micahbones

"Astonishing. That’s the word I keep coming back to. There’s an aura about the
latest GT3 RS and the communication levels that bond you to it that somehow
transcend the usual boundaries of ride and handling.

...The closest car in spirit and execution is probably the Lotus Exige Cup, which
doesn’t have an engine anything like as enthralling. The RS is unquestionably
worth the extra twenty grand it costs over the standard GT3, too..."

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evoc...rs_review.html

So this is Evo's answer the questions asked repeatedly on these forums about
whether an RS is worth the premium over the GT3. Also interested to note in
they'd lose the graphics too.

Carrera GT

Reads like another review in the stack of positive reviews. I think they're missing the real story. I think the average journo lacks the seat time or track time access in the car, with tire temps dialed in and enough experience behind the wheel to discover this new RS. With sincere respect for our "resident journo" I'm sure there are exceptions. None of the superlative-fest reviews to date have gone deeply enough into the RS to discover anything more than to describe the tip of the iceberg.

I've had a couple of GT3s and a decent amount of track time in well-prepped examples. I've had only four track days in the new RS. The tip of the iceberg, well, maybe I've seen a little below the waterline too. This new RS is not just an incremental .2 of any sort -- it's a new 911.

I'm hazarding an early guess that Porsche has shown us a lot of the new 911 (be it called 991 or 998 or whatever) and I'm looking forward to seeing the 2012 car arrive with a strong DNA link to this RS. It's all in the chassis and suspension, but there's also small hints -- like the way the doors now shut with a positive thunk reminiscent of the 911's before 996 showed up with its Camry-inspired wimpy doors.

I think if I was in product management at Porsche and I'd just delivered the RS and I knew I had that depth of proven engineering in reserve, I'd be very confident the next Carrera is going to exceed expectations and be another successful step forward for the 911.

micahbones

@Carrera GT -- That's some great info & speculation!

Perhaps the actual magazine piece will be more complete, as Evo often has
some of the best auto journalism among the available car mags from my
experience reading it. ...and they love 911s, with the GT3 placing 2nd in this
year's COTY, the 997.1 RS winning COTY against the Scuderia, and two 911s
in the top 11 of their best driving cars of all time award. I know magazine
reviews are subjective to some extent, but I trust their opinions up there
with Excellence and other top tier mags.

ssdaytona

So you're saying the next RS is going to be a lot better than this version?

4.0L engine with a higher RPM?

Isn't this the engine is the RSR? it seems the engines from the race cars trickle down to the GT3 at some point.

silverboy

Great arguments everyone. Yes I adore EVO. Great quality especially w/ Chris Harris there now. Anyway, does anyone of you think Porsche will do what RUF did - shoeing in a V8 flat planed crank N/A on a 997?

Carrera GT

The most notable difference between the 996 GT3 and the 997 GT3 was the space between the back of the engine and the firewall. It almost had a "this space reserved for an additional cylinder pair" sign on it. Now, several years later, that space is still vacant. Sadly, I think it's more a matter of emissions and fuel consumption than outright performance. And if Porsche were to ever build a flat 8 variant, I think they'd have to go to forced induction as the next logical progression to, again, meet the emissions and efficiency laws. It seems to me that Porsche marketing will want to keep the "Turbo" brand and heritage, so they'll perhaps have to go to a hybrid of the turbo-charger/super-charger kind rather than just a single or dual supercharger configuration. More likely, Porsche has already played their hand with mechanical and electric energy systems to create a hybrid. In either case, the weight and complexity has adequate housing forward of the rear axle, but it will still have weight no matter where it resides, so the performance of the car has to be refined to account for that extra passenger. The challenge of perfection, like excellence, never ends.

fer2367

I adore EVO (best car magazine by far) and the reason is that we - car nuts - can relate to them and their aproach to car testing. They usually do circuit times and comparisons, and they have journalists that have significant track experience. Not implying that they are Walter Rohlr, but definitely proficient drivers. The only caveat in my mind is that they seem to have a strong bias in favour of anything British (Evora car of the year, better than GT3?...no way)

Carrera GT

EVO is surely the best of them. For USA readers especially, Excellence is still the best.

Also, I wasn't implying that the journo's can't drive (well, actually, so far, I've not met a journo that can drive at a level that would allow them to gauge the track performance of a 911 in the GT line up) but I was observing that they just plain do not get anywhere near enough seat time in the given car on a track under consistent conditions and get down to dialing the tire pressures let alone take the car and have it aligned, corner balanced and "set" for the driver to be able to say "this setup is the go" and then make judgments that are consistent within the given review, much less comparable from one review (of a given car) to another.

ROK

Evo - Best car mag

C.J. Ichiban

CGT- chris harris is a much more qualified journo then the hacks that write for most mags...and porsche thinks so too- after all they did give him the keys to an RS spyder a few years ago to test at Weissach

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Fze5Gndeo

Carrera GT

He certainly is lucky, though I can't watch his review videos because my eyes fill with tears of blinding jealous rage ...

As for his driving, we'll know something about it once he shares the RS at the ring with Walter Rohrl.

C.J. Ichiban

yeah especially after attending a few ALMS events and seeing the RS spyder run in race settings...and getting to sit in the dyson one a few years ago...I REALLY want to drive one some day. oh well, that's why I'm getting a simulator. lol

savyboy

+1

Sigh