Get ready for a blast from Porsche’s past! The German firm is developing a luxurious, front-engined grand tourer – a spiritual successor to the 928 built between 1977 and 1995. The ‘new 928’ will be a fifth model line, and is designed to sit above the sportier 911 in the range.

With the compact Boxster and Cayman, the 911, the Cayenne SUV and four-door Panamera, Porsche would appear to have most bases covered. But it’s notable for its absence in the front-engined GT segment. The newcomer will allow the brand to take on rivals such as the Ferrari 599 GTB, Bentley Continental GT and Aston Martin DB9. And our exclusive pictures show exactly why the curvy, Panamera-based coupé is set to stun the competition.

Essentially it’s a two-door, short-wheelbase version of the Panamera, which will help to spread the £1.1billion development costs of that model. Its front-engined layout has a number of inherent benefits, too.

A rear-engined 911 has barely more than 100 litres of luggage space, but a similarly sized GT with its motor up front would offer a useful 320 litres – a vital attribute if the new 928 is to be taken seriously as a grand tourer.

While the nose is virtually identical to the Panamera, the shortened wheelbase and 2+2 layout mean the 928 features far smoother lines at the back. One of the major criticisms levelled at the four-door Panamera was its bloated rear, but this model’s muscular haunches and neater proportions should attract a new wave of style-conscious customers.

As you’d expect from Porsche, though, driver appeal remains a top priority. The engine line-up will mirror that of the Panamera, so a 4.8-litre V8, with or without a turbocharger, producing 500bhp or 400bhp, will be available. The naturally aspirated variant is set to come with four or rear-wheel drive, while the range-topping turbo model will be 4WD only.

Thirsty V8s aren’t the only power units on the agenda. The Cayenne SUV hybrid is ready to go on sale next year, with a petrol-electric version of the Panamera following closely behind. As the new 928 shares the latter’s platform, it’s sure to get the hybrid drivetrain, too.

An Audi S4-sourced 369bhp 3.0-litre supercharged V6, coupled to a 38kW electric motor, will give the hybrid 928 fuel economy that breaks the 30mpg barrier. That will make it the most frugal petrol-powered Porsche ever, while still providing hair-raising performance.

The 928 will slot into Porsche’s pricing line-up somewhere between the 911 and Panamera. The four-door ranges from £70,000-£95,000, while the 911 starts a little lower, at just over £60,000, but stretches to £128,000 for the GT2.

With this is mind, expect the 928 to be pitched between £65,000 and £90,000 – enough to safely undercut its Ferrari and Aston rivals when it goes on sale in 2012.

As four-wheeled evolution goes, the Porsche 911 Turbo’s first three and a half decades have been spectacular.

First introduced at the back end of the oil crisis in 1974, Zuffenhausen’s iconic coupe began life with a 260-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter version of Porsche’s classic, horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive.

By all accounts, the first 911 Turbo was monstrously fast in a straight line but a wild ride otherwise, and not easy to tame in the wet. Despite its faults, the fatalistic attraction of that first 911 Turbo stuck. Over 35 years and six model generations, it has grown in power, performance and standing.

The last one, the 997 launched in North America in 2006, served up 480 hp from its twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six and sent it to the corners through a sophisticated four-wheel-drive system. It was, as AutoWeek noted then, the most rounded 911 Turbo to date. It sold in bigger numbers than any of its predecessors, thanks in part to Porsche’s strategy to offer it in cabriolet guise and with an automatic gearbox.

That brings us to this car, the new 911 Turbo. Unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show in September, it is another evolution of the car that preceded it. But it has been extensively reworked in a two-year program that August Achleitner, Porsche’s head of passenger-car development, claims made it more entertaining to drive. Given the adrenaline-inducing appeal of its predecessor, it is hard to believe that such a thing is possible. Still, it would be out of character for Porsche to unleash a new model that didn’t improve on the one it replaces.

You’ve seen this before

The message here is familiar–bring together all the elements that have contributed to the 911 Turbo’s appeal through the years.

Not that it’s reflected in the styling. There’s little in the appearance to signal the extent of the modifications made under the 911 Turbo’s steel body shell. A close inspection reveals some subtle visual changes, including titanium-colored slats in the front air ducts, light-emitting diode daytime driving lamps in the space previously used by the fog lamps, exterior mirrors with a new double-arm design, altered taillamp graphics with LEDs, and larger tailpipes poking out through the rear valance.

