Group GT3

History

Group GT3 was born from an idea by Stéphane Ratel, the head of the SRO Group and the promoter of the FIA GT Championship, in 2005. At the time, the top-tier Group GT1 and GT2 categories required manufacturers to build a car to specific regulations and then develop it further for more performance, which drove up costs for both the makers and the customers who wanted to race those cars. Ratel’s vision for GT3 was to simplify things: instead of building from scratch, the category would take existing race cars from one-make series like the Porsche Supercup and Ferrari Challenge, plus other models that didn’t fit into GT1 or GT2—such as the Aston Martin DBRS9 and Dodge Viper Competition Coupe—and let them all compete together.

The key was strict performance control by the FIA, which would keep the field balanced. This gave drivers a stepping stone between smaller national series and the professional international FIA GT Championship. The category was designed around sprint race formats, but manufacturers could sell upgrade kits so their cars could also handle endurance events. A similar category with the same name already existed in the British GT Championship, which the SRO Group also ran.

The FIA prepared the regulations and homologations, and they were ready by the start of the 2006 season. Eight manufacturers took part in the first Balance of Performance test before the FIA GT3 European Championship debuted. That year, the International GT Open, British GT Championship, Spanish GT Championship, and Italian GT Championship all added a class for the new Group GT3 cars. In 2007, the SRO Group expanded the concept by launching two new regional championships—the Brazilian GT Championship and the German ADAC GT Masters—that ran only GT3 cars.

The British GT Championship dropped its Group GT2 cars and made GT3 its top class, while the Belcar series restructured to put GT3 at the front. The French FFSA GT Championship also introduced a GT3 category.

Homologated cars

As of April 2026, the FIA has processed homologation for 59 vehicles, though some applications were never finished or were later withdrawn. A homologation lasts seven years unless the manufacturer asks for an extension. Every car with a number lower than GT3-030 has seen its certification lapse without renewal, but these older models can still race in national series with local permission—like the SCCA Trans-Am Series XGT classes—or at historic events such as Le Mans Classic.

The GT3 Revival Series splits its eligible cars into two generations: those homologated from 2006 to 2009 (Gen I) and those from 2010 to 2013 (Gen II). Manufacturers can build Group GT3 cars themselves, or they can commission racing teams and tuners to do it. Several vehicles have also competed alongside official GT3 entries under national homologations, including the Mosler MT900R GT3, Ginetta G55 GT3, Chevron GR8 GT3, Radical RXC GT3, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003C, Emil Frey’s Jaguar XKR G3, Acura TLX-GT, Renault Sport R.S. 01 GT3, Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro, Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD, and JAS Motorsport’s Honda NSX GT3 Evo25. As of January 2026, only 19 vehicles hold a current, valid FIA homologation for competition.