TOTAL 911 VERDICT

Andrew Frankel concluded that there was space at the top for “a crazy car, one that takes you to the edge where you feel most alive. That car is the 991.1 GT3 RS.” Mark Sumpter, who has raced Porsches for 30 years and knows his GT3S, would not demur, but observes that the RS is so resolutely driver-focused, that it is not entirely practical day to day. “Over 18 months, I never minded taking it to a racing circuit as I frequently did, but its dimensions are awkward in town and it can attract rather too much attention, and I don’t think all that aero has any effect at speeds we can drive here. Visibility through the back is compromised by the wing and the cabin is noisy: it’s not a sociable 911.”

Essentially, the buyer has to be certain he or she really wants a Porsche as uncompromised as this. Many owners have tried it and quickly sold it on, which is why so many low-mileage cars – the phenomenon is now more apparent with the 991.2 RS – came on to the market in relatively short order. But if you can drive it extremely fast and bond with it as Frankel obviously could, the 991.1 GT3 RS experience is little short of sensational.