This 911 Turbo rolls on new 19-inch forged alloys–some 8.5 inches in width up front and 11 inches at the rear. The two-tone wheels come shod standard with 235/35 ZR19 (front) and 305/30 ZR19 (rear) Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires. Alternately, customers can also opt for the RS Spyder-style wheels of the same size used on the 911 GT3, complete with center locking hubs.

A new heart

But there is a great deal to the 911 Turbo that has changed, starting with the engine. The 3.6-liter flat-six is replaced by a direct-injection 3.8-liter version, running reworked twin variable-vane turbochargers, a higher 9.8:1 compression ratio and closed deck architecture, which is claimed to boost rigidity.

Peak power climbs from 480 hp to 500 hp at 6,000 rpm, while torque has increased from 464 lb-ft in the outgoing engine to 479 lb-ft between 1,950 rpm and 5,000 rpm.

Not enough pull? Order the optional Sports Chrono package and, along with goodies such as electromagnetic engine mounts, you get an overboost feature which momentarily elevates torque by an additional 37 lb-ft to 516 lb-ft–or more than double that of the original 911 Turbo from 1974.

Power is still channeled through a Getrag-built six-speed manual gearbox to a four-wheel-drive system, or Traction Management system in Porsche-speak. It relies on a Haldex style multiplate clutch to apportion drive to the axle with the most grip. In extreme conditions, it is able to transfer up to 100 percent of drive to either axle.

For the new 911 Turbo, however, there are changes to the nominal torque split to provide what Achleitner describes as a “more tail-happy character.” Porsche has changed the software to allow the multiplate clutch to send a greater percentage of drive to the rear under a wider range of conditions.

The joy of PDK

There also is a new optional gearbox, the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch unit. Fitted to the car we drove, it replaces the Mercedes Benz-produced five-speed automatic on the old 911 Turbo. The gearbox, which comes with shift paddles mounted to the steering wheel, is based on the unit recently made available in lesser 911 models but gets beefed up clutches. The dual-clutch gearbox comes with a mechanical rear differential which, similar to the old 911 Turbo, achieves 22 percent lockup under power and 27 percent in overrun.

Also available as optional equipment on the new car is an electronically controlled torque-vectoring system–the first time such a system has been used by Porsche. It alters the 911 Turbo’s yaw properties by automatically braking the inside rear wheel upon turn in, and not just when it’s needed but at every corner.

How does all this come together? Imagine yourself behind the new three-spoke steering wheel of the new 911 Turbo at the end of a long and flat straight. You call up the Sport setting to active the dual-clutch gearbox’s launch control. With 5,000 rpm wound on the engine, you sidestep the brake and are launched with incredible intensity–the sort that sends your head careening back into the headrest and your stomach wishing it was somewhere else.

There’s no hint of delay, just immediate traction as the four-wheel-drive system doles out the power to each corner. A giant wave of acceleration propels you up the road. There’s no wild slithering or screeching from the huge tires out back, merely rapid forward progress. At this point, you need to focus hard just to stay on top of it all.

The way the 911 Turbo goes about its business almost defies conventional road-car logic. Along with an official 0-to-62-mph claim of 3.4 seconds for the dual-clutch model, Achleitner says the car also is capable or running from 0 to 100 mph in just 7.0 seconds, 0 to 124 mph in 11.8 seconds and–get this–0 to 186 mph in 38.8 seconds. Don’t forget, Porsche is notoriously conservative when quoting performance. Even the claimed 193 mph top speed is apparently 5 mph down on what the car is really capable of achieving.

Supercar for every day

Still, the way the new Porsche manages to devour long stretches of blacktop in one intense lunge is only part of the thrill. It can also carry massive speeds into corners with unwavering composure and can tame awful road surfaces without becoming unduly harsh. If there is such thing as an ultimate performance car for the everyday driver, this surely has to be it.

It is the engine, more than anything else, which stands out. There is no discernible turbo lag. Owing to the engine’s increased capacity and higher compression ratio, Porsche has dialed back boost pressure a touch, from the previous 14.5 psi to 11.6 psi, in the interests of added drivability.

