Porsche 911 GT3 R: from the street to the track

Antonio Roncero @roncero_antonio 14 May 2018 3 min.

Porsche 911 GT3 R: from the street to the track

The latest Porsche for competition is the new Porsche 911 GT3 R, based on the street-legal 911 GT3 RS. It costs €459,000, excluding taxes. Here is a detailed look.

If the street Porsche 911 GT3 RS managed to dip under 7 minutes around the Nürburgring circuit (here we tell you how the 911 GT3 RS record at the Green Hell went), can you imagine what its racing variant, the new Porsche 911 GT3 R, is capable of?

We will have to keep imagining, because the Porsche 911 GT3 R, the customer competition version based on the 911 GT3 RS, will not be in the hands of those who take part in the GT3 championships during 2019 until the end of the year. What we do know is what its owners will have to pay: its price is €459,000, excluding taxes. While we’re at it, just a note: the street version comes in at €225,000.

Born to race

Naturally, every extra euro the competition version costs compared with the street car is more than justified. This gives you an idea of how different the demands on a racing car are, even when the base is as good as that of the “nine-eleven”.

What changes mainly? The aerodynamics, safety and everything related to increasing the mechanical reliability needed to compete with confidence. So, on the 911 GT3 R, the roof, front and rear bonnets, front fairings, wheel arches, doors and interior trim are made of CFRP, carbon fibre reinforced polymer. And the windows drop glass in favour of polycarbonate. Everything you see on the bodywork has a function, although what stands out most is the spectacular rear wing, measuring no less than 1,900 mm wide and 400 mm deep.

The engine is essentially the same as in the 911 GT3 RS, a naturally aspirated, water-cooled, direct-injection 4-cylinder boxer with dry-sump lubrication, with power output above 550 CV, depending on the regulations imposed by the FIA. It features an integrated data management system (more than 100 channels) and a competition exhaust system. Power is delivered to the rear wheels through a sequential gearbox with an automated competition clutch, and the mechanical limited-slip differential has adjustable preload. As for the brakes, again competition-grade equipment: 390 mm ventilated, grooved discs at the front with six-piston monobloc aluminium calipers, and 370 mm rear discs with four-piston calipers. The wheels are one-piece BBS with a centre lock nut.

Among the safety modifications, the 911 GT3 RS includes a 120-litre safety fuel tank, racing bucket seats, adjustable pedal box, roll cage, fire extinguishing system, multifunction steering wheel with quick-release system, pneumatic jacks system and, for the first time on a 911 GT3 R, air conditioning.