Porsche has sharpened the knife that is the 911 to create the 2023 GT3 RS. It has a wing taller than the roof and a radiator in the trunk — and even the front suspension makes serious downforce.
We just called the 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 “the pinnacle of driving nirvana” in our recent review of the car. Well, that peak may have just been surpassed. The Porsche GT3 RS is here, with more power, more downforce, and more tech taken directly from Porsche’s winning racecars.
More Power From Hotter Cams
Start with the heart of the 911 GT3 RS. Like the 911 GT3 we drove that this car is based on, this beast gets the naturally aspirated flat-six that comes from Porsche’s GT3 Cup cars. It’s been massaged even more than the regular GT3’s 502-horsepower plant.
New camshafts and a motorsport-derived — we’re going to be saying that a lot, so strap in — intake system gives the engine 518 horsepower. To help make it quicker than the GT3, the RS gets shorter overall drive ratios. The result is 0-60 mph in just 3.0 seconds and a top speed of 184 mph.
While the air moving through the engine is a big deal, 16 more horses show it’s not the airflow priority. It’s the way the GT3 RS cuts through the air that took priority.
Comprehensive Composite Bodywork
Nearly every panel of the GT3 RS is special and specific to the car. Many of them are made from carbon fiber, including the doors, front quarter panels, roof, and hood. More than just cutting weight, the panels are filled with changes that are functional and key to the car’s aerodynamics.
The rear wing will grab your attention right away. Big enough that we can’t even make fun of it anymore, it’s larger in every dimension than the one on the last GT3 RS. And it’s the first Porsche road car with a wing higher than the roof. It’s an active wing, able to add angle of attack for more downforce — up to 1,895 pounds of it at 177 mph — or act like an airbrake when it’s time to get on the binders.
Though it makes twice the downforce as a last-gen RS and three times a standard GT3’s at 124 mph, it’s not just more downforce and drag for the carbon wing. Porsche stole a trick from Formula 1 and has given the GT3 RS a drag reduction system (DRS). The DRS system flattens out the wing to reduce drag when you’re going for top speed.
Racing-Style Center Radiator
The wing is balanced out by the new nose. Porsche canned the GT3’s three radiator system hidden in the bumper and replaced it with a motorsport-derived single-rad system. That radiator is mounted in the center and vents its hot air through the vents carved in that new hood.
Moving the radiator let Porsche add a front splitter and movable elements in the nose. Those movable elements balance out the movable wing, helping contribute to that massive amount of downforce.
More air venting comes from the front wheel arches and their RS-signature louvers. There are inlets behind the front wheels, and fins on the roof exist to move hot air away from the engine intakes.
Even the Suspension Makes Downforce
Just how much effort did Porsche put into directing how the 911 GT3 RS moves through the air? The suspension’s double wishbones add 88 pounds of downforce on the front axle.
Instead of the typical round or crudely stamped design, they’re teardrop-shaped. The links are longer than the standard GT3 as well, with the front track pushed out 1.14 inches for more grip.
Porsche describes the GT3 RS as having a “track suspension.” A track-specific drive mode lets the driver adjust rebound and compression independently, even setting the front and rear axles to different levels. Even better, they can do it on the move. A rotary control on the wheel lets the driver adjust the rear differential’s action, another motorsport-derived feature.
Carbon Brakes Optional, Carbon Seats Standard
Steel brakes are standard, with the six-piston monobloc calipers wearing larger pistons than a normal GT3. The rotors are slightly thicker, too. Ceramic composite brakes are an option, enlarging the rotors slightly more and helping cut a few pounds.
Porsche doesn’t talk about the interior much, other than to say it has carbon bucket seats. Expect traditional GT3 cues, like minimal amounts of trim, fabric door pulls, plenty of carbon fiber, and an option to get track-ready harnesses.
Weissach Pack Adds Carbon Roll Bars, Bares All
If a standard GT3 RS is somehow not enough, Porsche will sell you the Weissach package. It makes many of the car’s carbon parts, like the roof, hood, wing, and side mirror housings, visible carbon instead of paint.
Because more carbon is always better, it adds anti-roll bars and a rear axle shear panel made from CFRP. The package wraps up with magnesium wheels and motorsport-derived — last time, I promise — magnet-operated paddle shifters.
Porsche’s ultimate GT3, the 2023 GT3 RS, customer deliveries will start sometime before spring of 2023. The price starts at $223,800, before you start adding extras like that Weissach pack.
