The wait has been long, but the new 991 911 GT3 RS has finally landed on Malaysian shores! The fifth generation high performance sports car was unveiled yesterday at Sepang by Arnt Bayer, Chief Executive Officer of Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP), together with race drivers Chris Van der Drift, Craig Baird and Alif Hamdan, and in conjunction with the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2015 Rounds 9 and 10 in Malaysia.
The new 991 911 GT3 RS first debuted earlier this year at the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show. This is a car that Porsche is incredibly proud of, fully equipped with the maximum amount of motorsport technology currently available and possible in a street-legal 911, and made suitable for everyday driving. It claims a track records of 7 mins 20 secs at the historic Nürburgring, besting the historic record of the Carrera GT of just under 7mins 29 secs.
“The 911 GT3 RS models have always stood for top sportiness and emotional appeal. Its direct correlation with motorsports makes possible uncompromising driving dynamics and an intensive driving experience. Never before has a “GT street vehicle” been closer to its Cup and RSR cousins, both visually and functionally,” said Arnt Bayer, Chief Executive Officer of SDAP.
Under the hood, you get the now familiar four-litre flat-six engine that makes 500hp/460Nm. This engine has the largest displacement and most power from any naturally aspirated engine in the 911 family, and is mated to Porsche’s PDK transmission to give a zerotohundred sprint of 3.3 secs. In fact, the car reaches the double ton in just 10.9 secs!
The 911 GT3 RS is a masterpiece of intelligent lightweight design. For the first time, the roof is made of magnesium; carbon fibre is used for the engine and luggage compartment lids, and other lightweight components are made of alternative materials. This makes the RS model around 10 kilograms lighter than the 911 GT3. In addition, the lightweight roof lowers the sports car’s centre of gravity which improves its excellent lateral dynamics. The body comes from the 911 Turbo, and it signifies its status as nearly a race car driving machine with its RS-specific aerodynamic add-on parts. The front spoiler lip, which extends nearly to the road, and the large rear wing reinforce its dominant look.
A 30 centimetre wide recess extends centrally over the CRFP bonnet and the magnesium roof. This feature is a stylistic reference to the recess on the luggage compartment lid of the classic 911 models with air-cooled engines, and today it identifies the two largest lightweight components in the 911 GT3 RS. Another characteristic is the unique front wheel arch air vents that extend into the upper section of the wings – just as in purebred motorsport cars. This increases downforce at the front axle.
The chassis of the 911 GT3 RS has been tuned for maximum driving dynamics and precision. Rear-axle steering and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus with fully variable rear axle differential lock increase agility and dynamics, and the wider front and rear track widths enable even better roll stability than in the 911 GT3. In addition, the 911 GT3 RS comes with the widest tyres of any 911 model as standard. The results: even more agile turn-in characteristics and even higher cornering speeds.
The interior design of the 911 GT3 RS with Alcantara elements is based on the current 911 GT3. One key new feature is the full bucket seats, which are based on the carbon bucket seats of the 918 Spyder. Other standard features are the Club Sport Package with a bolted-on roll cage behind the front seats, preparation for a battery master switch, and separately provided six-point safety harness for the driver and fire extinguisher with mounting bracket. The optional Sport Chrono Package, which features – in addition to its integrated timers – the Porsche Track Precision app for a smartphone. The Track Precision app can be used to have lap times automatically measured via GPS, and to log data on a smartphone for many driving parameters such as vehicle speed, lateral acceleration as well as acceleration and deceleration in the driving direction. It manages this data and lets the driver share and compare it with other drivers.
Prices for the 911 GT3 RS start from a whopping RM1,750,000 which includes a 4-year factory warranty. The prices stated are inclusive of duties but exclude registration fee, road tax and insurance. But before you scramble to grab your cheque book, we need to tell you that the 17 unit allocation that Malaysia has got for this year have all been booked already.
