Every Homologated GT3 car, in pictures, and with pen portraits
The current iteration of GT3 came into being in 2005 with the regulations in place for the 2006 season.
Since then a remarkable array of sports cars, supercars and GT cars have been encompassed by the most universally adopted set of endurance-focused regulations governing racing derivatives of roadgoing machinery in racing history.
This gallery takes a look at the cars that made it through the thorny process of FIA homologation into the GT3 class – in the now decade and a half history of the class there have been 52 separate homologations covering no fewer than 24 different marques and almost 40 different models.
That does not take into account another group of cars that have made their way into GT3 racing via national homologations or acceptance by Championship organisers and rulemakers (we’ll cover them off in a separate story later his year!)
As the regulations were designed to encompass a whole range f engine configurations and chassis, so the industry has delivered: Cars feature here with 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 cylinders, turbochargers and superchargers, front, rear and mid engined configurations.
The cars have featured in Championships, Series and standalone races across the globe on club, national, regional, continental and global stages with a myriad of options for teams and owners ranging from Blue Riband events where the GT3 cars are king, to an effective entry point into a wider entrance series.
Across the 52 different homologations shown below (plus a number of ‘Evo’ package updates to some of those homologations), literally thousands of cars have been sold, raced, tested, enjoyed, stored, collected, sold and raced again.
GT3 is a phenomenon, and despite the costs now involved it looks set to stay king of the customer GT racing hill for some time to come!
GT3-001 – Maserati Coupe Grand Sportif Light – Part of the grid for the 2006 FIA GT3 Championship, raced in Italy and elsewhere but rapidly faded from the scene – This example AF Corse – Lorenzo Casè & Christian Passuti
GT3-002 – Dodge Viper Competition Coupe – Upgraded to GT3 from the 2003 one-make racer – A stalwart of the early GT3 era with cars built both in the USA and by ORECA in France – Championship winner in British GT in 2007 and 2008 – This example – Fletcher/Saggers RPM Dodge Viper Competition Coupe
GT3-003 – Aston Martin DBRS9 – Original concept car presented at Le Mans 24 Hours in 2005, based on the Aston Martin DB9, won FIA GT3 Championship in 2009 plus drivers and teams Championships in British GT and won races in FIA GT3 between 2006 and 2010 – This example Andrew Howard/Jonathan Adam – Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9
GT3-004 – Lamborghini Gallardo LP520 GT3 – The first iteration of Reiter Engineering developed Gallardo, would prove a popular and cost efficient platform with its V10 powertrain, later to be shared with the Audi R8 in GT3 – This example – Team Modena From British GT Championship in 2007 and 2008 – a variety of drivers featured including current Corvette factory driver Antonio Garcia
GT3-005 – Corvette Z06.R GT3 – This example Callaway built- GT3 version of the Corvette C6, took the FIA GT3 European title in 2007 – Ron Johnson/Piers Johnson – Speedworks Motorsport Corvette Z06 R
GT3-006 – Ascari KZ1 GT3 – One of the few ’boutique’ brands to make it into GT3, Ascari’s car was strong, but the business soon faded. One bright moment came with the 2009 British GT Championship win for racing twins David and Godrey Jones and their Preci-Spark racing car
GT3-007 – Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – The original benchmark GT3 car, around which the initial Balance of Performance process was designed, and it brought home the very first International title too with the sister car to the vehicle shown here – this the 2006 FIA GT3 Championship car from Tech 9 for – Matt Harris and now TF Sport Owner Tom Ferrier
GT3-008 – Venturi Heritage GT3 – The only car listed here that never raced – Initially intended as one of the launch group the Audi V8-powered car tested but did not make it to the grid
GT3-009 – Ferrari F430 GT3 – an example took the first ever win in GT3 history at Silverstone in 2006 – The Ferrari is numerically the last car in the homologation order to have debuted at that first race – This example – BMS Scuderia Italia ITA Massimiliano Mugelli & Marcello Zani
GT3-010 Ford Mustang FR500C GT. Built by Multimatic, rapidly outgunned and faded from frontline competition by the end of 2007 – This example – Gunnar Jeannette/ Eric de Doncker, British GT Snetterton 2007
GT3-011 – Ford GT GT3 – Built by Matech, Alex Mortimer/Bradley Ellis – The cars proved very competitive in FIA GT3 competition, taking the teams title for Matech in 2008. This example – Team RPM Ford GT GT3
GT3-012 – Jaguar XKR GT3 – First iteration of Jaguar’s XKR in GT3, powered by a supercharged V8, funded by Stuart Scott and developed by Richard Lloyd’s Apex Motorsport – Had some promising outings in FIA GT3 as a development programme began to bear fruit but project suffered badly as a result of the fatal plane crash which cost the lives of five people including Lloyd and test driver David Leslie
GT3-013 – Morgan Aero 8 GT3 – 2008 car based on the roadgoing Aero 8, race cars were built and operated by Auto GT, a concern owned by ex F1 drivers Jacques Lafitte and Jean-Pierre Jabouille – Competed in FIA GT3 European Championship for a single season, finding pace, and scoring podium finishes as the development (and BoP) paid off!