The result is keen throttle response and a level of flexibility you have to experience to believe. You can plant your right foot at 1,500 rpm in any gear and the 911 Turbo will respond with a degree of vigor. It’s helped, of course, by the relatively low weight, which is trimmed by 55 pounds in models with the dual-clutch gearbox over those running the old automatic to 3,516 pounds.

Even so, it’s not until you have 2,000 rpm on the rev counter that you experience the sledgehammer qualities to which those acceleration claims allude. It is here where the big levels of shove begin. By the time you’ve breached the 4,000-rpm mark, it starts to feel monstrously fast. The delivery is acutely linear and remains that way all the way until you’ve dialed in well above 6,000 rpm. There is no crescendo up near the redline, just one urgent and omnipotent surge of revs accompanied by a flat and rather nondescript blare of exhaust.

When the road is straight, you’re treated to solid high-speed stability, albeit with some bobbing at the front end as lift forces begin the build. More remarkable, however, is the speed at which the dual-clutch gearbox picks off the gears without any interruption in acceleration, despite all that torque.

The steering-wheel-mounted paddles are nicely weighted, positive in action and enhanced by a Sport Plus function, which lights up on the left-hand spoke of the steering wheel to signal a remapping of the throttle for an even more aggressive throttle response and more rapid gear shifts when you choose. At the same time, a change in the engine mapping conjures up an additional 2.9 psi of boost, giving you access to that solid 516 lb-ft of torque.

More delicacy to the handling

Another of Porsche’s primary aims was to make the new 911 Turbo more entertaining.

“We were confident it had sufficient acceleration but wanted some additional delicacy to the handling,” explains Achleitner.

The handling certainly has gained in terms of overall agility, feeling less reliant upon the four-wheel-drive system for grip and more accommodating to sudden changes in direction. With the optional torque vectoring automatically braking the inside rear wheel, there’s a newfound willingness upon turn in, as well as a noticeable increase in the amount of speed you can carry through corners. On normal roads, the handling is virtually vice-free, with so much grip and such high limits of lateral acceleration through corners, it is rare to see the stability management spring into action.

It’s only on a racetrack where you can confidently begin to explore the 911 Turbo’s dynamic ability. When you do rush up to a bend with excess speed–something that’s all too easy–there’s less of a tendency toward early oversteer and a more neutral feel as you tip it in. While there’s some slight movement of the body when you’re really leaning on it, it is progressive and rarely builds to a level where you’re prompted to back off. More often than not, you’re reveling in the traction afforded by the four-wheel-drive system and the ability of the locking differential and torque vectoring to provide easily controllable drifts at the exit. Another highlight is the sheer brilliance of the brakes.

How good is the handling? According to Achleitner, the new 911 Turbo will lap the Nürburgring in 7 minutes, 39 seconds on standard Bridgestone Potenza tires–some 10 seconds less than the time quoted for its predecessor.

Still, there is a disclaimer in all this: “We don’t want to get ourselves into a race for Nürburgring lap-time supremacy,” Achleitner says. “The times we quote are not really representative because they are set on different days and in differing weather conditions.”

Is it too good?

Yet, as good as the 911 Turbo is, it can sometimes come across as lacking something. I’m opposed to calling it clinical, but in certain respects, that’s what it is, because of its way it is able to conquer everything you throw at it with such authority. With a pair of turbochargers damping the aural effects of the new engine, it never sounds quite as inspiring as some rivals.

There are more spectacular-looking, faster and better-sounding supercars for the money. But as an everyday proposition, the new 911 Turbo is just about beyond comparison. It achieves things that many perceived rivals ultimately fail to deliver on everyday roads, purely because it is so adaptable to such a wide range of conditions. It’s a car you hop into and feel confident right from the outset, despite its huge capabilities.

If you have the means and don’t want to die wondering, it’s a must. Whether you’ll manage to hold on to your driver’s license for long, though, is doubtful.

SPECS

2010 Porsche 911 Turbo

ON SALE: January 2010

BASE PRICE: $132,800

DRIVETRAIN; Twin-turbo 3.8-liter, 500-hp, 480-lb-ft horizontally opposed 6; AWD; six-speed manual

CURB WEIGHT: 3,516 lb

0-62 MPH: 3.4 sec

German tuner Lumma Design makes the Panamera even more striking than normal

The Porsche Panamera – a pretty impressive take on the four-door supercar, but a bit of an opinion divider on the styling front. It’s unlikely you find it too subtle, but nonetheless, Lumma Design has answered an unasked question with its Panamera-based CLR 700GT.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, it’s still at the design stage, and there’s no word on what power lies beneath. We do get a pretty good feel for Lumma’s design credentials, though, with stonking 22in dished alloys housed in bulbous new wheelarches, aggressive new bumpers, splitters and spoilers and a rather large rear diffuser.

