The latest Porsche 911 has been caught undergoing initial testing. Hot on the very brisk heels of the facelifted 997 – due on sale in July 2008 – comes Porsche’s track-biased 911.
At this stage it’s unclear whether the car snapped in our photos is the GT3, or the niche-within-a-niche GT3 RS. The front splitter, nose-mounted air vent and central exhausts are common to both models but that big rear wing is straight from the current RS.
Quite why the RS would appear on test before the ‘regular’ GT3 – which goes on sale in summer 2008 and has yet to be scooped – is unclear, unless the GT3 is getting said wing. From our pictures it’s unclear whether this car has the RS model’s wider rear track.
So tell me about the next Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 RS.
The GT3’s 3600cc flat six – which can trace its mechanical origins back to the GT1 Le Mans racer – will be further tweaked to boost performance. At 113.6bhp per litre, the current car’s 409bhp output is pretty close to the engine’s limit but the power hike will still be significant.
The latest news to leak from Stuttgart is that the next 911 Carrera S will have 380bhp as standard. A performance pack could take that to over 400bhp so the GT3 will put a clear step between it and the S with over 430bhp. Expect peak power at a frenzied 7800rpm (and redlined at 8500rpm) while torque should climb from the current 298lb ft.
The power increase will be enough to drop the GT3’s 0-60mph sprint to just four seconds and nudge its top speed to 195mph (current car's 193mph). Porsche’ s PASM active suspension system will be recalibrated to deal with the performance boost, and as before, ceramic composite brake discs will be a (costly) optional extra.
At this stage it’s unclear whether the car snapped in our photos is the GT3, or the niche-within-a-niche GT3 RS. The front splitter, nose-mounted air vent and central exhausts are common to both models but that big rear wing is straight from the current RS.
Quite why the RS would appear on test before the ‘regular’ GT3 – which goes on sale in summer 2008 and has yet to be scooped – is unclear, unless the GT3 is getting said wing. From our pictures it’s unclear whether this car has the RS model’s wider rear track.
So tell me about the next Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 RS.
The GT3’s 3600cc flat six – which can trace its mechanical origins back to the GT1 Le Mans racer – will be further tweaked to boost performance. At 113.6bhp per litre, the current car’s 409bhp output is pretty close to the engine’s limit but the power hike will still be significant.
The latest news to leak from Stuttgart is that the next 911 Carrera S will have 380bhp as standard. A performance pack could take that to over 400bhp so the GT3 will put a clear step between it and the S with over 430bhp. Expect peak power at a frenzied 7800rpm (and redlined at 8500rpm) while torque should climb from the current 298lb ft.
The power increase will be enough to drop the GT3’s 0-60mph sprint to just four seconds and nudge its top speed to 195mph (current car's 193mph). Porsche’ s PASM active suspension system will be recalibrated to deal with the performance boost, and as before, ceramic composite brake discs will be a (costly) optional extra.
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