New Porsche 911 GT3 RS ready for work, play

So you want the daily commute to be as much fun as a track day, and to be as confident on the track as during the drive to and from work? Porsche has the car for you.

The German automaker has readied the RS version of the 2010 911 GT3. It makes its formal debut--complete with giant wing and colored wheels--at the Frankfurt show next month and hits U.S. showrooms early next spring. Base price? Just $132,800, Porsche says, not including shipping charges.

The GT3 RS is a race car that's street legal. It gets Porsche's new 3.8-liter six-cylinder engine, rated at 450 hp--15 hp more than the standard GT3 (if that car could be considered as merely standard.) Porsche says the engine in the RS revs to its 8,500 rpm limit faster than the GT3 engine.

Dynamic engine mounts connect that engine to the body. The mounts change stiffness depending on the driving conditions.

The only transmission available is a six-speed manual. It has shorter throws and weighs less than the manual gearboxes in other 911s. And the gear ratios are shorter--Porsche chose to sacrifice a higher top speed for lower-speed performance.

The RS gets a specific version of Porsche's active suspension system, and the front and rear tracks are wider. Front wheels are nine inches wide, while the rears are 12 inches wide.

The 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RS makes its debut next month in Frankfurt.

Porsche engineers put an emphasis on cutting weight in the RS. A lithium-ion battery is optional. It weighs 22 pounds less than the conventional lead-acid battery, but is designed for use only at the track.

There's also a titanium exhaust system and that large rear wing, made from carbon fiber. But that's the view that other drivers are likely to see.

By Dale Jewett