster corners. And if it has a manual, well, then I’m just thinking about how good each shift feels.

This time, though, I forced myself to think about the tire. It was the only part of the car that was different from the last few GT3s I drove.

2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Review

Source: Porsche

So, what’s it like? I think the big thing is just how far tire tech has come from when these ultra-sticky track day tires started becoming prevalent. Early iterations of the Trofeo R and Michelin Cup 2 built huge grip, but limit handling became unpredictable at best. These were tires that could bite you, hard, when the threshold was exceeded.

The newest generation, though, is downright friendly. This Trofeo RS can be trusted like a much less aggressive tire when you get moving. It doesn’t suddenly lose grip and throw you off a cliff; it’s progressive and communicative.

Like any 911, the front end feel could still be a little sharper, which is more a limit of the front tire width the platform can accommodate than the tire itself. Unlike an older Trofeo R, there wasn’t a noticeable dive in performance after a few laps or the idea that I was losing pace. It felt the same in both sessions I used it, even as temps got higher.

2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Review

Photos by: Porsche

2026 Porsche 911 GT3 Review

Photos by: Porsche

That makes it a perfect complement to the GT3, which is still one of those truly special cars. While everyone else throws away naturally aspirated engines in favor of hybrids and turbos, we still have that monster engine that revs to 9000. The driving position is perfect, the PDK gearbox in the car I drove is telepathic, and the tuning of the ABS, traction control, and everything else is spot on.

Do I wish the gauges were still analog? Of course. Does that ruin the entire car? No.

What do you think?

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Comments

The GT3-spec Trofeo RS isn’t a factory-installed option, but rather one that can be ordered from a dealer or from Tire Rack. That’s simply because this is intended as a track tire, and the GT3 is supposed to have a wider breadth of use than that. And in a world where many people think the more expensive thing is the better thing to buy, here, the tire may be more expensive, but it only makes sense if you’re going to use it as intended.

If you’re not hitting the track, then you don’t need the track tire; it’s that simple.

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