There’s also a smattering of additional air intakes as well as what appears to be a carbon bonnet. The CLR 700GT rides 35mm lower than a standard Porsche Panamera

Porsche 914 fans, rejoice. After toying with your emotions for the better part of a year, the latest word out of Stuttgart is that the sub-Boxster Porsche is not only on again, but a top priority.

The idea of a 914 revival has been kicked around Porsche HQ for years, but it only gained real traction last year with the debut of now-owner Volkswagen’s Concept BlueSport roadster, which many saw as a potential base for an entry-level Porsche. As the past year has dragged on, hopes of production have been raised and dashed, only to be raised again. First, production of the VW model was approved. Then, we heard that Audi had a model in the works, possibly the R4. With Porsche, though, it’s been a rollercoaster ride.
The core issue was an internal power struggle. Some in the upper echelons of Volkswagen and Porsche thought a more affordable sub-Boxster offering would be a great way to bump up Porsche’s CAFE numbers and increase sales. Others saw it as a dilution of the brand and wanted nothing to do with it. In the end, those opposed to the car were apparently overruled when Porsche, reeling from $14 billion of debt acquired in a failed attempt to take over Volkswagen, sold itself to the very company it was trying to buy. With VW head honcho Martin Winterkorn calling the shots now, the entry Porsche is back on.

It isn’t just back, but back in full force. None other than Wolfgang Duerheimer, Porsche’s head of development, recently told a German magazine that developing a vehicle “significantly cheaper” than the Boxster is not only on his to-do list, but a top priority. Winterkorn has already told us that he wants a Porsche version of the BlueSport and he sees it as one of the keys to growing the Porsche brand and meeting his goal of doubling sales in the next five years.

So, for now anyway, the baby Porsche is back. Will it make it all the way to production? Will the 914 name be revived?

Porsche seems poised to revive its famous Speedster nameplate from the 1950s for a special edition of its Boxster sports car.

A Boxster with “speed humps” behind the seats has been snapped on camera during high-speed testing at Germany’s Nurburgring race track.

The power bulges are similar to those used on the most recent, 911-based Porsche Speedster from 1994.

Porsche has only made three Speedsters in its history: the 356-based model 1954 to 1959, a 964 911-based model in 1989 and a 993 911-based model in 1993 and 1994.

If Porsche wants to make the 55th anniversary of the original then it has only until the end of this year to unveil the new model.

Our guess is that Porsche will unveil the car at the Los Angeles motor show in the first week of December given that Southern California had a special significance in the creation of the original Speedster.

According to the history books, the North American importer of Porsche cars in the 1950s requested a special, lightweight version of the 356 for customers on the West Coast “given the fair weather, cruising scene and lots of amateur racing”.

The Boxster Speedster is said to have a removable roof instead of its electrically-operated fold-away fabric top. This is said to save around 50kg.

Porsche is also believed to have given the Boxster Speedster more power.

However, it is unclear whether Porsche will squeeze more grunt out of the latest Boxster’s 3.4-litre six-cylinder engine, which has 228kW, or fit the 3.6-litre engine from the 911 Carrera, which has 254kW.

The current flagship in the Boxster range, the Boxster S, costs $145,000 plus dealer and registration charges. We’re guessing the Boxster Speedster would cost in excess of $160,000, the price of a Cayman S.

Of course, official pricing and timing are yet to be confirmed, but the Carsales Network understands that the Boxster Speedster will be in local showrooms within the next 12 months.

Over its five-year lifecycle, the original 356-based Speedster was powered by a number of engines ranging in size and power, from a 1300cc with 32kW to a 1600cc with 44kW. At the time, the cars weighed only about 760kg.

The 964-based model was powered by a 3.2-litre six-cylinder engine with 173kW which gave the car a 0 to 100km/h time of 6sec.

The 993-based model was powered by a 3.6-litre six-cylinder engine with 184kW which gave the car a 100km/h of 5.7sec.

