Earlier this year Porsche announced that it was going to race a stock 911 GT3RS at the 24 hour race at the Nurburgring. And this past weekend Porsche did it. Amidst all the super expensive, track tuned race cars appeared a stock, OEM, 911 GT3RS. The car was driven 200km from its garage in Weissach, Germany to the racetrack, competed, finished the race in 13th place overall, nine laps short of the BMW M3 GT2 winner.
Porsche did this without its ace driver Walter Rohrl who stepped down from the competition with a medical condition. The rest of the drivers consisted of journalists from German magazine Sport Auto, writers Chris Harris and Horst von Saurma and racing drivers Roland Asch and Patrick Simon.
"As planned, we replaced the front brakes during the race," driver Roland Asch said in a press release from Porsche. "But other than that, the mechanics concentrated on refuelling, tyre changes and cleaning the windows during the pit stops. The car ran like clockwork."
The stock GT3 RS qualified 42nd overall, out of about 220 participating vehicles. Porsche claims the car was in good condition after 27 hours of driving (including the journey to the track), that they then drove it another three hours back to Weissach. After an inspection, the car's only problems appeared to be cosmetic. This included a few dents and busted lights thanks to a collision, as well as black rubber all over the front and front-side panels.
With a 3.6-liter flat six engine that produces 444 bhp, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS can sprint to 100 km/h in 4.0 seconds on its way to a 310 km/h top speed. The car retails for €145,871 in Europe, £105,920 in the UK and $163,000 in the U.S.
Read all about Porsche's story in the press release below.
<dl class="ZenphotoPress_badge ZenphotoPress_shortcode">
</dl>Press Release
Porsche 911 GT3 RS
The Nürburgring 30 hour race
Stuttgart. People describe the Porsche 911 GT3 RS in many different ways. Some say it's a ‘street-legal race car', others say it's a ‘Porsche for purists'. Ex-DTM pilot Roland Asch quite simply says it's the ‘best sports car in the world'. But, above all, the GT3 RS is this: An uncompromising sports car fully suited to racing. To prove it, the vehicle was put to the test at one of the world's toughest automobile races - the Nürburgring 24 Hours. And if that wasn't torture enough, the white-and-red liveried racer was driven to and from the race track. The result: After virtually 30 hours at full throttle, the production vehicle with the "S-GO 2400" number plate was still top fit.
Germany's most gruelling race, however, left its scars on the car's body: The driver's door and the left door sill are dented after a rough punt courtesy of a rival, and the front indicator light is smashed. The front and fenders are adorned with traces of black rubber. But all is hale and hearty under the body of the #11 GT3 RS. The engine runs like new, and not one unfriendly noise comes from its manual six-speed gearbox. "As planned, we replaced the front brakes during the race," explains driver Roland Asch (Germany). "But other than that, the mechanics concentrated on refuelling, tyre changes and cleaning the windows during the pit stops. The car ran like clockwork."
Asch received support at the Nürburgring 24 hour race from three experienced pilots: Race driver and TV commentator Patrick Simon (Germany) as well as journalists Chris Harris (Great Britain) and Horst von Saurma (Germany) turned consistently fast and perfect laps. And the production engine also performed brilliantly and with exemplary efficiency at race speed: the pilots could complete up to eleven laps before having to refuel - considerably more than most of their direct competition.
From 42nd grid position, the 911 GT3 RS battled its way up the order hour after hour to finally cross the finish line a sensational thirteenth. One of the first to congratulate the squad was Wolfgang Dürheimer, Member of the Board for Research and Development at Porsche AG: "The driver quartet of the standard 911 GT3 RS showed impressively what such a car - that customers can buy at any Porsche dealership - is capable of."
The new Porsche 911 GT3 RS is powered by a 450 hp, 3.8-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine. The high-revving unit reaches a specific output of over 118 hp per litre. Developed in the motorsport department at Weissach, the 911 GT3 RS is fitted with a particularly short transmission ratio for racing purposes as a standard feature. The dynamic engine mounts featured as standard contribute to improved driving dynamics. Depending on the driving situation, the mounts change in their stiffness and damping effect, improving the connection between the engine and body when driving under racing conditions. The aerodynamics is consequently designed for downforce - another important feature for track racing. The basic Euro price is 122,400 Euro without value-added tax and country specific fittings. Including value-added tax and country specific fittings, the 911 GT3 RS costs 145,871 Euro. In the UK the 911 GT3 RS is priced from £105,920 - with motor sport breeding included as standard.
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