The GP3 Series was established in 2010 to provide a structured and cost-controlled single-seater ladder between European Formula Three and the GP2 Series. Dallara, already the constructor supplying the GP2 cars, designed the series' original chassis, the GP3/10, which ran from 2010 to 2012. The GP3/13 was developed as a direct replacement following the standard three-year renewal cycle.
The GP3/10 era produced notable champions including Esteban Gutierrez in 2010, Valtteri Bottas in 2011, and Mitch Evans in 2012, establishing the series as a genuine pathway to higher formulas. The GP3/13 inherited that competitive structure and aimed to raise performance levels significantly.
The most consequential change from the GP3/10 to the GP3/13 was the engine. The turbocharged inline-four unit used in the first generation, producing around 280 bhp, was replaced by a 3.4-litre naturally aspirated V6 engine, also supplied by Advanced Engine Research (AER), rated at approximately 400 bhp. Pre-season estimates suggested the new package would reduce lap times by up to three seconds compared to the GP3/10, a figure that was validated during pre-season testing at Autodromo do Estoril in Portugal. The substantial power increase gave the GP3/13 a meaningfully more demanding character for drivers stepping up from lower categories.
The chassis itself followed Dallara's established GP3 construction philosophy — a spec monocoque shared equally by all competitors, with no scope for team-specific aerodynamic development. Every team and driver on the grid raced identical machinery, keeping competition centred on driver skill, setup choices within the allowed parameters, and race strategy.
The GP3/13 was the car during which the GP3 Series continued to build its reputation as a reliable pathway to GP2 and, for the best-performing drivers, to Formula One itself. The three seasons it was in service saw tightly fought championships, with the spec format ensuring that individual talent was the primary differentiator between competitors.
The GP3/13 was replaced by the GP3/16 at the start of the 2016 season. The GP3/16 brought a more radical aerodynamic package — including an F1-influenced lower nose design — and swapped the AER engine for an updated 3.4-litre V6 supplied by Mecachrome Motorsport, while retaining the core spec-series philosophy.
The GP3/13 represented a significant performance step within the GP3 Series' brief history, driven chiefly by the move from a turbocharged four-cylinder to a naturally aspirated V6. By aligning the GP3's engine architecture with that of the GP2 series, it also helped create a more coherent technical progression for drivers moving up the junior ladder toward Formula One. The series' structure and the chassis's reliability across three seasons consolidated the GP3 Series' position in the European single-seater hierarchy during the mid-2010s.