The Hoonigans might not be well known among our readers, but they are one of the biggest automotive YouTube channels around. Their audience is in the millions, and their videos are geared towards the tinkering type of gearheads who dream about high-quality AN fittings and elevate automotive customization to the level of fetish. This naturally dictates their focus; they tend to feature drift cars, muscle cars, mid-tier sports cars. Think Nissan Skyline and BMW M3. That said, the Hoonigans do wander into exotic territory once in a while.
Not that a Ali Falahi’s 997 GT3 is an exotic in the truest sense of the term, but it is a car that resides a higher tier than those usually featured on their channel. Still, it fits in with the Hoonigans’ fleet because most of the cars featured here are highly customized, and this GT3 is no exception. With Recaro Pole Position seats, an OMP wheel, and a BBi rollbar, the interior is all business—save for a few alcantara adornments. The exterior is also no-nonsense, with Cup car additions and a set of BBS center-lock wheels to complete this car’s subdued but unmistakably purposeful look.
Its sound is just as enticing as its appearance. The motor is untouched, save for a straight-pipe exhaust which rumbles at a volume somewhere between intimidating and antisocial. To the Hoonigans, this “grown up” burble is misleading and doesn’t prepare them for the scream the Mezger motor makes at redline.
Despite making “only” 350-400 horsepower at the wheels, the torquey 3.8-liter engine has no problem spinning the rear wheels.
Despite making far less power than most of the turbocharged monsters featured on their channel, the 3.8-liter GT3 holds its own. Without any difficulty, it turns its 325-section Toyo R888 tires into smoke as Falahi draws long black stripes across the Hoonigans’ proving ground. While the Hoonigans might’ve been a bit skeptical of this gleaming GT3 at first, they’re completely convinced and hollering wildly at the end of this demonstration of speed, sound, and agility.