Narain Karthikeyan, Porsche 911 GT3
Narain Karthikeyan with his Porsche 911 GT3Porsche India

The first ever Formula One driver from India, Narain Karthikeyan, has added a new Porsche 911 GT3 to his flamboyant collection of cars. The 41-year-old, who drove for Jordan in 2005 and HRT during 2010-2012 in the highest class of auto racing in the world, took delivery of his prized possession from Porsche's Mumbai dealership on Friday.

The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car primarily intended for racing. It has been priced at a whopping Rs 2.3 crore (ex-showroom) in India while Karthikeyan's car should have cost more as it has been heavily customized.

The Coimbatore-based former F1 driver has opted for the Clubsport package as well as the Sport Chrono package.

Porsche 911 GT3
Narain Karthikeyan with Pavan Shetty, Porsche India directorPorsche India

The Clubsport package adds GT3 sport bucket seats finished in Alcantara and leather, a six-point harness, roll cage and fire extinguisher. The Sport Chrono package includes the Porsche Track Precision app and lap-trigger preparation. The addition measures time precisely to a hundredth of a second and is displayed on the Sport Chrono clock and on the instrument cluster.

The Porsche 991 GT3 is powered by a new 3.8-litre direct fuel injection (DFI) flat-six engine that develops 475hp of power at 8,250rpm and is mated to either the Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) double-clutch gearbox or a six-speed manual gearbox.

The track-spec sports car with automatic transmission sprints from standstill to 100kmph in just 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of 318kmph. The manual transmission-equipped model needs 0.5 seconds more to attain 100kmph speed, but it boasts of a top speed of 320kmph. Karthikeyan, being a spirited driver, could have chosen the manual transmission option.

Porsche 911 GT3
Porsche 911 GT3Porsche

Porsche 911 GT3 comes with a standard aero package and that differentiates it from regular Porsche 911 in terms of looks. The GT3 version comes with larger wheels and smoked headlamps with unique four-point LED DRLs.

The massive wing at the rear adds a lot of character to the car and provides increased downforce, which is spot on for a track-spec car.