Just one week after testing the new Ferrari 430 Scuderia I had the privelege of punting around in the new GT3 RS at Snetterton, and then later driving the same model on the road. It was quite an experience...........

Performance Road Test: Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Success breeds success. An adage so fitting to every single generation of Porsche ‘911’ we have known. They just get better each time. The trick is they all look similar to the undiscerning eye, yet each model of every generation has its own unique character on the road. The differences of course, are fine tuned to a tee. Hence, each successive model of the latest generation 911, (actually designated the 997), all the way up from the standard entry level Carrera, to the ‘S’, the ‘4’ ‘4 S’, the Turbo, Turbo S, GT, GT3, GT3 RS and GT2 – are all of course relatives, yet are total individuals under the skin, bearing similar (yet modified) design, and different where ‘difference’ matters most to a Porsche driver. In a word, Performance.

For these reasons, your chosen model of Porsche 911 speaks volumes. The GT3 is the road going 911 with that fine racing edge, a little harder, firmer, sharper, louder, and single purpose. Its’ driver is the purist, a keen hard driver, who wants more of everything, yet prefers naturally aspirated power delivery over Turbo charged. That is the GT3 owner. The GT3 RS driver, steps up the ante even more; this guy wants a road legal race car.

Homologolation special

So be it then. The RS, a homologation special, is 20 kg lighter than the standard GT3 and 44 mm wider at the rear, (it has the Carrara 4 body shell). Additional weight saving was achieved, in part, by the use of a plastic engine cover and a lightweight plastic rear window. There’s a big adjustable carbon fibre wing at the back too, the fatter rear end contributing to both directional stability and rear end grip.

Inside, there are two lightweight bucket seats made of carbon fibre composite, which come as standard, together with a bolt-in roll cage and pre wiring for a master battery switch. The interior package includes a six point seat belt for the driver, and a fire extinguisher. The roof, steering wheel, and gearstick are trimmed in Alcantara leather.

The normally aspirated 3.6 litre engine is a dream, good for 415 bhp at 7,600 rpm, red-lining at 8,400 rpm. Whilst power output per litre is about the same as the standard GT3, drive train tweaks give the RS the edge. Thus, the 0-62 mph figure of the freer revving RS is improved by a tenth of a second over the GT3 at 4.2 secs. Maximum speed is officially 187 mph – which is enough for most.

As we write, every UK model of the RS is sold – a total of just under 100 were produced, and now they’re all gone. Do a refined internet search and you’ll see a few ‘delivery mileage’ examples running for silly premiums over the ‘standard’ £95,640 for a new one - including Tracker, and a performance driving course. That driving course is needed by the way. Yet the RS is the jewel in the 911’s crown, seeming almost a bargain over its rivals, for it is uncompromisingly competent, tough and strong, with precision like handling and performance to match. It’s that magic blend of ultimate hard core performance that you’ll get excited about, regardless of whether you’re writing about it, talking about it, or even thinking about it – but the tool itself, releases it s own brand of excitement when committed to road, and track.

Behind the wheel

The new RS is more cutting edge, and more refined than its predecessor. Yet the tight racing harnesses remind you instantly that you are in an ultimate performance Porsche here. The carbon fibred cabin confirms the raison d’etre, yet the muted growl of engine and exhaust somehow dampens that initial expectation. A quiet GT3 RS? Hell No; the noise comes when you tease those revs up to around the 5,000 rpm mark which the RS loves; and then you’re on the sweet spot.

Two destinations mark the highlights of our test: Millbrook Proving ground in Bedfordshire, and the Snetterton race circuit in Norwich. At Millbrook our GT3 RS is piloted by ‘Ben’, a Porsche Driving Experience instructor and racer. As we ease onto Millbrook’s high speed bowl, in what feels like 15 seconds or so, the Speedo on the RS is reading 200 mph! Look again, surely its 100 mph? No, it’s actually reading 200 mph. Mr. Racing Driver Ben thought our true speed was more like 185 mph ‘ish’, but that’s not the point. What is the point is that this car is capable of topping that kind of speed in what felt like no time at all! – no gradual build up, just pressing hard, feeding speed precision-like through the gears, and the GT3 RS just sits at nearly 200 mph. Totally unperturbed. That’s almost arrogant, Crazy – and wrapped tight in our racing harnesses, we’re sitting absolutely rock solid at that speed, for the car feels so safe. “It could do this all day, says Ben…and you could probably race it competitively exactly as it is now – even with these tyres if you wanted to”. Wow.

