Dale Lomas of the Bridge to Gantry blog has just shared pics of an un-camouflaged Porsche 991 GT3 RS at the Nürburgring, a visit coinciding with rumours of an attempt on the Nürburgring lap record this evening.
“We’ve all seen the new 991-based GT3RS,” writes Dale Lomas, a driving instructor with RSRNurburg, who hosted our most recent track day at Spa Francorchamps. “I’ve seen the camo-clad test cars, and recently the stationary show-queens at Geneva and New York. But there’s nothing like seeing a hot new car in the wild, undisguised. And that’s what happened tonight at the Nürburgring Nordschleife car park.”
Dale’s pictures show a GT3 RS in Silver arriving at the circuit just before the close, then taking to the track during what photographers call ‘Golden Hour’ for pictures shot in end-of-day light. As the Porsche 911 started its laps of the Nürburgring, the track management cancelled this evening’s public touristenfahrten sessions, marking the circuit as closed.
I’m not sure that Porsche would try a speed record in the evening: early morning light and that cold, damp air would make for a better chance of breaking the Nürburgring lap record, if the track was dry enough. Maybe they want to do some more pictures: the evening light is superb for that. Either way, Dale’s pictures are exciting, showing the Porsche 991 GT3 RS in a normal, run-of-the-mill public situation.
Porsche 991 GT3 RS build slots selling over list price
Of course the Porsche 991 GT3 RS is already sold out. Preferential purchase options went to Porsche 918 owners, many of whom seized the option to buy. The cars that were left quickly sold out, and my Facebook feed has thrown up a few Porsche 991 GT3 RS buyers unsure of what colour to go for.
I have steered clear of discussions on what colour to order for maximum residual value, as that sort of stuff drives me nuts, but no doubt those buyers lucky enough to nab a build slot have already done well for their money. Slots that came available just after launch were changing hands at something like £20k over list price, but I now hear that some slots have been making more than £100,000 over list. Nice work if you can get it.
Edit 23/04/15: just spoke to a guy who has sold his for considerably more than £100k over. Ridiculous.
Watched some Variant 1 KW Suspension going on a Grand Prix White Porsche 964 Targa earlier this week. It was interesting to follow the Porsche project as the rusty old factory dampers came off the 911, to be replaced by KW kit.
When it comes to upgraded Porsche suspension, KW kits are amongst the best available. The German brand with a penchant for finding fine detail on its ex-Formula 1 hydraulic test rig is a favourite of many winning race teams, particularly in the exhilarating VLN championship, so it’s no surprise that KW Suspension Variant 3 kits are common on Porsche cars used for fast road and track days.
The new three-way KW Clubsport adjustable coilover kits are one of my favourites amongst the firm’s 997 GT3 RS track day crowd, but the cheaper V1 and V3 kits are an affordable, quality upgrade for worn-out original suspension.
With prices starting at just over £1,000, the KW Suspension Variant 1 coilover kit is hard to beat. The struts are made from stainless steel, with corrosion resistant springs and bump stops. They also come with the top mounts, which are usually ruined on old 911s. This saves a few quid.
Variant 1 is TUV-approved, so maximum lowering is restricted to no more than 70mm: not that you would want to go quite this low in a classic 911, assuming you were serious about driving. Experienced suspension tech Ricky (above with old and new) carefully set the ride heights before fitting the kit, but the rust-resisting trapezoid thread and composite collar will move freely at any stage in the future, so a new owner could easily raise or lower the car using the supplied KW toolkit.
KW Suspension says that each Porsche suspension kit has been specifically tuned for the car in damper setup and spring rate. The new dampers reduce body roll when the suspension is in compression and give much sharper handling than anything fitted to 911 road cars as standard.
It probably sounds like I have swallowed the KW blurb on this, but I’ve road tested quite a few KW cars and no doubt they feel better to drive. One interesting comparison would be the Bilstein setup fitted to the 964RS I lived with for a few months. That was special, but there seems very little in it when the cars are on track.
The awesome Kévin Estre will join the Porsche works drivers for the second round of this year’s World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) at Spa Francorchamps. The current McLaren factory driver has been let off Woking’s leash to come play with 911s in Belgium.
Estre is a proper racing driver, as proved by his 2013 Carrera Cup Deutschland title. Anyone who wins this series – undoubtedly the world’s most challenging one-make championship – is a monster behind the wheel, especially when they beat Nicki Thiim as their Attempto Racing team mate.
Estre and the Porsche Works Drivers
I was surprised when Kévin did not get a Porsche works drive after winning that championship in such fine style. Stuttgart was rammed with pilots at the time, so I can see why they picked the lineup they went with. It is very exciting to have the 26 year-old Frenchman back in a 911: and the full-fat number 92 factory Porsche Manthey Racing RSR, at that.
Estre went to McLaren at the end of 2013 and made the most of the opportunity, outperforming expectations for the chassis. He also kept his hand in with Porsches, sharing a GT3R with Jaap van Lagen in GT Masters and picking up a couple of wins last year (below at Zandvoort).
Alongside the GT Masters wins and that 2013 Carrera Cup DE championship, Kévin was runner up in the Porsche Supercup that year, Rookie of the Year in 2012, and French Carrera Cup champion in 2011. Estre excels in the wet, so if it rains in Spa (not that unlikely), we are in for a proper 911 race.
Sharing the car is Sven Müller, the quick Porsche Junior who was very impressive in testing following his maiden win in Porsche Supercup at Monza last September. Muller was impressive at Spa, qualifying fourth and finishing just off the podium, behind Bamber, Thiim and Bachler. No shame there.
