Porsche’s new 911 GT3 RS eclipsed the time of its predecessor by six seconds – and the standard, current-generation GT3 by 10 seconds – setting a new Nürburgring record for naturally-aspirated production cars in the process.
0The 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS has lapped Germany’s world-famous Nürburgring race track in less than seven minutes – taking six minutes and 49.328 seconds to get around the 20.832km layout of the circuit.
Revealed in August, Porsche’s 992-generation 911 GT3 RS was able to shave 10.6 seconds off the ‘standard’ 992-series 911 GT3’s time around the Nürburgring Nordschleife – and beating the 991.2-generation GT3 RS by more than six seconds in the process.
In a media announcement, Porsche said the 911 GT3 RS completed a lap of the Nürburgring’s shorter 20.6km layout in six minutes and 44.848 seconds – becoming the fastest naturally-aspirated production car to do so.
The previous naturally-aspirated record holder is the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, which posted a six-minute 44.97-second lap around the 20.6km layout in 2018 – about a tenth of a second slower than the GT3 RS.
The 20.832km layout has been used for official Nurburgring lap record keeping since the end of 2019 – and includes an additional 232m stretch of the final straight for a complete lap, rather than the 20.6km layout, which excludes this distance and stops the clocks 232m before the start line.
Despite the blistering time, Porsche test driver Jörg Bergmeister believes the motorsport-derived supercar could have completed the lap quicker.
“We lost a little downforce due to the strong, sometimes gusting wind, but I’m still very happy with the lap,” Mr Bergmeister said in a media statement.
According to Porsche, the 911 GT3 RS was equipped with its track-focused Weissach package – fitting stickier but road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres to the rear-engined coupe, and cutting out weight.
Compared to the ‘regular’ 911 GT3, the 911 GT3 RS is equipped with a bespoke front splitter, wheel arches, bonnet, rear bumper/splitter, doors and ‘swan-neck’ rear wing – featuring a Formula One-style ‘Drag Reduction System’.
Porsche claims the 992-generation 911 GT3 RS produces more than three times the downforce of the current 992 GT3 and twice as much downforce as its 991.2-generation GT3 RS predecessor.
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS is powered by a 386kW 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat six-cylinder engine – producing 11kW more than the 911 GT3 and a 3kW increase compared to the previous-generation GT3 RS.
While the new 911 GT3 RS is Porsche’s fastest model currently on sale, it isn’t the quickest production car to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
In 2021, a 991.2-generation Porsche 911 GT2 RS – equipped with a factory-backed Manthey Performance Kit from German racing tuner Manthey Racing – set a new record of six minutes and 43.30 seconds around the 20.832km circuit.
The 911 GT2 RS’s time was assisted by its 515kW twin-turbo 3.8-litre six-cylinder petrol engine – 129kW more than the current 911 GT3 RS.
In 2018, Porsche endurance driver Timo Bernhard set the outright lap record at the Nürburgring, posting a time of five minutes and 19.55 seconds in the unregulated 919 Hybrid Evo.
Bernhard’s time eclipsed Stefan Bellof’s previous 1983 record – set in a Porsche 956 C race car – by more than 50 seconds.
The 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS is due to arrive in Australian showrooms towards the middle of next year, priced from $500,200 plus on-road costs.
Read more about Jordan Mulach
More Stories
How the Lucid Air Pure EV came in at under $90K
4 Simple Hacks to Pick a Good Car Repair Shop in Houston
Jeep Avenger Review (2022) | Autocar