Porsche 911 GT3 RS (2009) (2nd gen 997) first photos

By Tim Pollard

First Official Pictures

19 August 2009 09:42

Porsche has just unveiled these first photographs of the new second-generation 997 GT3 RS – Porsche shorthand for the hardest, most track-focused contemporary 911 yet. While some prefer the sledgehammer power of the new 911 Turbo and others choose the widowmaker, aka the loony, rear-drive turbocharged GT2, for many the 911 GT3 RS is the purest of the rear-engined Porsches.

The new photos of the GT3 RS reveal a 911 that’s been fettled and feted, prepared for use cross-country or at Cadwell Park race track. For some it’s the peak of ostentation and too showy by half. But petrolheads may beg to differ.

It’s been strengthened and lightened, fitted with shorter gear ratios and the chassis has been sprinkled with some Zuffenhausen magic to make it corner even more like a greyhound on race night.

Porsche makes great play of the fact that the GT3 RS is the homologation foundation for its race car – tracing its ancestry back to the Carrera RS 2.7 of 1973.

So the 3.8-litre flat six has 15bhp more than the regular GT3 and 35bhp more than the last-gen GT3 RS – making a total of 444bhp available at the rear wheels. It’s sent to the back axle via a six-speed manual, whose change has been shortened and sweetened, says Porsche.

Let’s start with the physical changes. The car is lowered and track widened front and rear, the body swelling around these stretched proportions. Those blistered wheelarches house 19in wheels, 245/35 boots up front and 325/30 rubber out back.

This being 2009, the electronics are rebooted too. PASM manages the damping settings, while PADM is a clever new toy, changing the engine mount stiffness depending on the conditions underfoot. Sound complex; in effect, it helps resist the movement of the drivetrain when the going gets tough.

Ah yes. Even ardent 911 haters will like this bit. Weight is tickled out of the 997 by an exhaustive diet programme. That rear wing is carbonfibre and the exhaust titanium to shave the kilos. And instead of a lead battery, Porsche will launch an optional lithium ion power supply in 2010 which saves a further 10kg. But despite the boast that the GT3 RS is lighter than the regular GT3, we don’t yet know the final kerbweight.

So the GT3 RS is a techhead’s dream. But you’ll need deep pockets - it’ll cost £100,760 in the UK when sales start in February 2010.    

By Tim Pollard