Top Gear‘s Chris Harris loves driving the newest 911 GT3 sideways so much that he goes through a set of rear tires…then keeps drifting it through curves.
How can you tell that Top Gear‘s Chris Harris enjoys the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3?
Is it the smile on his face when he winds up its 4.0-liter flat-6 to its stratospheric redline? That’s one way (out of many), but it’s not the clearest indicator of his satisfaction.
Perhaps it’s the sounds of joy he lets out when he puts his right foot down and unleashes the heavily revised GT3’s 500 horsepower. Maybe it’s Harris’s vocal and physical responses to the 991.2 model’s midrange power, agile 4-wheel steering system, solid chassis balance, lightning-quick PDK gearbox, or F6’s raspy exhaust note?
To a certain extent, all of those things make it clear that Harris is a passionate fan of the ’18 GT3. The track-focused 911 has been reworked from its aero to its engine. Those changes enabled it to pull off a stunning 7:12 time around the Nurburgring.
But the most obvious sign that Harris loves being behind the GT3’s Alcantara-wrapped wheel is the fact that he burns through its tires in the above video. The GT3 can hit 100 mph in 7.3 seconds, but he’s more interested in breaking its back end loose every chance he gets. He takes every one of them, turning the GT3’s pricey rubber into molten stripes on the Anglesey Circuit and clouds of stinky vapor in the Welsh air. Once he gets fresh rubber installed, instead of leaving it for another journalist to break in, he keeps going, intent on ruining another set of the GT3’s expensive shoes. We have no doubt he was able to accomplish that.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
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