► Porsche’s latest track monster
► Limited to just 77 units
► Launched at Rennsport Reunion
Porsche has unveiled a new track-only, limited-edition 911 at Rennsport Reunion – the Porsche motorsport celebration taking place at Laguna Seca, California from 28 September to 1 October 2023.
Called 911 GT3 R Rennsport and limited to just 77 units worldwide, the new model is based on today’s 992-generation GT3 R racecar but – because it is designed only for track use rather than any race series – is unrestricted by FIA GT3 technical regulations.
As such, the GT3 R Rennsport both succeeds the modern 935 and flips that car’s logic on its head, given its predecessor was based on the 991 GT2 RS road car but became a circuit-only special. The GT3 R Rennsport’s design is also less obviously in thrall to a retro racecar than the ‘Moby Dick’-inspired 935.
Grant Larson and Thorsten Klein from Style Porsche designed the body, which embellishes the 911’s standard aluminium and steel bodyshell with new carbonfibre panels – only the bonnet and roof are said to be direct lifts from the GT3 R racecar.
Notable features include aggressive cut-outs in wider wheel arches and vertical carbonfibre fins positioned directly behind each wheel, while the rear wing nods to the 1978 Daytona 24 Hours-winning Brumos Porsche 935/77, as driven by Peter Gregg, Toine Hezemans and Rolf Stommelen. (We’re presuming this is the hook for the 77-unit run).
Wing mirrors are replaced by three cameras integrated into the bodywork, though drag and downforce figures are described as ‘largely untouched’ versus the racecar.
Buyers can pick from seven ‘basic’ colours, but Porsche also offers three special colours – Rennsport Reunion Design, Speed Icon Design and the Flacht Design pictured, which both riffs on Porsche Martini liveries of old and makes a logical fit for a stars and stripes debut.
Inside, the full FIA-spec rollcage leaves Porsche’s 2+2 reduced to a 1+0 single seater, and the remaining controls are similarly racey and far removed from even a GT3 RS – look no further than the bank of toggle switches in the centre console or a steering wheel that looks closer to an F1 yoke than any Porsche road car for evidence of that.
Mechanicals are largely as per the racecar, if with some slight revisions. A 4.2-litre naturally aspirated flat six revs to an incendiary 9400rpm with total power of 612bhp – a substantial uplift over the racecar’s restricted 557bhp. There’s also a choice of three exhausts: the ultimate is unsilenced and de-catted, but Porsche offers two less noisy options with catalytic convertors.
A constant-mesh sequential paddleshift gearbox similarly mirrors racecar specification, with ratios four, five and six matching those of the racer’s set-up for Daytona.
Chassis highlights include KW five-way coilover suspension, AP Racing brakes and centre-lock 18-inch alloys, plus there’s a bespoke compound of Michelin tyre said to be more benign during their warm-up phase.
There’s no word on other performance figures or lap times for now, but the GT3 R Rennsport’s weight is said to be slightly reduced at 1240kg and the top speed in sixth gear at 9000rpm is some 12mph higher than it racecar sibling.
Naturally none of this exclusivity comes cheap – Porsche quotes €950,000 or $1,046,000. That’s hypercar or extremely special racecar money for what’s effectively a Porsche 911 racecar designed not to race, but the limited run means the GT3 R Rennsport is unlikely to hang around for long.