The new model is expected to be much quicker than this, possibly in the sub-five-second bracket. The current Boxster S, when equipped with Porsche’s PDK twin clutch gearbox, completes the 0 to 100km/h dash in 5.3sec and has a top speed of 274km/h.

Until now, it has been widely acknowledged that the ever-popular Volkswagen Beetle has a tainted history, having been originally designed and commissioned by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. But could the history behind one of the most fashionable production cars ever be more complex? Paul Schilperoord, a Dutch journalist and historian, certainly thinks so.

Schilperoord alleges in his new book Het Ware Verhaal van de Kever (“The True Story of the Beetle”), to be released later this month, that Ferdinand Porsche’s iconic Beetle, officially commissioned by Hitler, may well have been taken from a design by a Jewish engineer called Josef Ganz, who never received due credit.

In 2004, Schilperoord picked up an old edition of a magazine called Automobile Quarterly. In it, he discovered an article which claimed that, contrary to popular belief, the Beetle’s original designer was not Hitler but rather a Jewish man, Josef Ganz. Intrigued by this assertion, Schilperoord embarked on what ended up as five years of extensive research which ultimately led to him publishing his forthcoming book.

Over the course of his investigations, Schilperoord unearthed the Beetle’s true history – one vastly different from the one that the Nazi regime had us believe. Whereas the Nazi version of the Beetle’s origins is that Hitler came up with the idea of a “People’s Car,” a car that would both cost less than 1,000 Reichsmark and simultaneously carry up to five people across the country at speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

But Schilperoord’s account differs sharply. He claims that Ganz had outlined the Beetle concept a decade before Hitler claimed to have conjured up the idea of the then-revolutionary automobile.

According to Schilperoord, “In 1929, Josef Ganz started contacting German motorcycle manufacturers for collaboration to build a Volkswagen prototype. This resulted in a first prototype built at Ardie in 1930 and a second one completed at Adler in May 1931, which was nicknamed the Maikäfer (May-Beetle).”

Ganz’s design was greatly innovative, with features such as an independent suspension system for each wheel, which was “a revolutionary step for the 1920s,” Schilperoord notes. With a rear-mounted engine and a unique, streamlined chassis, his car was highly distinctive, too.

Although Porsche and Hitler made no mention of Ganz’s contribution, Schilperoord claims that “Hitler’s” Beetle, which came into production 10 years later, could only have derived from Ganz’s work.

Lacking the financial backing to put his project into action, Ganz was appointed editor-in-chief of a car magazine, Klein-Motor-Sport, and simultaneously took up positions as a technical consultant to both Daimler-Benz and BMW, where he “developed his first cars featuring independent suspension with them,” Schilperoord told The Jerusalem Post over the telephone last week.

In 1933, Schilperoord claims, came the decisive moment when Hitler happened to be in attendance at the IAMA (Internationale Automobil- und Motorradausstellung) Berlin motor show in which Ganz unveiled the Maikäfer’s successor, the “Standard Superior,” which was built by German company Standard Fahrzeugfabrik.

Hitler liked what he saw, and tasked Porsche with the job of creating a similar car, but in line with his anti-Semitic philosophy, “he obscured the fact that a Jew was behind the car’s design,” Schilperoord told Post.

Schilperoord also claims that there are too many of Ganz’s hallmarks to be in any doubt that the Beetle that was eventually mass produced in the 1930s was derived from his original design. “Even the name Volkswagen was originally Ganz’s,” noted Schilperoord.

Ganz “was already working on the Volkswagen in the 1920s in Germany… already using the name [Volkswagen] in the Twenties,” he said.

Later on in May 1933, the Gestapo arrested Ganz on falsified charges, accusing him of blackmailing the German automotive industry. “Hitler had only been in power for a few months and was already setting about arresting people and creating the dictatorship he dreamed about,” explained Schilperoord.

Even though Ganz had friends in high places and was released soon after being taken into custody, his career had been dealt a fatal blow. His contracts with BMW and Mercedes were terminated, he lost his job as editor-in-chief at the magazine. The Standard Fahrzeugfabrik, which had recently released a new model with place for a family with two children, was now forbidden to use the name Volkswagen in its advertising; Ganz’s livelihood had been destroyed.

