The Forgotten Genius Of Electricity
Several times earlier in this article, I mentioned the man, Nikola Tesla and stated that he was the greatest mind that ever lived. The U.S. Patent Office has 1,200 patents registered in the name of Nikola Tesla and it is estimated that he could have patented an additional 1,000 or so from memory! But, back to our electric automobiles - in 1931, under the financing of Pierce-Arrow and George Westinghouse, a 1931 Pierce-Arrow was selected to be tested at the factory grounds in Buffalo, N.Y. The standard internal combustion engine was removed and an 80-H.P. 1800 r.p.m electric motor installed to the clutch and transmission. The A.C. motor measured 40 inches long and 30 inches in diameter and the power leads were left standing in the air - no external power source! At the appointed time, Nikola Tesla arrived from New York City and inspected the Pierce-Arrow automobile. He then went to a local radio store and purchased a handful of tubes (12), wires and assorted resistors. A box measuring 24 inches long, 12 inches wide and 6 inches high was assembled housing the circuit.
The box was placed on the front seat and had its wires connected to the air-cooled, brushless motor. Two rods 1/4" in diameter stuck out of the box about 3" in length. Mr. Tesla got into the driver's seat, pushed the two rods in and stated, "We now have power". He put the car into gear and it moved forward! This vehicle, powered by an A.C. 90 m.p.h. and performed better than any internal combustion engine of its day! One week was spent testing the vehicle. Several newspapers in Buffalo reported this test. When asked where the power came from, Tesla replied, "From the ethers all around us". Several people suggested that Tesla was mad and somehow in league with sinister forces of the universe. He became incensed, removed his mysterious box from the vehicle and returned to his laboratory in New York City. His secret died with him! It is speculated that Nikola Tesla was able to somehow harness the earth's magnetic field that encompasses our planet. And, he somehow was able to draw tremendous amounts of power by cutting these lines of force or causing them to be multiplied together. The exact nature of his device remains a mystery but it did actually function by powering the 80 h.p.
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.
Unlike the new GT3, the GT3 RS will only be available with Porsche鈥檚 PDK seven-speed dual-clutch automatic鈥擯orsche positions its "RS" cars for those concerned with the fastest possible lap time. If you've read this or any other car publication, you'll know that Porsche's PDK is the best dual-clutch around, and you won't be surprised to learn that it's mind-bending here. Shifts are so immediate and smooth, even the most die-hard save the manuals types will come away very impressed. I love this engine with a manual gearbox in the regular GT3鈥攖hat's what I'd buy if I could鈥攂ut there's no denying that an instantaneous 9000-rpm PDK upshift is an extraordinary experience. It's eye-opening. Literally, in my case, as a bit of standing water and let's say a less-than-precise throttle application caught me out within my first few minutes in the car. Porsche Stability Management kept everything in check, but it was almost as if the car was offering me a warning.