30 Oct 06
The GT3 RS that will be available early next year costs no less than £94,280. That figure has been the source of much debate for the past few months, in fact ever since the first photos were released. People rightly question whether Porsche is taking the Michael by marketing a car with a near identical powertrain and slightly revised bodywork for a premium of more than £14,000.
After all, the base GT3 is a car whose mixture of everyday usability and circuit-speed squares with most people's view of perfection. But if experience at this end of the market has taught us one thing, it's not to get drawn into arguments about value. If it's special enough, people will pay the premium.
Porsche is being uncharacteristically coy about the modifications involved in turning a 997-generation GT3 into the RS version. This might have something to do with the fact the RS is a proper homologation exercise for the ACO, FIA GT and IMSA regulations and the RSR it has spawned will no doubt be winning at a circuit near you soon, so of course Porsche isn't keen to reveal its secrets to its competitors. But it might also be something to do with the fact that, on paper at least, it isn't really all that different.
It uses a Carrera 4 bodyshell instead of the narrower two-wheel-drive platform of the standard GT3. This brings a slight benefit in torsional strength and facilitates a 34mm wider rear track which sits within rear arches that are 44mm wider than the stock GT3's. In addition, the RS model has split rear wishbones, enabling greater accuracy when setting the rear camber. The wheelbase has been extended by 5mm to achieve greater stability and performance.
