Porsche have again raised the bar and will give the current 911 the ultimate send-off. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to drive a Porsche, you’ll know just how focused they are. With this the last 911 GT3 RS, Porsche have somehow turned it up to an extraordinary level. It really is a step on again. Project boss, Andreas Preuninger, has promised more GT3 models in the future but admits that they won’t be from the same mould. And they won’t be fitted with the ‘Metzger’ flat-six either. With just 600 RS’s (40 to the UK) any lucky owner who shells out the £126,446 for one is certainly sitting on a goldmine.
Porsche have bored the new RS to 4.0-litres which gives it 493bhp. That’s enough to churn out 339lb-ft of torque and a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds. This has all been achieved by fitting the crank straight from the racing RSR and GT3 R. Modified conrods, strengthened cam adjusters, different heads and the obligatory remap come together to produce the numbers. It’s not just the race-bred engineering that impresses. The smoothness across the rev-range gives the flat-six a different feel altogether, while the low-range torque allows you to corner comfortably in a gear higher than you would normally choose.
Throttle response can only be described as electric, and boy, is this thing quick. The clutch has been reinforced to cope with the extra urge and thankfully in a world dominated by paddleshift gearboxes, the GT3 remains faithful to manual. Nailing a sequence of perfect and polished changes stirs more emotions than any automated system could do. You’re definitely connected to the RS which is something sorely missing with other rivals nowadays. The steering retains the detailed and natural feel of the old 3.8 and is beautifully set up giving it a higher level of alertness.
What hasn’t diminished is the super ride quality. Tack-based cars aren’t supposed to be this compliant. Yes, it does react to the imperfections of the road but it’s never unsettling, just positive and accurate.
Nailing a decent piece of road gives you the confidence that other cars just don’t seem to be able to offer; The new 4.0-litre displacement, the sweet steering, the gearbox and the ride all come together when you challenge yourself to an early morning hoon. This isn’t a game of point-and-shoot but instead it makes everything work for you.
Weight saving also plays a big part in the pin-point accuracy. The front wings and bonnet are carbon, the rear screen and rear side windows are Perspex. This also plays into the hands of the aero balance. Down force has been increased by the fitment of larger endplates to the rear wing and carbon ‘dive planes’ on either side of the nose. All in all this gives 190kg of down force at the cars top speed of 193mph.
As you string a series of bends, corners and long straights together, you can easily double the speed at which you would normally feel comfortable in this new GT3 RS. Each engineering part works so harmoniously with each other that you start to find it very difficult to pick any faults. The moment you find that connection with this car is an utterly wonderful experience. How on earth Porsche manage to find more out of a car is something I don’t think any petrol head can answer definitively. Yet they have managed to do it yet again.
It is, quite simply the pinnacle of the 911 series and it will be very interesting to see how Porsche will top this, if indeed they can.
SPECIFICATION:
Engine: Flat-six, 3996cc
CO2: 326G/KM
Power: 493bhp @ 8250rpm
Torque: 339lb ft @ 5750rpm
0-62mph: 3.9sec (claimed)
Top speed: 193mph (claimed)
Price: £128,446
On sale: Now
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