Flying low in the California desert in souped-up Porsche 911 GT3 RS
In early February, I was at the King of the Hammers off-road festival testing something entirely novel: a competition-focused, sand-slinging Ford Bronco DR. A week later, I was an hour southeast of Palm Springs on Thermal Raceway. But this time, I was testing a familiar formula: the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS. While the Bronco DR is intent on conquering a new desert frontier, the GT3 RS is already the supercar standard for on-track performance. With its 2023 model, Porsche has raised the bar again.
Incorporating state-ofthe-art aerodynamics and digital wizardry, the GT3 RS is a significant leap from the last-gen car that I tested. While the $225,000 cyborg will be enjoyed by a few, its technology will ultimately trickle down to more affordable performance cars. Consider the 911-inspired, push-topass button on the steering wheel of the $33,000 Hyundai Elantra N that I tested recently.
For this generation, Porsche has innovated the ability for drivers to adjust suspension settings on the fly with four “satellite buttons” on the steering wheel. Kinda like my own Lola race car.
I dialed in shock rebound on my yellow GT3 RS tester to allow for more feedback on Thermal’s fast, flat North-desert Circuit.
The GT3 RS is instantly familiar as a 911. Neutral and easy to drive, its predictability allows you to focus on learning the track. I was up to speed quickly — chasing Porsche endurance ace and RS development driver Jorg Bergmeister lap after lap.
But where the ’23 RS transcends its predecessor is in prodigious downforce. With a gobsmacking 1,897 pounds of maximum downforce, the GT3 offers neck-straining capability at high speeds. At 135 mph into a sharp 90-degree Turn 4, I left my braking way later than in a standard 911 before rotating into the corner apex.
Credit massive 16-inch front brake rotors — and a dual-element, swan-neck rear wing the size of a Boeing 737 that snaps shut under braking, effectively throwing a parachute behind the car.
Through high-speed sections, the wing works in tandem with a rear diffuser, nose cavity, sub-nose winglets and an array of wheel-well barge boards to suck the car to the pavement.
That’s where the massive 12-inch-side rear and 10.8-inch front Michelin
Sport Cup 2 gummies can really do their work. Through the Turn 12-13 esses, the RS changes direction as if on rails. Yet all this fighter-jet tech doesn’t compromise the Porsche’s solidity, and I flatten curbs like balloons at 105 mph.
In contrast to the 9,000rpm Porsche sports cars I’ve raced, the 911 GT3 RS didn’t require I wear plugs (lest my ears be shattered), stuff my knees into the dash or brace my back for a washboard ride. The RS cockpit is equipped with interior sound-deadening, Alcantara-wrapped luxury seats and exhaust mufflers that isolate the shrieking flat-6 behind me.
Still, this is a trackfocused car. Rear seats are deleted whether you opt for a rollbar or not, the frunk has been replaced by a huge radiator that sucks air through the nose then spits it out over the fenders and greenhouse for maximum downforce. Needless to say, there is no adaptive cruise control.
Bergmeister has already shattered the normallyaspirated record at Germany’s legendary Nurbugring race track with a 6:49 minute lap — seven seconds under the last-gen RS.
Said Bergmeister afterward: “In the fast sections in particular, the 911 GT3 RS is in a league of its own.”
High wing, high bar.