GT3 SQUADRON - JZ Machtech

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Second generation 997 GT3 RS marked a real hardcore change of direction. Every facet was honed and sharpened. No wonder that in standard form it finished 13th overall at last years Nurburgring 24 Hour race Centre lock wheels look the part and ceramic brakes offer stupendous stopping power. Press car is devoid of sound system and even air con. Steering wheel plastic and nasty! It’s a privilege to have both 3.8 and 4.0 cars here at the same time, and a wonderful opportunity to drive them back-to-back over the same testing lanes just off Salisbury Plain, as there’s no better way to pinpoint the differences. I drive the RS 3.8 first to remind myself of its award-winning greatness, and it doesn’t disappoint. There just isn’t anything else available that offers the comprehensive road/track package that Porsche has developed these cars into in recent years. Speed, driver involvement, authenticity of image and an innate hardiness mean that for a high-end track day or fast road car they’re unbeatable. The 3.8 demands to be driven. It snaps forward at the merest hint of encouragement, and although the ride is very firm, the car has so much body control – even through a couple of frankly evil compressions. In all honesty, I finish the loop and wonder how anything can match it, let alone beat it. But the frustrating thing if you currently own an RS 3.8 – and if you do I apologies for saying this – is that the following drive in the RS 4.0 is a revelation. Where the 3.8 felt brawny between 4- 6,000rpm the 4.0 completely smashes time and distance; where the 3.8 had seemed rapid towards the red-line the 4.0 almost explodes out of its engine bay like the Hulk splitting his shirt (in fact the prototype engine apparently ripped itself clean off its mounts in the test mule, and I’m not surprised). I thought the 3.8 had seemed alert, almost hyper agile, but the suspension changes to the 4.0 give it a clarity of response that’s immediately obvious. Thank those rose joints, for it actually makes the older car seem slightly blunt in comparison. And where the 3.8 had occasionally fought the road over the worst bumps, ridges and pot holes, the 4.0 seems to have the peculiar ability to not notice them. The only way I can liken it at speed is that it seems to float – not in a woolly way, but with a sense of calmness that’s almost uncanny. Finally, there’s the question of noise. All four of these cars sound utterly fantastic, but once you start accessing that fat mid range of the 4.0, it’s as if someone has added an extra finger or two to the chord being played on the organ over your shoulder. There’s that same bloody thunder and rising wail, but it’s like the difference in TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION PORSCHE 997 GT3 RS GEN 2 ENGINE: POWER: TORQUE: TRANSMISSION: TOP SPEED: 0–62MPH: 3.8-litre flat-six 435bhp @ 7600rpm 317lbs/ft @ 6250rpm Six-speed manual 193mph 4.1 secs 46 911 & PORSCHE WORLD
GT3 RS GROUP TEST listening to a favourite piece of music on a very good hi-fi system, and then on one of those lottery win systems that footballers get installed in their homes. All of these improvements are fairly small, incremental ones, but added together they make the RS 4.0 the undisputed king of the family tree. More than that, it’s a car that can hold its own against any era of 911 RS, and it seems a shame that Porsche aren’t entering one with number plates still attached into the Nürburgring 24 hour race this year. The official line is a lack of competition means it isn’t worthwhile, but it would be fascinating to see what the RS 4.0 could do given its extra power, torque and aerodynamic effect over the 3.8 raced last year. After spending the day driving and being surrounded by these cars I feel a little bit punch drunk. It’s a sensory overload thing, but in the nicest possible way. Each one is a great car in its own right, the 996 undisputedly from a different era, the three 997s clearly showing the meticulous evolution that the GT department has embarked upon in recent times. The next RS will be different again, based on a larger and probably more refined sort of 911, and with a Motorsport-developed version of the DFI engine. It’ll sound different, go differently, and maybe conjure slightly different emotions, but if these four cars teach us anything it’s that we should be positive about the future considering the track record on display here. The modern GT3 RS has done wonders for Porsche: not only in terms of its image, but also from a financial standpoint. The company is now at the point where so high is the reputation of the cars that it can easily sell every one it makes, and there must be some healthy profit margin in all those GT3s flying out the door. Ten years ago many wondered whether the RS badge was dead. The truth couldn’t have been more different: we’ve been blessed with some wonderful cars since, and long may that continue. PW TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION PORSCHE 997 GT3 RS GEN 3 ENGINE: POWER: TORQUE: TRANSMISSION: TOP SPEED: 0–62MPH: 4.0-litre flat-six 500bhp @ 5250rpm 339lbs/ft @ 5750rpm Six-speed manual 193mph 3.9 secs THANKS TO: Rob Young at DMS: www.dmsautomotive.com / 0845 850 1845 for the 997. GT3 RS gen1 Speed Kings Motorsport: www.speedkingsmotorsport.com / 0845 052 2956 for the 996 Major Jim Cameron for getting us access to some top-secret army roads! Left: Trade mark half roll cage shrouded by lightweight plexiglass rear window. Above: PDK steering wheel – minus shifters – is a big improvement over 3.8’s wheel The final incarnation of GT3 RS. Harder, faster and just plain hardcore, although with a surprisingly compliant ride compared with the 3.8 GT3 RS 911 & PORSCHE WORLD 47
Page 1 and 2: August 2011 www.911porscheworld.com
Page 3 and 4: GT3 RS GROUP TEST GT3 SQUADRON Trac
Page 5: GT3 RS GROUP TEST road and track us

GT3 SQUADRON - JZ Machtech

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