Porsche 911 GT3 MR: Does £56k Manthey kit work on road and track?

There’s also more extreme negative camber (essentially the optional ‘track’ geometry already available to GT3 owners), plus braided brake hoses for enhanced pedal feel. Oh, and some cool Manthey-branded LED kickplates and puddle lights.

Of course, like so many things Porsche, that £56,000 outlay can be just the start. Go for the lightweight wheel option (a 6kg saving overall), the Carbon Pack, racing brake pads and bespoke towing eyes and your invoice balloons past £80,000. All in, our Weissach Pack-equipped test car tipped the financial scales at £280,517. Yikes!

Whatever the cost, the slim-hipped GT3 MR certainly doesn’t look as outlandish as the GT3 RS, and for many that’s part of its appeal. In fact, finished in metallic Jet Black, my test car has a certain stealthy menace. It’s still no shrinking violet, but it doesn’t look so extreme that passers-by will expect you to emerge clad in a helmet and head-to-toe Nomex.

Twist the starter and the 503bhp 4.0-litre atmo flat six fires into life and settles to a familiar, hollow metallic idle that’s accompanied by the gentle chuntering of gears waiting to be engaged.

To reduce homologation headaches, Manthey leaves both the engine and gearbox (a seven-speed PDK automatic here) untouched, so in terms of outright straight-line pace and spine-tingling aural accompaniment, there’s nothing in it compared with the standard GT3.

On the road, I’m instantly aware of the extra stiffness in the Manthey car’s suspension, despite the dampers having been softened off a couple of clicks, while at moderate speeds the heftier steering is keener to follow ruts and cambers. Bigger bumps can set off some fairly sudden vertical movements, but even then this trick suspension rounds off the sharper edges.

On my bucking and twisting Berkshire test route, the GT3 MR is a more physical proposition than the standard GT3, but it rewards with even sharper responses and richer feedback. You will end your drive exhausted but elated. Plus, with the narrow body it feels more suited to Britain’s tighter, hedge-lined roads.

And while you would struggle to call it practical, it has just about enough comfort and usability that driving it daily isn’t out of the question; you will just need to turn the radio up a bit.

However, the MR’s happiest hunting ground is at the track, and after a few laps of the fearsomely fast Thruxton circuit it’s clear to me that Manthey’s carefully curated upgrades only enhance the experience and capability of a car that’s hardly shabby when it comes to going around in circles.

Also, in terms of outright pace, if that’s your thing, Manthey reps quietly suggest it has the GT3 RS covered in the stopwatch stakes.

With an extra couple of notches of stiffness dialled into the dampers, the GT3 MR comes alive. There’s more grip everywhere than in the standard GT3, even more positive turn-in, stonking traction out of slower corners and brakes that offer outstanding power and progression. In the quick bits it feels more stable, the clever aero keeping it planted.

Yet it’s playful too, the transition from grip to slip transmitted with 4K clarity, allowing you to subtly shift the car’s exquisite balance on the throttle or the brakes, even if it’s less willing to slip into showboating oversteer than its unmodified sibling. It’s a serious track car, so such silliness would be superfluous.

Yet a big part of the GT3 MR’s appeal, for me at least, is its refreshing simplicity. There’s no adaptive aero, differential or damper settings, just a choice of Normal, Sport and Race modes accessed via a steering wheel controller. As a result, there’s no rabbit warren of set-up optimisation to fall down. Instead you can simply get on with the job of enjoying one of the most intoxicating, enthralling and capable driver’s cars to wear a set of numberplates.