We are impressed, yet we soon demonstrate the finer points of new RS performance credentials on Millbrook’s handling circuit. Professional Touring Car racer Mark Ticehurst was out there punting a gob smacked passenger through the circuits twists and curves in a race spec Mazda RX 8, whilst we,-who joined the circuit with Mark almost a full lap ahead of us- with traction off and sideways, were going flat out through the bends (for drama rather than speed of course) and gaining on him rapidly. Now that’s what RS performance is all about, as we danced yet again, back end sliding, through a fast right hander. No drama, just incredible competence. To onlookers it was a blistering demonstration of an ultimate performance motor delivering the goods; open mouthed, they stared, pointed, and laughed at the display. ‘Incredible!’ were the expressions. And believe me, it was.

Seated behind the wheel myself now– and the tight purposeful feel alone is enough to give the message. There’s a firm feel to the steering, razor sharp throttle response, and a master precision feel to the gearbox. The optional carbon ceramics brakes fitted to our car hint at providing the confidence required to shave off the high speeds, yet are deceptive by their initial lack of graduated feel. But right now they are cold. Warm them a little, and they soon give you the confidence you were waiting for to exploit the performance of a car that seems limitless in its potential.

This car was made for people with driving ability no doubt greater than the vast majority of its owners – You need to be a Walter Rohl ( Porsche’s Chief test driver and ex rallye Champion) to even get close to the car’s potential. But then the RS creates that ‘driving’ ambition in you, and each time you leave the car it’ll prompt a reflective thought that ‘maybe next time’ you’ll match Mr Rawls performance behind the wheel…You Wish, and So do I.

Apply full power in first, then second upto8,400 rpm, kissing that red line, and the RS propels you forward with a firm, progressive unrelenting push in the back. It steers like a go Kart, razor sharp, yet forever rooted. Swapping gears is a precise, perfectly weighted affair, and that keen yet controllable throttle never fails to anticipate the moment your toes, never mind your right foot, communicate a new message.

The back end of the RS feels immoveable, defying the science of the engine’s rear end location, but let’s face it, Porsche have had over forty years to sort that little anomaly out, and they have done it admirably. In fact, better than ever this time. You can, of course provoke the rear out to ‘play’ at quite an angle and for a good distance. Inducing oversteer helps to smoothe out a challenging tight S bend if you have to, as we did on the awkward tight chicane at Snetterton. Get that wrong and you could end up damaging your suspension, or making an unintended, clumsy, and embarrassing entrance to the pits, but the RS gives you the confidence to ‘misbehave’ into it every single time. Each assault on that chicane proved a challenge; hard, hard, hard on the ceramics, and deep into the first turn, lift off the throttle sharp, and flick the steering to provoke a slide at the rear, ‘catching it’ on the throttle with hard acceleration just before the tight apex. That’ll allow you to punt that RS through the chicane with attitude.

Such tactics pay tribute to just about every aspect of the RS spec sheet, complemented by the wholly remarkable (sadly optional) ceramic brakes. There’s not many cars that you can do that with, time and time again, yet the RS seems to be made to be driven in exactly that way.

the track eater

Whilst amazingly quick, to this sampler, the RS doesn’t feel like an intimidatingly powerful car; – in a straight-line sprint Ferrari’s new 430 Scuderia feels quicker, and is quicker - a challenge Porsche are more likely to match with the GT2 than the RS. The RS on the other hand, has just the right power to weight to make it really quick, when handling matters most. That’s when many will struggle to match the pace of the GT3 RS, for in the right hands it is a master at its trade.

Staying with Snetterton, the RS again lacks that hard edged feel of its predecessor, yet still outperforms it, eating up lap, after lap, after lap. The RS is so sure footed and confidence inspiring, that you’ll overtake on the outside of a fast tight bend if you have to, confident with the grip and power of that rear end. On Snetterton’s back straight you’ll be almost bored waiting for it to end, and then grimace when the challenge to attack a bend comes round again. Great fun ( which it should be) yet unequivocally competent. The RS is earning its keep in a way no other version of the car can.

You really don’t have to ask us if the RS matches expectations. The answer, for the record, is ‘no’. It exceeds them……..just how much further will the 911 concept go? We ask that question all the time, and each and every time Porsche has an answer. This time it’s the 997 GT3 RS.

Ends.



Kevin Haggarthy