The applause the new Porsche 911 GT3 (991 Series) received from the media and public alike was just and well-deserved, but maybe a bit premature. The car maker has now halted the sales of the sports car after a few of them caught fire and burned to a crisp while the owners stood by and watched.
It doesn’t matter how good a sports car the GT3 is – if it’s on fire, it’s no good. What boggles the mind is that this is a Porsche we are talking about here. They are the very cream of German engineering crop. But even they can get it wrong some times.
Porsche 911 GT3 fires have, apparently, something to do with the oiling system. There was a case in Switzerland where the owner first noticed funny noise from the engine bay, stopped, and saw a sea of oil leaking from the car. The oil combined with the heat of the engine resulted in a massive fire, as you can see in the picture above.
Another case in Italy started with the engine oil pressure warning light going off, followed by a bigger warning light in form of flames and smoke. In total, five new Porsche 911 GT3s have burned so far. This was enough reason for Porsche to halt the sales of the car while they investigate the cause and come up with a remedy.
