Naval Combat: Porsche 911 GT3 RS Races McLaren 600LT in the Wet
GT3 RS has a lot less power than its McLaren rival, but will a rain-soaked track help it make up some of that difference?
When you have access to a famous racetrack, time with a champion driver, and the keys to a Porsche 911 GT3 RS and McLaren 600LT, you shouldn’t let anything stop you from having a good time, even rain. Luckily for us, Motor Trend‘s Randy Pobst, Jethro Bovingdon, and Jonny Lieberman powered through miserably cold and wet weather to show us what those two high-performance cars can do on a slick course.
Technically, Pobst does the powering through – around all nine slippery turns of the “Big Willow” of Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California to find out which car can set a lower lap time.
On paper, the McLaren 600LT has a clear advantage. Its twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 generates 592 horsepower and 457 lb-ft of torque. The 911 GT3 RS only has 520 horsepower and 346 lb-ft to work with. It also weighs 159 pounds more (3,153 pounds) than the Mac.
However, according to Lieberman, Porsches have a reputation for punching above their weight. He tells Bovingdon, “Again and again and again, we’ve seen Porsches take on cars with a lot more power and just smoke them.”
Pobst takes off in the 911 first. As he flies through the 2.5-mile course, Lieberman can’t help but wonder what it must be like for his fearless colleague. He says to Bovingdon, “Imagine bombing down [turn] 5 in the wet and just knowing that if you go off the track, just rocky death awaits.”
Pobst manages to stay on the tarmac and crosses the finish line in 1:38.97. After he emerges from the GT3 RS’s cockpit, he gives the pair his driving impressions. “The GT3 RS feels … stiff and the tires feel stiff. The Michelin Sport Cup 2s … want a little temperature. There’s not a lot of temperature out here today.”
Pobst slides into the 600LT next. Unlike its German competitor, the McLaren is equipped with Pirelli P Zero rubber, which Bovingdon deems great at dispersing water. Lieberman mentions its available Dynamic mode is capable of cutting corner entry understeer and corner exit oversteer. It’s unclear if Pobst uses it. It winds up not really mattering, anyway. Pobst zooms to a 1:32.72 finish.
Clearly, the Porsche (and its tires) dislikes the rain as much as Lieberman and Bovingdon. Judging by the comments section, it performs much better on a drier surface and can finish a lap in 1:23.67 versus the McLaren’s time of 1:24.71.
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