Porsche loves debuting new, rare, expensive track toys at its fan-fest, Rennsport Reunion. In 2018, we got the 935 recreation, which caused the car world to collectively lose its mind, and on Thursday night, at Rennsport Reunion 7, it debuted it’s next technological terror
The 911 GT3 R Rennsport is still a very fast, track-only 911, only this time, it’s naturally aspirated, revs to 9,400 rpm and produces up to 611 horsepower. It’s also got all the other racecar trappings like built-in air jacks, an elaborate roll cage and a teensy little steering wheel with an impossible number of knobs and buttons on it. Oh, and it has a racecar’s price tag: $1,046,000 before any taxes or transport fees.
With a name like GT3 R, you’d be right to guess that it’s based on the GT3 R, which sees duty in GT3 racing series around the globe. The Rennsport version differs because it tosses out the FIA’s rulebook (aside from the safety rules, obviously) since it’s not designed to race in any series. This means it can have more aggressive aerodynamics and isn’t bound by homologation rules.
The carbon fiber body of the GT3 R Rennsport is wider, longer and lower than the standard GT3 R. It also ditches that car’s swan neck rear wing for something much more grand and reminiscent of the unit that Porsche used nearly half a century ago on the 935/77 driven by Peter Gregg. In fact, the only parts of the body that are carried over from the race car are its roof and hood. Everything else is new.
The powertrain is based on the GT3 R as well, but those wild Porsche engineers took this opportunity to pull out any restrictions that would be imposed by the FIA for series racing, giving this bad bitch a power output of 145 hp per liter. This engine is designed to run on E25 fuels, including Porsche’s eFuel (which the car was running on during its debut), but can also run on regular fuels. The gearbox gets carried over from the GT3 R but is also tweaked slightly for more top-end speed.
In summation, this thing is ridiculous and kind of stupid, but in the best ways I can think of. It’s a wildly expensive object that, despite Porsche’s best intentions, will probably see most of its 77 examples bought by collectors who will hide them away and never turn a wheel in anger. That’s sad and all, but having attended the debut, at least I can say that I saw Jörg Bergmeister blast it down the straight at Laguna Seca, and I’m gladly a little more deaf because of it.
