One of the best: The Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Something that has always set Porsche aside from its competitors is that the modern day sports car models come into their element no matter where you are, or how you want to drive them.

The same accuracy that makes a Porsche 911 or 718 in all of their models brilliant on a clear country road creates a sense of comfort and control during a slow and stressful commute. The same precision and exactness that can provide the most joyous of sunday cruises also can provide a 2,000 mile road trip. Porsche has abided where other sports & supercar brands simply cannot. 

That was until, the 911 GT3 RS came along… This truly astonishing piece of machinery needs the right environment to reveal its superpowers in all of their glory. It is much too aggressive for the roads and everyday use. Partly that’s due to the sheer speed of the RS, believed to be as fast as an actual Cup car if fitted with the appropriate tyres. This partnered with the wealth of technology and the pinnacle of racetrack car performance, makes for a car that deserves to be driven around a track time and time again. The McLaren Senna is perhaps the closest modern road car to the RS in terms of outright track, aero focus, but Woking's offering was almost four times the price, and strictly limited to just 500 units.

That is not to say it isn’t road legal, because it certainly is. But once you take a look at the specs and the lengths the engineers have gone to to produce such a machine, you will soon appreciate where it belongs. Not only is this the most powerful GT3 RS ever made, producing a whopping 517bhp from its PDK-drive, 9,000rpm, 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six engine, but it’s also crafted by more carbon fibre than you have ever seen on a Porsche. It produces twice as much downforce as the previous GT3 RS and three times as much as the current 992 GT3 – utter madness.

The stats from Porsche are as follows: 

Engine: Flat-six, 3996cc

Power: 517bhp @ 9000 rpm

Torque: 343 lb ft @ 6300 rpm

Weight: 1450kg

0-60: 3.2 seconds

Top speed: 184 mph

• Fully automatic adjustment of the front diffuser and rear wing.

• Drag Reduction System (DRS) rear wing.

• Consistent lightweight construction with numerous components made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic 

• Steering wheel-mounted controls are used to set the suspension stiffness, drive modes, ESC/TC, torque vectoring

It is almost in every way, shape and form, a modern day Formula 1 car. I think the biggest give away can be the most notable part of the car, the monstrous swan-neck rear wing hanging off the back, something that belongs in a design museum. But this rear wing is a truly ludicrous feat of engineering, the slats, the vents, the adjustable rake and an operating range of 34 degrees from low drag to full airbrake deployment. Followed by the ultimate finale, the DRS button on the wheel of the 911, the drag reduction system to mirror you named it, a modern day formula 1 car. It is borderline hilarious for something so majestic and technical to have to deal with speed bumps, potholes, other road drivers & get an MOT in 2026. 

This rear wing, along with the flurry of sleek design, curves, indents & vents make the RS a downforce monster. Almost every inch of the car is dedicated to maximising downforce and minimising drag to ensure that no iota of horsepower gets wasted. A great deal of R&D and production engineering was dedicated to create a phenomenal load and how to utilise it as best as possible. It really defines the car in many ways, The peak downforce figure – 860 kg at 177 mph – beats a 992 GT3 Cup car and is in the lower range of a full-on 911 RSR set up for the long straights at Le Mans. 

Porsche managed to shed down the wait of the RS, it is actually around 30 pounds lighter than a similar-spec GT3. But, that may not be entirely true.. You see when the RS reaches a swift 124 mph it gains roughly 900 pounds of weight exploited by the downforce, and it isn't done yet. If you are driving the RS flat out, in the high-downforce setting, DRS closed, the load on the tyres is nearly 1900 pounds more at 177 mph than when the car is stationary. That 177 mph number can and will jump to 184 mph if you open the rear wing using the DRS system. 

To call the 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS a race car for the road is to understate what Porsche has actually created here. This is a race car for the racetrack, as proven by the ulta and almost scary-fast lap it ran around the scary-fast 4.0-mile Road America circuit - just 3.67 seconds off the pace of a 911 GT3 Cup race car tested on the same exact day. 

So how did Porsche make the RS lighter, even with all of the added track performance extras? Well they took a leaf out of the Formula 1 book once again, Porsche constructed most of the car out of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). This includes parts such as the doors, front quarter panels, hood, and the standard bucket seats. Even parts of the suspension, such as the sway bars, are constructed out of CFRP. This may be an indicator into the price of the RS, since carbon fibre costs anywhere between $200 to $300 per KG, significantly more than the standard construction materials.

So, with a slight segway there into the price, what is the price of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS? Well it isn't cheap. IT actually sits just behind the S/T as the most expensive 911 on sale. Prices start at £192,600 of your finest Great British Pounds, and like many other luxury sports cars, that price is merely a starting indicator.. It can & will balloon exponentially. Is your favourite colour blue? Well to have the RS in blue you will need to shell out an additional £3,320.

But in comparison, is it expensive? The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series follows a similar brief to the RS, but costs almost double the RS at retail price. Having said that, its turbocharged V8 lacks the character and occasion of the 911's incredible flat-six. 

But away from all the questions, the speculation & the hype train there is no denying the Porsche 911 GT3 RS in all of its whacky and utter magnificence is really just a spectacle of Porsche made machinery.

Whilst the German manufacturer carries on making money selling SUV’s & EV’s, at its very core, it's a brand made for and run by car enthusiasts, building cars and giving people the chance to drive cars other companies have left in the dust. Its relentless pursuit to produce the most extraordinary track car for the road is no better represented than here, in the GT3 RS. 

James24.