Rolling through quaint seaside villages, the new GT3 RS looks ridiculous. Its Lizard Green paint almost seems to glow as fog from the Irish Sea rolls in, and its huge carbon-fiber wing with "PORSCHE" emblazoned on top draws puzzled looks from the pensioners otherwise enjoying a cold Friday morning. But don't take this to mean that the 911 GT3 RS doesn't fit in on the Isle of Man. Andreas Preuninger. The charismatic head of road cars at Porsche Motorsport, he's an expert on the subject. Andy, as he likes to be called, has wanted to bring a GT3 RS here for years. It becomes clear why. Otherwise a summertime holiday destination and tax haven, this tiny island plays host to one of the world's greatest motorcycle races鈥攖he Isle of Man TT. It's a week-long series of races where riders from around the world, divided into various classes, chase the highest average speed on a 37-mile course made from the island鈥檚 public roads. A course that winds through narrow villages and up and down a mountain on bumpy, cambered roads with no barriers and so many places to crash.
With over 250 fatal accidents since its first running 111 years ago, the TT is one of the deadliest races in the world. It's a place that captures the imaginations of so many riders looking to make their mark, in spite of the looming threat of death. To a racing romantic, the allure is undeniable. The GT3 RS has always appealed to a similar sort of romantic. It offers a tangible connection to the 911s you see racing all over the world, and thus, an emotional connection to the allure of racing. It's a car that speaks to the race-car-driver fantasies we all had as children. The regular 911 lineup starts at the Carrera, a pleasant 370-hp sports car, and extends to the all-wheel drive 580-hp Turbo S. Beyond that, Porsche Motorsport steps in. The automaker鈥檚 in-house competition department offers three flavors of hardcore 911. First is the GT3, with a naturally-aspirated race-derived motor and heavily revised chassis and suspension.
One step beyond that is the GT3 RS, which takes the GT3 to a more track-ready extreme with stiffer suspension, lightweight body panels, and aero elements. This new, 991.2-generation 911 GT3 RS shares its naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six with the lesser GT3鈥攁nd also every 911 race car built by Porsche Motorsport today, including the RSR. The suspension is pretty racing inspired, too. Compared to its predecessor, spring rates on the new GT3 RS more than doubled up front, and increased by 33 percent in the rear. The rubber front subframe bushings used in the previous GT3 RS are gone, too, replaced by solid connections. The new GT3 RS has tech not allowed in any race series today, like adaptive dampers and rear-wheel steering. No one from Porsche will say it outright, but the new GT3 RS chassis is basically identical to that of the outrageous GT2 RS. That's no big surprise, since Porsche Motorsport developed both cars at roughly the same time.
The aerodynamics are similar too. Those NACA ducts on the trunklid direct cooling air to the front brakes, which allowed Porsche to create a smoother underbody that helps the diffuser behind the muffler generate more downforce. The decklid wing comes from the GT2 RS, manually adjustable to one of three positions. Set to maximum attack, this wing helps the GT3 RS make nearly 1000 lbs of downforce at its 193-mph top speed. I should note that my drive in the new GT3 RS was tempered by rain and fog, which is no surprise when you're in the middle of the Irish Sea. A thick mist enveloped the mountain that makes up the last few miles of the TT course, while temperatures only ever reached the low 50s and rain was persistent. Not ideal conditions for 520 horsepower, rear-wheel drive and aggressive summer tires. But like its highlighter green paint glowing in the fog, the brilliance of the new GT3 RS shone through. This is one of the most exhilarating cars on sale today.
Fire up the GT3 RS, and the 4.0-liter flat-six fills the cabin with a rough, clattering idle, more mechanical noise than exhaust note. It鈥檚 very clear this is not a regular Carrera. With so little sound deadening, every time you tap the throttle, you hear a rush of air getting sucked into the intake. This engine only offers 20 horsepower and seven lb-ft of torque more than the 4.0-liter in the previous GT3 RS. This is a case of numbers not telling the full story if ever there was one. It's a savage, revving to 9000 rpm with such ferocity, you'll want to swear off turbochargers for good. Between 8000 and 9000, it's violent and utterly addictive. The motor in the old 991.1 GT3 RS is great, but it can't match the fury and response of this one. Preuninger puts it best when he says this engine "has so much meat in it." He's biased, of course, but he's right. And then you pull a paddle and do it all over again.