Porsche 911 GT3 RS 2018 Review — International

Nurburgring bridesmaid

With the GT2 RS taking all the headlines in the Nurburgring department recently, it’s little wonder then that the arrival of this new GT3 RS has been a little bit more muted than usual.

That was until Porsche put hotshoe works racer Kévin Estre in it and lapped the Green Hell in 6:56.4 seconds. That’s fast. Ridiculously so.

To put it into perspective that’s 24 seconds quicker than its predecessor, over which it gains a mere 15kW -- for a 383kW output. And nobody ever accused the previous RS of being slow.

Its regular GT3 relation is barely slower on paper, too, its 3.4-second 0-100km/h time just 0.2sec off that of the RS. Indeed, if you’re talking top speed then it’s the GT3 that is the top dog, not the RS -- 318km/h plays 312km/h. That lap, though.

The RS has always been about the differences, however slight they might read on paper. That’s no better demonstrated by this Gen II GT3 RS, here, and what it’s capable of.

More than any mid-series change, this GT3 RS feels like it’s not just eked away and finessed for a slight overall gain. No, the result of the revisions are seismic, this feeling like it’s taken a generational leap despite first appearances.

The engine is essentially that of the GT3, with its stratospheric 9000rpm redline and peak power developed at 8250rpm. There’s also the sort of low-rev urge that could hoodwink you into thinking it’s got some assistance.

It hasn’t; it remains naturally-aspirated, gloriously so, revving with an urgency that’s eye-widening, ear-tingling and potentially licence-losing.

It is fast everywhere, but ludicrously so at above 4000rpm. In the RS here it breathes differently, both intake and exhaust. The induction system takes advantage of those inlets punctured fore of the rear wheels and the ram-air effect it brings.

The exhaust is a titanium item that not only reduces mass, but adds bass to the melodic, mechanical symphony that’s taking place behind you. The result is 383W and 470Nm.

It is not the numbers that are important though; the GT department has worked hard on how they’re produced and in particular the response.

Also clear is the 4.0-litre’s feeling of being hard-wired to your synapses, with absolutely no slack in its delivery, the merest slight of your foot seeing the engine rush, it apparently lacking any internal inertia as it chases its heady 9000rpm redline.

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Lightweighting

There’s less sound deadening, too, while in typical RS fashion the carpets are thinner, Porsche going so far as to remove the superfluous pieces that would usually sit under the seats. That accounts for 5kg or so of mass, even if the official weight remains the same as its predecessor at 1430kg.

Lighten your wallet and you can drop that, adding the Weissach Pack that removes 27kg of weight via a carbon-fibre roof panel, bonnet, magnesium wheels and carbon-fibre suspension elements.

There’s also a lighter cage than the standard steel one with the Clubsport-equipped car, but if you’re intent on competing in it you’ll need the steel one as it’s the only one that’s FIA-approved.

Visually the Weissach Pack equipped car is clear, the contrasting black panels giving it a distinct look -- one that might be a bit too much even for a car as overt as a GT3 RS.

We might leave it then, save the expense and buy some of those magnesium wheels for the reduction in unsprung mass they bring.

Elsewhere, visually, the GT3 RS differs from its predecessor with the reintroduction of graphics along its flanks -- as if you need any reminding what it is.

A higher rear wing and a pair of NACA ducts in the bonnet are the key aero revisions. Those bonnet intakes don’t just help cool the front brakes, but smooth air under and over the car to allow it to produce the same -- if not slightly more -- downforce than its predecessor, all while generating less drag.

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Chassis wizardry

Nuances, then, and we’re not about to tell you that the effect of those NACA ducts made themselves felt on the roads around the Isle of Man where we drove it.

The front axle is more tied down than any GT3 RS before it, but it’s the suspension changes that are the most obvious, the GT3 RS borrowing its suspension from the GT2 RS.

That means it’s essentially 911 Cup car racing suspension, so there’s rose-jointed mounts throughout and no rubber bushings underneath. Add spring rates double that of the original 991-series GT3 RS and it sounds like it should be a hard-riding, total compromise set-up.

You’d be wrong, though, as the roll bars’ stiffness has been reduced, and some wizardry applied to the damping, the net effect being little short of extraordinary.

The Isle of Man road surfaces are about as far removed from that of a race track as you can imagine. There are crests, bumps and ridges, weather-ravaged tarmac and the sort of meandering topography that makes it difficult to comprehend the speeds that the TT racers on two wheels lap the mountain.

Even when Subaru took a WRX rally car around here to set the car lap record it was essentially running on gravel-spec suspension.

All that makes the way the focussed GT3 RS rides even more remarkable. There is compliance mated to control, in the way it’s able to cope with the vagaries of the surface extraordinary.

Opt for the Weissach pack and that’s improved further, the reduced unsprung mass enhancing it further, though you’ll never feel short-changed without it. With either wheel, we’d save the stiffer Sport damper setting for the track.

The steering has the capacity to filter any superfluous chatter and gets straight to the crux of what’s going on. That is true too from the seat of your pants. RSs have always been about sensation, and it’s very evident here.

Intimate feedback

In terms of engagement, too, the communication is rich and the responses to your inputs so finely tuned that it’s enough to make the car it replaces feel a bit remote, lazy and busy. It’s here that this Gen II car feels like it’s taken a developmental leap.

It really is that different, every element of its make up, be it the response of the super-quick PDK transmission, the electronic controls that deliver your requests to the new engine, combined with the detailed changes to the suspension, rear-wheel steering and electronic differential software, all of which have been finessed to create a more cohesive whole.

Grip levels are outrageous, the faithfulness of the steering a delight, the nose turning in with real authority, the steering devoid of any slack and delivering fine feedback.

That suspension asserts its fine control so convincingly that even mid-corners bumps do little to upset the RS’s composure, its ability to retain its line seemingly regardless of the tarmac running under its expansive tyres is genuinely startling.

Add brakes that are unfailing in their stopping power, and an engine and transmission that are so finely matched, so precisely controlled and aurally intoxicating, and the GT3 RS is so utterly bewitching to drive you’ll hope the road never runs out.

That it’s moved the RS game on is no surprise; RSs always chip away and improve. It’s how significantly it’s distanced itself from its predecessor that is genuinely mind-blowing.

Rewind a few years to when we drove the Gen I car and we recall wondering how the GT3 RS could be any better. Today, Porsche has answered that, resoundingly so.