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Porsche gives GT3 owners extra year of warranty, new engines in production April 22

While the auto industry reels from massive recall after massive recall, Porsche has quietly been working on a fix for an issue that's forced owners of the new 911 GT3 to park their track-ready rockets for fear of an engine fire. Thanks to a leaked letter from Porsche to a GT3 owner (which has been certified as real), we now have an idea of just where the German brand is at with the fix.
On April 22, Porsche will begin production of a new batch of GT3 engines for the 785 affected models across the globe. As you'll recall, the original issue rested with a screw joint that could loosen the connecting rod. The new engines have an "optimized piston rod screw connection," that should keep the connecting rod in place. Once technical validations are completed, production will kick off and new powerplants will be shipped around the globe for owners of the troubled cars.
Porsche will hand out a certificate to owners of affected cars once repairs have been completed, as a means of documenting the work. To make up for the trouble, Porsche will be giving owners an extra year on their new-vehicle warranty, while the 911 GT3 concierge will be reaching out to compensate them for having to park their car for so long.

Ferrari 458 Speciale vs Porsche 911 GT3 shows what Chris Harris does best

After a brief trip behind a pay wall, British auto journalist Chris Harris is back posting videos for free online, and shorts like this one are the perfect example of why his return is so welcome. Showing up at the damp Anglesey Circuit on the Welsh coast with the Ferrari 458 Speciale and Porsche 911 GT3, Harris ostensibly aims to find the better model. However, the final result really succeeds in showcasing the fun to be had behind the wheels of both supercars, particularly when initiating huge slides around the track. As Harris presents it, the vehicles get through the circuit in somewhat different ways The Ferrari is brash and "feels alive," as he puts it as it screams around the track. Alternatively, the Porsche is a bit more restrained, while still being able to show some emotion. In the end, it comes down to trying to get a controlled lap around Anglesey from this duo, but it's pretty clear that the times don't tell the whole story. If you're in the mood to watch two of the world's premiere supercars wag their tails in the wet, then this video cannot be missed.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS facing delay over GT3 fire problems?

Porsche has never been afraid to introduce variants of its cars. However, its even higher spec, next-generation 911 GT3 RS may be delayed from its planned launch this summer while the engines in the standard GT3s (pictured above) are replaced.
A delay isn't certain, but executives want to make sure the high-strung mill is no longer a problem before they press forward with another model using it. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport asked Porsche CEO Matthias Müller about pushing back the launch, and he responded that it was too early to say. The company's current focus is making sure the engines get fixed and working on internal measures to prevent this kind of flaw in the future.
When fires claimed two 911 GT3s in Europe, Porsche initially stopped the model's sales and asked owners to stop driving them. It finally diagnosed the blazes as being caused by a loose screw on a connecting rod, which then resulted in crankcase damage and an oil leak. The company is replacing the engines on all 785 affected cars. A source told Autoblog that under 200 customers were actually affected, and the other cars were either at port or dealer lots. Hopefully, the recall doesn't postpone the road-going GT3 RS too far because we want to see what Porsche has up its sleeve.