New 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS is "most track-focused" ever

The new Porsche 911 GT3 RS has been officially revealed as a hardcore, motorsport-inspired range-topper, which, the German car maker says, is the “most track-focused and aerodynamically optimised” 911 ever. 

Priced from £178,500 in the UK, the new Porsche 911 flagship – on show at Monterey Car Week in California – is the first GT3 RS model since 2018 and the first to be based on the 992-generation 911. 

Behind the driver sits a 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six engine. It produces 517bhp and propels the car from 0-62mph in 3.2sec and on to a top speed of 184mph. 

All cars are fitted with an enhanced seven-speed PDK transmission, with shorter drive ratios than in the standard 911. There are also three drive modes – Normal, Sport and Track – to choose from. 

To improve performance and aerodynamics, the GT3 RS takes mechanical inspiration from the current 911 GT3 R, the firm’s GT customer race car. 

Thanks to several changes around the car, the 911 GT3 RS generates twice as much downforce as the 991.2-generation model, and three times as much as the existing 911 GT3. At 124mph, the 911 is capable of producing 409kg of downforce, and 860kg at 177mph. 

It’s the first road-going 911 to feature a radiator that has been positioned centrally in the nose of the car, formerly occupied by a small luggage compartment. 

First used in the firm’s Le Mans-winning 911 RSR, the new radiator positioning has made room for integrated active aerodynamics on each side of the car in the form of “continuously adjustable wing elements”, Porsche says. 

Other technologies include the integration of the largest ‘swan neck’ wing ever fitted to a road-going 911, which measures around six-foot wide and stands taller than the roof. Other changes include new side blades, wing inlets and rear splitter - a modified version of that seen on the standard 911.