GT3-014 – Lotus Exige GT3 – powered by a supercharged Toyota four pot – the car’s USP being light weight rather than big power – The car saw service in the British GT Championship and showed pace but fragility – it was not a sales success – This Example – George Mackintosh/Alistair MacKinnon MackintoshPlansMotorsport
GT3-015 – Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S – Second iteration of Porsche’s GT3 offer, this time based on the GT3 RS road car, therefore allowing certain bodywork and dimensional changes including wider rubber – This example – David Ashburn/Tim Harvey – Trackspeed Porsche 997
GT3-016 – Ford GT GT3 (revised engine from GT3-011) – Programme taken on by Lambda – Principal programme was in ADAC GT Masters where the car showed some real pace – little front-line action since but this example finished 15th overall at the 2018 Dubai 24 Hours with Daniel Keilwitz, Csaba Walter, Frank Kechele and Nico Verdonck
GT3-017 – Audi R8 LMS (inc R8 LMS Ultra in 2012) – Audi Sport’s entry into the GT3 marketplace came in 2009 with customer cars from 2010 – sharing the same drivetrain as the Lamborghini Gallardo. The car was a sales hit and gave the Audi Customer Sport operation a cost effective platform to win significant races – Including the Spa 24 Hours, Nurburgring 24 Hours and the GTD class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona
GT3-018 – BMW Alpina B6 GT3 – BMW’s first GT3 effort didn’t come from BMW, but instead by specialist tuner Alpina, whose 6 Series-based B6 GT3 from 2009 took wins in the ADAC GT Masters and elsewhere – a 2011 Evo version replaced the original 4.4 litre blown 8 with a normally aspirated 5 litre V8 which took the 2011 ADAC GT Masters title. This example is the 2011 title winning car of Dino Lunardi and Alexandros Margaritis
GT3-019 – Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 – Upgraded version of the original 430 GT3 with new engine, and better aero – quicker, but initially suffered with unreliability – This example – Duncan Cameron/Mike Edmonds – M Tech Ferrari 430
GT3-020 – Dodge Viper Competition Coupe Series 2 – Second Generation GT3 Viper – 8.4 litre V10 with improvements to the original car allowed via re-homologation around next generation road car – This example – Craig Wilkins (GBR) GT3 Racing Viper Competition Coupe
GT3-021 – Jaguar XKR-S GT3 – A development of the original XKR GT3 by Emil Frey Racing, the car needed further elopement to be competitive but the homologation process meant that the team were unable to make as much progress as they wanted to – opting instead to go for national homologation in Belgium to G3 spec.
GT3-022 – Morgan AeroSuper Sport GT3 – another one-season wonder, again from Auto GT but this time based on the exclusive Morgan Aero Supersport road car. Immediately successful with the team’s two cars winning a race apiece at Silverstone and another thereafter. After that though the formbook, and BoP caught up with the Morgans, they were absent from the podium for the rest of the season and were collectors items thereafter. This example – Roger Whiteside / Richard Thorne
GT3-023 – BMW Z4 GT3 – BMW Z4 debuting in 2010 and powered by a sonorous 4.4 litre V8 – The car was a popular customer racing product and took domestic titles in Japan, the UK, Germany and the USA, plus both Blancpain GT and ELMS Championships and overall wins in the Spa and Dubai 24 Hours, the car got a mid life upgrade to reflect a road car restyle and was converted to a GTE spec car for IMSA competition too
GT3-024 – Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ GT3 (inc FL2 GT3 and R-EX) – Successive upgrades of the Lamborghini Gallardo by Reiter Engineering kept the car competitive , ending with the wider rear tack R-EX ‘Extenso’ – Lamborghini took their GT3 programme back in-house and a somewhat peeved Reiter continued to compete against their previous paymasters around the world, but the Huracan finally won the day.
