The “Ultimate” Porsche 911 has to be the special-edition Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 Coupe which will be limited to a production run of just 600 units globally as the swansong for the current-generation 997-series 911. Mind you, they’ve been trying to can the 911 for about 30 years, but popular demand keeps them in the showrooms.
The all-new, and even more confusingly named, 991-series 911 will make its world debut at this September’s Frankfurt motor show. This RS 4.0 is the ultimate naturally aspirated 911 road car.
The ultimate 911?
This version of the 911 has the 4.0 liter boxer six from the 911 GT3 RSR racer to deliver an astonishing 368 kW (500 hp) at 8250 rpm (350 rpm higher than the GT3 RS’s 3.8 liter flat six) and some 460 Nm of peak torque 1000 rpm earlier at 5750 rpm.
The engine has the RSR crankshaft, forged pistons and titanium conrods which gives the RS 4.0 a specific output of 92 kW per liter, which at 125 hp/liter easily breaks the magic 100 hp/liter mark once achieved only by racing engines.
Porsche claim the close-ratio six-speed manual GT3 RS 4.0 is almost as quick as the 911 Turbo too, with claimed 0-100 km/h and 0-200 km/h figures of 3.9 and 12.0 seconds.
The rocket-ship has lightweight racing suspension components, carbon-fiber sports bucket seats, bonnet and front guards, a plastic rear window and “weight-optimized” carpet brings the kerb weight to just 1360 kg with a full tank of fuel. The RS 4.0 also features even wider wheel tracks and lower ride height, with additional ball-joint and a revised versions of Porsche’s Active Suspension Management system bringing the GT3 RS 4.0 closer to the set-up of the wild GT2 RS than the regular GT3 RS.
Porsche says the RS 4.0 can lap Germany’s famed 20.8 km Nürburgring-Nordschleife road course in seven minutes and 27 seconds -quicker than the GT3 RS it replaces at 7:33.
Price? In this country, forget it.
