MONTEREY, Calif. — The seventh Rennsport Reunion is officially underway at Laguna Seca, and Porsche just used the international gathering of all things Porsche as a backdrop to present a new race car. It’s called the Porsche 911 GT3 R rennsport, and it’s a limited-production GT3 R-based racer designed for maximum performance on the track.
What makes the rennsport special edition unique is that it doesn’t abide by typical racing series rules. You see, the regular 911 GT3 R is designed with FIA GT3 competition rules in mind. Porsche threw those out the window when engineering the GT3 R rennsport to give the 77 owners (yes, only 77 will be produced) the most performance it can muster. Visually, that means almost the entire exterior is changed from the GT3 R it’s based on, retaining only the hood and roof from the regular GT3 R. The result of Porsche’s work is a race car that is both more aerodynamically efficient and produces more downforce.
As a few examples, Porsche deleted the traditional mirrors for cameras that can be viewed via video monitors in the cabin. The gigantic new wing necessitated additional vertical supports to withstand the newfound levels of downforce. And the wide open rear fascia is designed to both reduce weight and provide a glorious view of the machinery within.
Not having to follow powertrain rules means the 4.2-liter flat-six (still rear-mounted) that revs to 9,400 rpm makes even more power, as Porsche ticks the needle from 557 horses up to 611 horsepower in the rennsport. Porsche says this version of the engine has specially-designed pistons and camshafts, and it’s also optimized to run on bio-ethanol fuels. However, Porsche says you can still pump conventional fuel without a problem, too. The exhaust system is new and completely without mufflers to create “an authentic and extremely emotional engine sound,” according to Porsche. That said, two other exhaust systems car be optionally fitted that have catalytic converters and mufflers so that you can run the car on tracks with noise restrictions legally.
The sequential six-speed gearbox is almost entirely unchanged, but Porsche says it gave the car a higher sixth gear to increase top speed by 12 mph over the standard GT3 R. There’s nothing different about the chassis – it’s still rocking a double-wishbone front and multi-like rear with KW racing shock absorbers – but a new Michelin tire compound was developed specifically for this car that has improved warm-up and drivability characteristics compared to the GT3 R.
Additional minor improvements include unique brake pads with titanium backing plates (saves a couple pounds), a new lighter fuel tank and the elimination of the air conditioning system. Admittedly, the ultra-rich collectors who buy these cars to actually use might miss air conditioning, but Porsche says this car is all about weight reduction and is targeting a 2,734-pound curb weight.
We do mean rich, too, because the GT3 R rennsport rings in with a base price of $1,046,000. That’s before options and transportation fees. The 77 folks who manage to buy one will have their choice of seven different exterior colors and three different paintwork designs. For a race car, that’s a lot of customization, as Porsche says a few of the seven paint options include Ruby Stay, Signal Orange and Agate Gray Metallic. The three paintwork designs on offer include “Rennsport Reunion Design,” “Flacht Design” and “Speed Icon Design.”
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