Without the constraints of following FIA regulations, Porsche created the 911 GT3 R rennsport. How far did the German automaker go with it? As far as bodywork, “only the hood and roof carry over” from the GT3 R, if that gives you any idea.
Porsche debuted the limited edition rennsport during, you guessed it, Rennsport Reunion 7 at WeatherTech Raceway …
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The fact that a market exists for something like this is both amazing and incredibly awesome.
I hope a few of these actually make it out to the track instead of just being stored somewhere.
I'd love to hear that engine turning 9000+rpm live.
I saw a thread about this one in reddit. Great car, but will probably just be an investment/garage queen for the most part. Its obvious your average person won't be able to afford it, much less see one around.
QuikMcshifterson said:
The fact that a market exists for something like this is both amazing and incredibly awesome.
I hope a few of these actually make it out to the track instead of just being stored somewhere.
I believe the method is to hire a pro to take your car out and make noisy noises at Rennsport or some other high profile track day.
I think the development of this car says a lot about how digital the design process has become, most of the engineering would have been done on the computer before any parts were made. No need to test the aero, CFD and FEA tells us how it'll work. The new pistons and camshafts were designed by removing whatever constraints Porsche had decided were important for GT3, such as a wide powerband (you can see some of those design decisions in this article about the race car). This is very cool.
So Porsche has the GT3 R rennsport and Ford has the Mustang GTD.
Who's next?
In reply to Colin Wood :
At $1 million, the rennsport makes the GTD seem like a bargain at $300K. Crazy.
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
That's because this is based on a $550k car and the GTD is based on a $30k car :)
I don't think price really matters to anyone buying one of these. Nobody's really going to cross-shop. They'll both appreciate, but the 911 will always be more valuable because it's a 911 and it's got a deeper international competition pedigree.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Agreed. I was just thinking that one could build a race car from scratch with more power, better handling and less weight easily and for much less money. At some point you are just paying for the name and heritage.
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
There's also reliability and serviceability . Porsche does know how to make a really effective race car, and it's a lot more than just power/weight. But it would be interesting to cross-shop things like LMP3 cars, which are about a quarter million.
I don't think Ford has released the price of the real Mustang GT3 yet, have they?
Ease of service, parts availability, heritage, fit and finish, reliability, easy of buying and driving. Purchasing something like this as a done deal is very different from building something to outperform it. The Aero testing alone would cost you a big chunk of the purchase price.
I want to hear that thing at WOT going through the tunnel and up the hill. 145hp/L n/a just doens't happen anymore unless it's a bike.
Colin Wood said:
So Porsche has the GT3 R rennsport and Ford has the Mustang GTD.
Who's next?
Hyundai.
Yes, Hyundai.
(okay, not really, but that would be one hell of a callback to an old advertising campaign)
A guy in my local PCA is pretty rich (he sold his trucking company for millions) and always has the latest Porsche high-performance model. He currently has a Cayman GT4 RS, but only until the next model that he's ordered arrives. Most of the really high-end cars in the club have been purchased from him. He autocrosses and does track days with all of his cars, so I would think if he bought a GT3 R (no doubt he's considering it) that he'd have it at the track.
The cool thing is that he's a really nice, approachable guy.
BTW, his new tow rig that he tows the GT4 to autocrosses with is a Freighliner toterhome.