GT3-025 – Porsche 911 GT3 R (997) – 2010 and effectively Porsche’s first ground-up GT3 offering with a 4 litre flat 6. Evo version arrived in 2013 with aero upgrades and increased track, wheelbase and tyre width – Winner at the Nurburgring 24 Hours – also the basis for Porsche’s hybridised GT racer that saw action in the N24 and at Petit Le Mans.
GT3-026 – Corvette Callaway Z06.R GT3 – Upgraded version of the original Callaway Corvette GT3 with improved aero and drivetrain and an entirely new engine based of Chevrolet’s LS3
GT3-027 – Ford Mustang VDS GT3 – A true “What might have been” project, a redesign of the Mustang by Multimatic with an all-new transaxle and a 530 bhp V8 – the project was plagued, and effectively killed off by homologation issues caused by the short timeframe applied to the design and build – later attempts to get the project on track proved too little and too late – The Mustang was done in GT3.
GT3-028 – Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 – The gullwing-doored AMG was Mercedes first entry into the GT3 marketplace with customer deliveries commencing in 2011. The big Benz scored significant success in a four year frontline career with wins at the Spa 24, Nurburgring 24, and three times at the Dubai 24, and championship wins in ADAC GT Masters, FIA GT3 Blancpain Endurance and Sprint Series.
GT3-029 – Ferrari 458 GT3- the GT3 version of the 458 debuted in 2011 and was another smash hit market success and always competitive though with relatively little in terms of overall race winning success – though the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hours, and wins in GTD at Daytona as well as a huge number of Pro-AM and AM class successes to reflect the major customer base for Ferraris from the very start!
GT3-030 – Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 – ‘Godzilla’ the turbo six cylinder GT3 version of Nissan’s mighty GTR was a fan fsvourite, overcoming the aero challenges of its rather significantly large frontal area with massive power – took titles in Europe and a famous win in the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2015
GT3-031 – McLaren MP 4/12C GT3 – McLaren’s first GT racer since the iconic F1 – developed by McLaren GT, found plenty of buyers but suffered with reliability woes. Some examples still in club competition today
GT3-032 – Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 – Prodrive/ AMR’s move to an all-Vantage product base for GTE/ GT3 and GT4 saw the V12 engine retained for the GT3 offering to keep big power in the equation – Saw success until 2019 including four British GT Championship wins and wins in Europe and North America too
GT3-033 – Chevrolet Camaro GT3 – After a three-way battle for the right to homologate the Camaro as a GT3 Hands reiters Sareni outfit prevailed – The Camaro was a bargain offering – big poer, relatively little refinement – found a smattering of buyers but never broke through as a significant market player
GT3-034 – Maserati GranTurismo MC GT3 – Developed by Swiss team with the approval of Maserati and with the same V8 engine used in the team’s Quattroporte from the Italian ‘Superstars’ Series – Raced in Italy in 2012 before homologation the following year – scored race wins in Italy and raced a part season in fully homologated form in 2012 in International GT Open
GT3-035 – Bentley Continental GT3 – Bentley’s retro to motorsport for the first time since their successful Le Mans programme in 2003 came with the 2013 Continental GT3 – In factory competition with Sport and in customer competition around the world the cr saw race winning success, but little in the way of major results – the car was spectacular, but seemingly always the bridesmaid!
GT3-036 – Dodge (SRT) Viper GT3-R – 2013 Riley built GT3 version of the final generation Viper – limited sales but race wins in the IMSA Championship – the Riley-run team finishing second in the 2016 GTD Championship
GT3-037 – McLaren 650S GT3 – McLaren GT’s replacement for the MP4/12 C was a much more competitive proposition, available as an upgrade from the earlier car it was successful enough that original MP4/12 C GTs are now rare beasts! The 650S GT3 became the most successful GT3 car of all in the 2016 season with wins at the Bathurst 12 Hour, Blancpain GT Endurance Cup, Asian Le Mans Series, Australian GT Championship and Pirelli World Challenge
GT3-038 – Audi R8 LMS (inc Evo) – The second generation of the Audi R8 GT3 took the opportunity of the new-look road car to substantially improve aerodynamics – there was then an Evo version for 2019, available as an upgrade kit for existing second Gen cars. Already with successes at the Nurburgring and Spa 24 Hours
GT3-039 – Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3 – A controversial car with SRO, never competed with anything other than the Cadillac factory effort in GT World Challenge – Won the Championship in is first year in 2015 and was a regular race winner for the subsequent 2 seasons before factory teams were barred after SRO took controlling interest in the American Series.
