Porsche unleashes new 525PS 911 GT3 RS

Let’s just get straight into the RS bits, shall we? It does all start with motorsport and, in spite of how hard to ignore that wing is, right at the opposite end of the car. With the main radiator element now in the middle of the nose a la the GT3 R and 911 RSR, rather than having two smaller items flanking, a serious aero overhaul has been permitted.

Active elements have been integrated at the sides that are continuously adjustable, working together with those rather fussy nostrils, the side blades, undertray, diffuser and double-layer hydraulically active wing. What isn’t present is a jutting front spoiler, with Porsche claiming such an item is no longer required overall in this aero package. Almost academic at this point is the fact the new GT3 RS is 29mm wider than the standard GT3 too.

Looking closer at that wing – we still can’t believe how big it is – the swan neck design has for the first time on a Porsche production car extended its height beyond the roof of the car. The main element is fixed, while the upper element is active with hydraulic actuation.

Because of the amount of air that flows through the wheel arches, with those cutouts and blades guiding the air out and around, even the double wishbone arms at the front have been shaped into F1-style teardrop profiles in the wind tunnel. They’re good for around 40kg of downforce at top speed.

The numbers are spectacular, with the 409kg downforce figure at 124mph double that of its 991.2 GT3 RS predecessor, and three times that of the current 911 GT3 on which it's based. At 177mph, it’s generating a full 860kg of downforce. In other words, the equivalent of having an S1 Lotus Elise sat on its roof.

Thanks to the active elements however and the first-on-a-production-Porsche Drag Reduction System (DRS) they permit, those numbers aren’t a constant. You can now throttle back the downforce and drag via a DRS control on the steering wheel. On the flipside, in extreme braking conditions, there is also an airbrake mode, flipping up the active elements to their maximum angle of attack.

Perhaps the least changed element of the RS package compared to the standard GT3 is the engine. It’s the familiar 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six, with new cams, now good for 525PS (386kW). Though a marginal jump, it’s still the most powerful GT3 yet and thanks in part to the whip-crack seven-speed PDK transmission, good for 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 184mph.

Arresting all that speed are brakes with beefier pistons in the calipers and thicker disks, spanning 408mm at the front and 380mm at the rear. Those increase with the carbon option to 410mm and 390mm respectively. Tyre sizes are up to a 275 section at the front and a monster 335 section at the rear.

Of course, very important to any Porsche wearing a RennSport badge is weight saving. To that end, the doors, front wings, bonnet and roof are all carbon. The latter was magnesium on the old car. Impressively, in spite of the clever active aero and increased size of the car, it’s only up 20kg on its predecessor, with a 1,450kg DIN kerb weight. That’s with a nearly-full tank of fuel, too.

On the inside, it’s RS business as usual. That’s to say carbon fibre bucket seats hailing in design back to the 918 Spyder hypercar and a monster cage. In the Weissach package, the cage will for the first time be carbon fibre. The most important bit for keen drivers will be the steering wheel, which now has four (four!) rotary controls, in addition to the DRS control on the left spoke we mentioned before.

To the right we have the standard Drive Mode rotary, which cycles through Normal, Sport and Track, with the latter allowing individual adjustments. To the left of that we have traction control, then on the other side PTV+, allowing adjustment of the diff and to the far left on the left-hand side of the wheel, PASM, for suspension adjustment. Needless to say, you can set your new GT3 RS up, from the suspension, to the traction control, to the diff, however which way you want.

The new 911 GT3 RS starts at £178,500, if you can get an allocation, Porsche expects the first deliveries to be made early in 2023. If you add the Weissach package, which adds some carbon suspension components, bare carbon exterior touches, refined shift paddles and lightweight magnesium wheels, you’re looking at over £200,000. That’s before you get the Paint To Sample department involved, too.

Pricey? Yes. Will it likely deliver a sturdy slap round the chops to the more expensive Lamborghini Huracan STO, in spite of being 100PS down on power? Yes. Expect it to monster the Nürburgring iminently too…