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Marton Pettendy20 Jan 2016
NEWS

New Porsche 911 R will be limited

'Pure' 911 R special-edition to debut at Geneva in March; won't replace GTS but will come to Oz

Porsche's new hard-core 911 R will make its world debut at the Geneva motor show in March and will be strictly limited in production, but a handful will come Down Under.

Speaking at this week's launch of the upgraded '991.2 series' 911 Carrera 4, Targa 4, Turbo and Turbo S, Porsche's 911 product line chief August Achleitner all but confirmed the new 'pure' 911 variant's imminent appearance.

When asked by motoring.com.au about the 911 R, Achleitner said: "Come to Geneva and you'll find out, but for now this is all I can talk about."

Achleitner confirmed the 911 R will be a limited-edition model, but would not comment on reports that production will be capped at 600 units, all of which are allegedly already spoken for.

Like all 911s, the special-edition will be built and right-hand drive and motoring.com.au understands a handful of examples have been allocated to Australia, which per capita is among the world's top-selling markets for high-performance 911s.

News of a new 'pure' version of Porsche's facelifted 911 first surfaced in June last year after the German sports car maker registered the 911 GT and GT5 names, and the model now widely expected to be called the 911 R was then spotted undergoing development testing in November.

The 911 R name was first seen almost 50 years ago in 1967, when Porsche began planning an ultra-lightweight version of the 911 intended purely for the racetrack. It was based on the original 911 chassis and powered by a 155kW 2.0-litre boxer six, but added bigger wheels, tyres and brakes.

Based on a light-gauge steel version of the monocoque body, the first 911 R incorporated extensive use of fibreglass, a stripped-out interior and an aluminium bonnet, doors and engine cover to cut weight by up to 200kg.

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Similarly, the born-again 911 R is in effect expected to be a bare-bones version of the latest GT3. But instead of being a race-ready supercar, it will bridge the gap between the road-focussed 911 GTS and 911 Turbo.

In a tacit admission that not all 911 customers want a turbo engine and automatic transmission (all 911s are now turbocharged except the GT3s, which are now PDK-only), the 911 R follows the sellout success of the manual-only Cayman GT4.

Therefore the back-to-basics 911 R will come exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission (not seven-speed, as in other 911s).

It will almost certainly be matched to the engine from Porsche's top-shelf naturally-aspirated 911, the GT3 RS, which is powered by a 368kW/460Nm 4.0-litre flat six.

That will make it one of the few non-turbocharged members of the newly upgraded 991.2-series 911 model range, which arrives Down Under from March powered exclusively by downsized 3.0-litre twin-turbo boxer engines.

Intended to be a hard-core road car rather than a racer, the 911 R will undercut even the track-ready GT3 with a dearth of equipment that will deliver a power to weight ratio to match the GT3 RS, which at $387,700 is Porsche's most expensive 911 this side of the Turbo.

Delivering performance without frills, the rear-drive 911 R is likely to ride on centre-locking 20-inch wheels that are narrower than the GT3's.

As these spy shots also show, there will be no rear wing but significant under-body aero elements and at least the option of carbon-ceramic brakes.

The result should be GT3 RS-style power but lower levels of grip and aerodynamics, and therefore more accessible performance.

Equipment levels will be basic despite an expected price tag of around $400,000, but the 911 R's limited availability is almost certain to make it an instant classic.

Achleitner said the 911 R won't replace the GTS in the 911 family, confirming a 991.2 version of the latter will be forthcoming.

"If you take a look at our history it's clear a new GTS will come," he said, before adding that Porsche was in no hurry to release a facelifted GTS because it was already struggling to meet demand, with almost 32,000 911s sold last year.

"GTS model is still missing [from the 991.2 series 911 line-up] at the moment, but is not yet necessary.

"The [Zuffenhausen] factory is completely filled up, so we have some time for it."

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