Porsche reckons its new 911 GT3 RS ‘packs the maximum degree of motorsport technology currently possible into a street legal car’. We’ve previously tested its slightly less hardcore sibling, the ‘standard’ GT3, to well-earned acclaim as possibly one of the world’s greatest performance GTs. As such, the GT3 credibly holds its own for the committed driver looking for ultimate GT performance combined with usability, refined as it is to a level of all-purpose comfort.
The GT3 RS raises the game on the GT3 through extensive modifications to engineering and aerodynamics combined with a lightweight design. It achieved a class record setting seven minutes 20 seconds around the famous 14-mile Nurburgring race circuit – a new benchmark. Power comes courtesy of a super-charged 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine with a specially developed PDK (double clutch semi-automatic) transmission, generating a whopping 500 bhp (368 kW) and 460 Newton metres of torque. Its naturally-aspirated direct fuel injection power is a purist’s favourite, achieving the standard 0 to 62 mph sprint in 3.3 seconds and 0-124 mph in 10.9 seconds. Despite all this, an impressive 22.2 mpg is quoted as the average fuel consumption.