DRIVEN: Porsche 911 GT3 RS is certainly addictive

Everything these days is so politically correct and there is not a hope in hell I am even going to attempt get into the stupid stuff that has happened over the past few months, other than to say nobody seems to accept innocence anymore – or seemingly be allowed to have an opinion on anything without being condemned as a racist.

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Thankfully, I subscribe to a simple policy that I will give you the same respect you give me, regardless of skin colour, religion, whether you don’t support the Sharks or drive a Toyota Corolla and think anybody believes you are not an Uber driver.

Live and let live, I say.

Politics is not my thing, although I have to admit my favourite show on TV lately is CNN.

Watching Donald Trump get into it with journalists, in person and on Twitter, is sadly amusing.

I say sadly, because I think the US is a very divided country and they are facing some serious demons going forward.

The rate at which people are turning on each other is no laughing matter.

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But enough of the seriousness, let’s get to the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a car that is politically incorrect in all the right ways, in my humble opinion.

It’ll put a smile on your face every time you drive it. There is absolutely nothing subtle about it, from the colour to why you would want a screaming beast of a race car that can rev to 9 000rpm for the road.

Well, those with money can buy almost anything. I can’t tell you what this means in the precise number of rand you would need your private banker to transfer to Porsche SA, because these cars are mostly, if not all, already spoken for.

They can be, and are, ordered with a varying list of extras, from the optional Lizard Green paint to the Weissach package you see in the pictures in front of you.

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For the record, the optional Weissach package includes a lightweight roof with carbon-weave finish, package magnesium wheels, carbon-fibre anti-roll bars, a lightweight bonnet with carbon-weave finish, a bolted titanium roll cage at the rear and SportDesign exterior mirrors with carbon-weave finish covers.

This is all said to reduce the weight by around 30kg.

So, despite what you see on websites or read in the press, the official word is that you would need to contact your nearest Porsche dealer if you wanted to know the exact number – if you can even get your name on the list.

Logic suggests you will pay north of R3.5 million for a 911 GT3 RS with all the right goodies on it. It’s only money… and the GT3 RS is more about breaking the rules and enjoying your motoring in the purest way possible.

This car does that so well.

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It has a massively powerful 4.0-litre, six-cylinder, naturally aspirated engine, that pumps out the best sounding 383kW of power at 8 250rpm and 470Nm of torque at 6 000rpm, all neatly tucked under a carbon rear wing.

The wing is not there for show. When added to the wide 911 turbo body and RS specific aerodynamic add-ons, this increases the total down force to 144kg at 200km/h, some 75kg more than the 911 GT3.

Trust me, when you have a car that has a weight-to-power ratio of 3.74kg/kW and is said to get 100km/h in 3.2 seconds, 200km/h in 10.6 sec, and only stops at 312km/h via the lightning-quick shifting seven-speed, Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) gearbox, you want to know you have the most grip you can have.

The car also runs racing-style ball joints on all arms for better driving precision than conventional elastokinematic bearings, along with 20-inch wheels with 265/35 semi-slick tyres on the front and 21-inch wheels with 325/30 semi-slick tyres at the rear with rear axle steering.

Our test car came with optional magnesium wheels, which are even lighter than the already light standard wheels, thanks to the Weissach package.

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Porsche recently set a new Nurburgring Nordschleife record with the GT3 RS, and the car is the fastest naturally aspirated production sports car to lap the legendary circuit – 6 min 56.4 sec.

So, you know it will hustle around corners in a way that no other car in its class can. It does prefer smooth race track-type tar to bumpy everyday road tar.

On our test drive in and around the awesome mountain passes and roads of the Western Cape, the firmness and the brilliant and exceptionally communicative steering of GT3 RS demanded full attention on roads that were less than perfect – even more so when a few friendly guys on super bikes joined the party for a few kilometres of open road rivalry.

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I am not going to lie, the jolting can be severe and is felt through the carbon full-race bucket seats, and there was a time or two my heart rate increased rather rapidly mid-corner when the steering and suspension were doing what they felt was best for the car.

It is a deeply rewarding experience to drive this car in such a spirited fashion, but it is also a car whose abilities must be respected, or it will highlight your lack of ability in a spectacularly bad and messy way.

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To wrap up, while the world is going electrically assisted hybrid and turbocharged crazy, the GT3 RS will remain true and pure in the hearts of performance enthusiasts, not only because of the way it excites on the road, but also because of the sound and the way its engine delivers its power.

It’s not politically correct, but it is addictive!

Likes 

• Unbeatable in its class
• Rewarding and exclusive
• I guess almost everything

Dislikes

• It’s firm and uncompromising, but you expected that, didn’t you?
• There isn’t one parked in my garage

Verdict 

• You better enjoy special cars like this while you still can, the world is changing fast

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