GT3-040 – Lamborghini Huracán GT3 (inc Evo) – The Lamborghini factory decided to take their GT3 programme in-house, alongside the sister one-make Super Trofeo – with substantial back-up from the factory, and with relatively low running costs sales blossomed, and results came with Championship and blue riband race wins – The 2019 Evo version saw drivetrain, aero and cooling upgrades
GT3-041 – Porsche 911 GT3 R (991) – 2016 saw the next iteration of Porsche’s 911-based GT3R (the fourth) based around the 991 GT3 RS road car, the car had an 8.3 cm longer wheelbase and optimisation of the centre of gravity with the extensive use of carbon-fibre composite for the roof, bonnet, wheel arches, doors, side and tail sections and engine cover. The new car saw all windows – including the windscreen, made from polycarbonate to cut weight. The car followed the 911 RSR in adopting a central radiator, again improving the centre of gravity but also eliminating the vulnerability to contact that the front mounted side radiators had shown.
GT3-042 – Mercedes AMG GT3 – Unveiled in 2015 the replacement for the imposing (and huge) SLS GT3 was based around the same 6.3 litre V8 but in a rather tighter wrapper! The AMG GT3 has wins at the Nurburgring and Dubai 24 Hours, and title in the Blancpain GT Series amongst the collection in the corporate trophy cabinet.
GT3-042 (Evo) – Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo – Debut as a development car in 2019, 2020 Evo version – has already seen racing success in the NLS
GT3-043 – BMW M6 GT3 – Debuting in customer hands in 2016 as the replacement for the Z4 GT3 the turbo-8 car was more fuel efficient than the outgoing car – A 2018 update improved front aero – The M6 GT3 has claimed a variety of honours including class titles in IMSA competition and two wins at the Spa 24 Hours, There was again a GTE/ GTLM version for IMSA competition
GT3-044 – Ferrari 488 GT3 (inc Evo) – The their different platform in GT3 for Ferrari was also the very first GT3 car capable of being converted to, and from, GTE specification – A 2020 Evo package dealt with some turbo V8 engine reliability issues and improved front aero
GT3-045 – Callaway Corvette C7.R GT3 – Callaway retained the rights to develop a GT3 version of the Corvette into the C7 era, the brutishly beautiful C7.R GT3 took the 2017 ADAC GT Masters title, and had race starts in the US after the withdrawal of the Cadillac GT3 saw GM finally allow Callaway to market their car stateside.
GT3-046 – Lexus RC F GT3 – After a number of failed attempts this was the first homologated version of the Lexus RC F, the car has races in Japan, Europe and the USA with mixed results, still a GTD frontrunner in IMSA competition – These cars the AIM Vasser Sullivan pair from the Rolex 24 Hours in 2020
GT3-047 – Acura (Honda) NSX GT3 – 2017 Twin turbo V6 non-hybrid powered version of Honda’s second generation NSX road car took race wins in the US and Japan
GT3-047 (Evo) – Acura (Honda) NSX GT3 Evo – This 2019 update with improved aero, cooling and new turbochargers saw immediate success winning the IMSA GTD time in its first year as well as the Super GT GT300 crown.
GT3-048 – Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (Gen 2) – Significantly uprated version of the original GTR GT3, based on the NISMO road car version therefore allowed some aero/ bodywork changes – major changes were in cockpit ergonomics and with engine position far lower down and further back for better weight distribution
GT3-049 – Bentley Continental GT3 (Gen 2) – The second generation of the turbo V8 powered Bentley has been picking up customers and, in factory-backed MSPort hands took the biggest win of the Bentley GT3 programme thus far, winning the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour
GT3-050 – Porsche 911 GT3R (991.2) – A suite of detail improvements or the fifth iteration of Porsche’s GT3 – upgraded brakes and aero, improvements to cooling and, in particular a revamp of the interior with a new dash and safety seat.
GT3-051 – Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 – Debuted at the Le Mans Aston Martin Festival Race in June 2018 – The second GT3 car to be convertible to/ from GT3 spec, this part of the AMR/ Prodrive shift to the new Vantage platform across all of their GT output. Won the British GT Championship and Blancpain Endurance Cup (Pro-Am) in its first season, has found buyers across the world in sensible numbers – Turbo V8 based on AMG base unit
GT3-052 – McLaren 720S GT3 – Debuted in Gulf 12 Hours 2018 – McLaren’s first in-house GT3 offering – Racing in Europe, USA, Asia and Australia – Turbo V8 power
