The new Porsche 911 GT3 RS has just been revealed. All hail… I mean, aw hell!
“Slipperier than the slipperiest thing, that ever slipped.”
Since 2003 at its inception, the GT3 RS (then as a 996) badge has carried huge significance. Nothing less than perfection in sports car terms,
made from race cars and perfectly balanced and honed. Then there’s its dramatic aesthetic, wide and decked with spoilers and aero. This, the new one ala 992 GT3 RS doesn’t just stick to the theme, it dials it up to eleven.
God, it’s beautiful. The example Porsche used in its presentation couldn’t look better, glacier white with orange detailing, with black accents, and aero. Wide of body, gaping of aero. I want it dearly. They ran 1500 simulations and spent 250 hours in a wind tunnel – essentially tripling their previous R&D efforts. Naturally, the aero is incredibly clever, active in places, and generally exhaustive. From roof fins to door cavities to hood outlets, its all very mental metal. Except for the parts that aren’t metal at all, because they’re made of carbon fibre. I refer to the carbon roof, tail hatch, front hatch, doors, bonnet and wings. Most notably the huge rear wing with movable flaps, all conspiring to be slipperier than the slipperiest thing, that ever slipped. I mean, the wing is the highest thing on the car, people.
Then there’s the thinner glass, liberal use of microfibre cloth, and general deletions and optimizations all around to bring the curb weight down to just 1450kg. But what is weight without power? Porsche have endowed the 992 GT3 RS wirh its legendary naturally-aspirated 4-litre flat-six, brandishing 386kW and 465Nm. It’s been paired with a 7-spd PDK transmission and the result is a zero to hundred sprint in just 3.2 seconds. In a naturally aspirated 911. Madness.
But straight-line antics tell less than half the RS story. There’s the suspension to consider, heavily featuring anti-dive geometry. Via the controls on the helm, you can now finely adjust the suspension settings, no need for a pit crew. Still too heavy for you? Not enough visible carbon fibre? For you there exists the Weissach Performance Package, but in my increasingly humbling experience, you don’t need it. It’s perfect just so.
The new Porsche GT3 RS will be priced from R 4,153,000 including a 3 year/100 000 km Driveplan. Customer deliveries should start early next year. I won’t be on the list. So please buy me one.