The Spa-Francorchamps round of the 2015 WEC season runs from May 1-2. You can watch the race live online if you know where to go: WEC rounds are also shown in full on Motors TV and Fox Sports.
Kevin Estre versus Sean Edwards Nürburgring video
Now for some video! Here’s Kévin racing Sean Edwards at the Nürburgring during his 2013 season. Christian Engelhart won this race, but the real action was behind, as Estre and Alex Riberas gave Sean a hard time. Running wide across the grass in the duel with Alex earned Sean a stop/go penalty, hence what happens at the end. Fantastic driving – Edwards was an old-school Nürburgring hero.
After a decent day one of the 2015 Circuit of Ireland Rally, the Tuthill Porsche 997 R-GT failed to leave the start line at the evening’s special stage around Newtownards town centre. The car was pushed out of stage on to a trailer and recovered to the service area.
By the time we got back, it was dark. Spectators surrounded the tent, with plenty of work ahead of us. The boys set the car up on jack stands and set to work on removing the gearbox. Just over half an hour later, the transmission was out and the clutch was exposed. It took engine builder Anthony just a few seconds to spot the issue: one clutch plate had lost all of its friction material.
Single Clutch Plate vs Mutiple Clutch Plate Pack
The clutch kit in most road cars consists of three main parts: single pressure plate, single friction plate and a release bearing. In competition cars like the 997 GT3 Cup on which the R-GT rally car is built, the cars run a set of multiple clutch plates, arranged in a clutch pack.
The advantage of a multi-plate clutch is that it can transmit higher levels of torque through a smaller diameter unit. The more plates there are, the more torque it can transmit, or the smaller the pack needs to be: Formula 1 clutch packs are about the size of your fist. The clutch pack in the 997 R-GT is a bigger diameter than an F1 pack, but smaller than a single plate road clutch.
With a carefully calculated number of plates in the assembly, the failure of one plate does not leave enough friction to drive the car. This is what happened to R-GT. As the team carries spare clutch packs, it was straightforward to fit new parts and get the 911 ready to restart day two of the rally.
Chief Engineer Graham Moore also decided to change all four dampers on the Porsche, to make driver Robert Woodside more comfortable behind the wheel. The car enjoyed a trouble free run through Day 2 and the team came home satisfied with a job well done.
Circuit of Ireland Porsche Rally Video
I put together a short video of our experience on the 2015 Circuit of Ireland Rally, which you can watch below. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the first modern Porsche to start this great rally for almost thirty years: it was cool to see it in person.
Transcript of Porsche CEO, Matthias Müller’s address at the launch of the Cayman GT4 and Porsche 991 GT3 RS in Geneva this morning. Interesting that the Glorious Leader’s first Porsche company car was a 997 GT3.
Matthias Müller Porsche 991 GT3 RS launch speech
“Ladies and gentlemen, Porsche builds sports cars. This also applies in an age when the best-selling Porsche today has four doors.
“The great success we have had by transferring sports car genes to our SUVs helps us to expand our lineup of extremely sporty cars. “Fit for the track, and fit for the road,” works in technical terms for each and every Porsche model and in economic terms for the entire Porsche fleet.
“Why is that the case? Well, striving for victory at the absolute limit on the race track was very often a source of information for extreme Porsche sports cars: for Porsche dream cars.
“For instance, the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 from 1972, which today is a coveted collectors’ item, or all past generations of the 911 GT3. I can speak from experience here, because the 997 GT3 was not [just] for a long time one of my dream cars, it was also my first company car when I joined Porsche.
“These two extreme sports cars that I am presenting [to] you here today – the Cayman GT4 and the 911 GT3 RS – follow this tradition and are continuing it with vigour and power. Both of them have set record times on the North Loop of the Nürburgring when they came into production and this says more than anything I can say for our GT customers. Most of our customers regularly drive their cars in races and they know what I am talking about.
“The 911 GT3 RS has a time of 7 minutes 20 seconds which beats many much stronger and more expensive sports cars. It’s 400 horsepower* have their maximum effect on the racetrack and nevertheless in everyday driving they are very comfortable. It is the top 911 that is still allowed to bear a licence plate for on-road driving.
“Ladies and gentlemen, ten years after the launch of the Cayman as a puristic mid-engine sports car, we have the GT4, which is introducing the crown glory of this model series. Its North Loop time of 7 minutes and 40 seconds is also unequalled in its segment.
“A pure racetrack version will follow during the course of the year: 385 horsepower and it’s irrepressibly fun to drive. The Cayman GT4 represents the lowest cost entry into Porsche’s GT world.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is not a coincidence that we are presenting the Cayman GT4 and the 911 GT3 RS here at the Geneva Motor Show. Switzerland and Porsche: that is a uniquely close connection. 8 million inhabitants: 39,000 Porsche sports cars registered. More Porsche per capita cannot be found in any market in the entire world.
“The Swiss when they select their models often like to go right to the top: more than 40% of all 911s here are Turbos or GT3s. In 2014, when we introduced the Macan, people in Switzerland also decided to opt mostly for the Turbo. Our continuing success here is represented by the sales figures last year, which speak volumes: they were up by more than 29%.
“So, the fact that the new Cayman GT4 and the 911 GT3 RS are being launched in Geneva is, among other things, a homage to our loyal Swiss customers. I am certain that they will provide a very good reception to these new extreme sports cars because dream cars are always in demand. Thank you very much for your attention.”
*as read by the translator. The new Porsche 991 GT3 RS in fact has 500 bhp.
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