Tom Cruise Thinks He's In Top Gun Driving Porsche 911 GT3

Jul. 21, 2021 6:30 AM ET by Jake Lingeman Video / 12 Comments

The ex-F1 drivers never had a chance against Top Gun's Maverick.

This six-minute video clip has three of our favorite things: Porsche 911 GT3s, race car drivers, Tom Cruise, and Top Gun references. Okay four of our favorite things. Legendarily hard-to-hate actor Cruise was in Great Britain last weekend for the Formula One race at Silverstone. He was seen in the Mercedes pits cheering with the rest as Lewis Hamilton took the checkered flag in his home country.

Cruise also shot a promotional video for Britain's Channel 4 featuring ex-F1 drivers Mark Weber and David Coulthard, along with F1 TV presenter Steve Jones. At first we thought it was just a new trailer for Top Gun: Maverick, which would have been fine, we're holding our breath until November 19 when the new movie comes out in theaters. But it was more like a commercial for the new Porsche 911 GT3, and Silverstone, and Top Gun. We're not complaining.

Let us first remind you why the Porsche 911 GT3 is either 1a or 1b on our "if I won the lottery" car list, besides the fact that the company said it was the "closest connection to 911 race cars of any GT3." Power comes from a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six that revs to 9,000 rpm and produces a total of 502 horsepower and 346 lb-ft of torque. This engine is nearly identical to the one in the track-only 911 GT3 Cup race car.

It's also rear-wheel drive, and comes standard with a manual transmission. It's THE track car among a brand's lineup that is full of track cars. With the PDK, 0-60 mph happens in 3.2 seconds and terminal velocity is 197 mph.

So Coulthard and Jones go out for a drive on Silverstone, and are quickly joined by Mark Webber in another 911 GT3. They're cruising the track, throwing out a few Top Gun references when Cruise, in a silver GT3 splits the pair at full speed. We'll mention that Cruise is known for doing his own stunts, so we have no reason to believe he wasn't the one blowing their mirrors off.

It's not really a race, but more of vignette. We get slick camera shots, more dogfighting references all spliced with footage from the new sequel. The trio gets surprisingly close at points, with Cruise throwing out lines like "too close, switching to guns" and "I feel the need, the need for speed." It's fun and silly and enjoyable. It closes with the boys doing an acapella version of The Righteous Brothers You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling.