“Customers wanted it even more extreme!”, explains Andreas Preuninger, head of the GT department at Porsche, right at the beginning of our conversation. Surveys of GT owners revealed what was already clear: the GT3 RS should be even more uncompromising! To make the 992 platform the ultimate road-legal track tool, Porsche dug deep into its bag of tricks and oriented itself more closely than ever to motorsport vehicles.
GT boss Andreas Preuninger explained the new GT3 RS in detail to AUTO BILD editor Jan Götze.
Wilder was not yet a series 911
However, the missing trunk is manageable for a track tool, especially since the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. Thanks to the lateral space gained, the engineers were able to install continuously adjustable wing elements at the front, which are indispensable in view of the gigantic rear wing (which protrudes over the roof for the first time on a series 911). The GT3 RS generates 409 kilos at 200 km/h and 860 kilos at 285 km/h, or to put it in Preuninger’s words: “At 285 km/h there are two horses on the roof.”
DRS as standard
And let’s stay with the aerodynamics, because for the first time Porsche is equipping a production car with DRS. At the push of a button on the steering wheel, the upper part of the XXL wing can be hydraulically flattened, and in the event of emergency braking there is also an airbrake function, which should improve the braking distance by around 2.5 meters from 200 km/h. As you can see, Porsche is serious about racing.
Indentations even more extreme than on the GT4 RS
Due to the spectacular entrances, Porsche had to design new doors for the GT3 RS. They are made of carbon and are supposed to save eight to nine kilos, and while we were at it, the top model was given new, old bow-type handles instead of the fold-out door handles of the 992 generation.
The exterior color “Ice Gray Metallic” is also new, with the photo vehicle wearing red anodized forged wheels. If that’s a bit too much for you: There are a total of three different rim options (two forged wheels and one magnesium wheel) to choose from, which can of course also be ordered in less eye-catching colors. The RS logo was also changed to mark the 50th anniversary. If you look closely, you will see a new font for the RS.
The fins on the right and left of the roof, which seem unusual at first glance, are not a show, but serve a purpose. The air from the center cooler flows over the roof through the huge outlets in the front hood. The fins direct the air outwards, which ensures lower intake temperatures. Preuninger explains: “If the fins weren’t there, you’d lose around 20 hp.”
It stays with the 4.0-liter vacuum cleaner
And while we’re on the subject of performance: at the rear is the highly emotional 4.0-liter six-cylinder boxer known from the GT3 and GT4 RS, which Porsche has revised again. Thanks to a modified air supply and sharper camshafts (which according to Preuninger should be clearly noticeable from 6000 rpm), the GT3 RS achieves 525 hp – an increase of 15 hp compared to the GT3. Customers have to do without the speed increase to 9500 rpm, which was often speculated in advance. For a simple reason, as Preuninger says: “More is not possible with the 4.0-liter with the current emission regulations.”
No trunk, but a huge middle cooler. Luggage must be stowed behind the full bucket seats.
Like its predecessor, the latest RS generation is only available with PDK. Thanks to a shorter gear ratio, the 1450-kilo GT3 RS accelerates to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds and to 200 km/h in 10.6 seconds. Extreme aero takes its toll at top speed: With a top speed of 296 km/h, the new GT3 RS is the slowest of all.
But that should be manageable, after all the GT3 RS is not at home on the motorway, but on the racetrack. For maximum performance, the developers designed the components of the double wishbone front axle as teardrop profiles, which increases the downforce on the front axle. Due to the wider track (plus 29 millimeters compared to the 911 GT3), the links of the double wishbone front axle are longer and at the same time the spring rates of the multi-link rear axle have also been adjusted.
New steering wheel with many adjustment options
The cockpit of the GT3 RS is largely known from the GT3. Exception: The steering wheel now has four knobs instead of just one.
With a total of four rotary controls plus a DRS button, the steering wheel of the GT3 RS almost looks like that of a racing car. Especially when the optional Weissach package, which is extremely popular with the 991.2 GT3 RS (take rate of over 50 percent), is ordered. Then not only are the front hood, roof, mirror caps and wing blade made of visible carbon, but there is a touch more racing flair in the cockpit. Also part of the package are the significantly larger magnetic shift paddles, which were taken over almost one-to-one from the GT3 R. But that’s not all, because the roll cage included in the Clubsport package is made of carbon as part of the Weissach package and has a completely new brace.
The bucket seats are standard, the cage is included in the Clubsport package.
The GT3 RS costs 50,000 euros more than a GT3
The new GT3 RS can be ordered immediately at the base price of 229,517 euros – an additional charge of almost exactly 50,000 euros compared to the GT3. With a bit of luck, the first customer vehicles should be delivered in the 2022 calendar year and even if the GT3 RS does not have a quantity limit, it will be difficult to get hold of one. In the end, there is only one question left: is there more to come? Cue GT2 RS. Preuninger answers this question evasively: “The GT3 RS will be the ultimate 992 in terms of driving dynamics.”
