Porsche has created the 911 GT3 Earls Court 51 Edition to mark 75 years since the brand’s first official appearance in Britain. Based on the 911 GT3 with Touring Package, the special series will be limited to 51 cars for the UK market. Its mechanical package remains that of the GT3 Touring, while the paint, trim and accessories connect the modern car to the Porsche 356 displayed at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1951.
The Porsche 911 GT3 Earls Court 51 Edition outside the historic motor-show building. Image: Porsche.
Why Earls Court 51
In 1951, a Porsche 356 was shown at the Earls Court Motor Show in London. It was the first Porsche officially imported into the United Kingdom, and the event became the historical reference for Porsche’s 2026 anniversary project. The number 51 in the edition name refers both to that year and to the number of cars planned for production.
Porsche says 2026 marks 75 years since its first cars arrived in the UK. Porsche Cars Great Britain developed the anniversary car with Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. It is not a new 911 derivative with different engineering; it is a carefully specified version of the current GT3 Touring.
The link to the 356 begins with the colour. The body is finished in Earlscourtgreenmetallic, a new Paint to Sample Plus colour developed for the project. Porsche describes it as a modern interpretation of the Moor Green associated with one of the 356 cars shown in London. Silver details on the bonnet, mirrors and door handles echo the exterior treatment of the historic car.
The GT3 Touring without a fixed rear wing
The technical base is the 911 GT3 with Touring Package. Instead of the fixed rear wing used by the more overtly track-focused GT3, the Touring uses an automatically extending rear spoiler. That keeps the performance hardware while giving the car a quieter visual identity. It also makes the Touring a logical foundation for an edition linked to the clean shape of the 356.
The engine is a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre six-cylinder boxer. Porsche quotes 510 PS and 450 Nm for the current 911 GT3. The Earls Court 51 Edition uses a six-speed manual gearbox, while Porsche states that the seven-speed PDK is available as an option. The manual transmission fits the historical theme, but the special edition is not presented as a mechanically separate GT3.
Official GT3 Touring figures include a 0–100 km/h time of about 3.9 seconds and a top speed of roughly 312 km/h, depending on specification and market. These are model-range figures for the 911 GT3 with Touring Package; Porsche does not describe the Earls Court car as having a separate engine or performance calibration.
Exterior details carry the story
Alongside the bespoke green paint, the car receives a silver bonnet stripe, silver mirror caps and silver door handles. The wheels combine Earlscourtgreenmetallic with Brilliant Silver accents. A dedicated Earls Court 51 badge is integrated into the rear-engine grille, with a reference to Reutter, the Stuttgart coachbuilder associated with the aluminium bodies of early Porsche 356 cars.
Edition branding appears on the B-pillars and in other areas of the body. Opening a door projects a dedicated logo onto the ground, while illuminated door-sill guards continue the anniversary theme. None of these details changes the basic 911 silhouette; the scarcity comes from the combination of colour, materials, historical references and the fixed production run.
Porsche has not announced a matching series for other markets. The car’s identity is tied to the British anniversary, and all 51 examples are allocated to the UK. A customer outside Britain would therefore not be choosing a normal option package that can simply be added to a local GT3 order.
An interior built around leather, corduroy and wood
The cabin combines Night Green and Chalk Beige leather with corduroy inserts. The ribbed textile references the materials and period feel associated with early British and Porsche interiors. The seat backs use Night Green leather and Paldao inlays, while the dashboard and door trims carry more of the same wood.
The manual gear lever is finished in Paldao, making a component used directly by the driver part of the heritage theme. Earls Court logos are embossed into the headrests, and the inner sun visors carry Union Jack details. On the side of the dashboard, a Porsche 356 silhouette appears beside the phrase “Driving in its purest form”.
These features are part of the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur work. The programme allows Porsche to combine finishes and materials beyond the standard 911 configuration. In this project, the purpose is not to create a different cabin architecture, but to connect a modern driver’s car to the model that introduced the Porsche name to British visitors in 1951.
The owner’s collection
Each car comes with a dedicated set of accessories. Porsche lists a Porsche Design chronograph, a leather and corduroy weekender bag, a 1:18 scale model and a book about the development and construction of the limited series. These items are part of the anniversary package rather than technical equipment fitted to the vehicle.
Porsche has shown the modern GT3 alongside a factory-recommissioned 1951 Porsche 356 finished in a matching shade. That pairing explains why the edition is more than a green paint option. The project follows the brand’s British history from the first 356 displayed at Earls Court to a current 911 built through Porsche’s individualisation programme.
A rare edition with a defined market
Only 51 examples will be produced for the UK. Porsche has not announced availability for Romania or another European market, and there is no indication that the same allocation will be repeated elsewhere. For an international enthusiast, the defining limitation is not only the price or specification but the fact that the series is tied to a particular market and a fixed number of cars.
The Earls Court 51 Edition does not change the basic formula of the 911 GT3 Touring. It keeps the naturally aspirated engine, the available manual gearbox and the retractable rear spoiler, then adds a historical narrative, a bespoke material palette and strict production limit. That separation explains its role: it is both an anniversary car for Porsche Great Britain and a public demonstration of what Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur can do with an existing driver-focused model.