If the Nazis were discouraged by the setback of Ganz’s discharge from prison, they didn’t show it. During The Night of the Long Knives in June 1934, when the regime carried out a series of political executions, with most of those killed being members of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary Brownshirts, an assassination attempt was made on Ganz’s life. Fortunately for Ganz, his pet dog, an Alsatian, heard the would-be attacker enter the house and jumped on him, thus saving his master’s life.

Not long later, a second assassination attempt was made. Again Ganz had a lucky escape; he happened to be in Switzerland at the time on vacation. When friends warned him that it was not safe to return, Ganz decided to stay on in Switzerland till after the war.

While in Switzerland, Ganz fought to restore his name and claim ownership of the Volkswagen concept, to no avail. Schilperoord claims that even once the war was over and Ganz was free to work on “a new small car for Automobiles Julien, he could no longer compete with the German Volkswagen – his own vision – which was now conquering the world in its hundreds of thousands and within a few years in its millions.

“A weary Ganz,” according to Schilperoord, “moved to Australia in 1951 and lived there till his death in 1967. Hopefully now, history will restore his name as the true designer of one of the most revolutionary cars in history.”

CarAdvice has today received two renderings of what we believe to be a very near representation of the Volkswagen BlueSport Concept based 2013 Porsche Spyder.

Rumoured to share many of its components with the Audi R2, the much loved Spyder will return to roads boasting a “reputation for unrivalled driving dynamics, but in a much lighter, fuel efficient and affordable package than any model in recent memory.”

With a folding canvas roof like that of the current Boxster, the Spyder will also be significantly smaller than the current entry-level Porsche.

Power is expected to come from a tuned version of VW’s four-cylinder turbocharged 2.0 TFSI engine (think Golf GTI) but with a slightly more exciting 210kW.

Carerra S-based special gets more power, classic styling and will be limited to 250 examples

It was bound to happen – German tuners get their hands on the Porsche Panamera

Porsches are quickly becoming the most tuned cars on the market. Perhaps it’s national pride from the predominantly German tuning industry, but there seems to be no end to the modified 911s and tweaked Cayenne SUVs.

And now the inevitable has happened – a Porsche Panamera’s had the same treatment. Deutschland-based tuner Gemballa is responsible for this, the Mistrale. It’s not finished yet, but these pictures give a clue as to what we can expect.

New bumpers, a big rear diffuser, quad exhausts (made of stainless steel, no less) and typically showy 22in wheels are more typical changes, while what appears to be a BMW M3 coupe-aping carbon roof could be on the cards judging by these pictures.

There aren’t any details on performance or dynamic enhancements just yet, but the air intakes on the bonnet suggest something more potent lies beneath. Good job, really, because now that Gemballa’s kicked things off there’s bound to be an abundance of rival tuners’ Panameras just around the corner. Happy days.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS Storms In

Wednesday 19th August 2009

Porsche unveils an all-new version of the most hardcore 911

Livery and wings are as outlandish as ever

These are the first official images of the all-new Porsche 911 GT3 RS – the most exciting and hardcore 911 of them all.

There are few car models that can ratchet up excitement in stages like a 911. First there’s the base model, which understandably generates a certain amount of excitement. Then the boys and girls from Weissach announce a new GT3 version, which keeps the track day fans dribbling. Next Porsche reveals a new version of the Turbo. But the real weak-at-the-knees moment comes in the form of the new RS.

Ever since the classic ‘ducktail’ Carrera RS 2.7 was released back in 1973, the RS badge has only ever been applied to the most hardcore roadgoing 911s, and has created some of the most iconic Porsches ever.

So with a lineage that runs from the 2.7, via the 964, 993, 996 and first 997 RS, the new GT3 RS has a lot to live up to.

The technical specifications certainly seem promising, though. The classic flat-six engine, like the motor in the latest GT3, has gone up from 3.6 to 3.8 litres. It now produces 444bhp, up 35bhp on the previous GT3 RS, and 15bhp up on the 429bhp GT3.

The most impressive figure associated with the new 911 GT3 RS, however, is a specific output of 118bhp per litre – a stunning figure for a naturally aspirated road car. That power is transmitted to the road via a six-speed manual gearbox – no fussy PDK twin-clutch tech here – with shorter ratios than in the GT3. Porsche hasn’t revealed any performance figures for the new GT3 RS, but it’s a safe bet to say that it’ll be quicker than the GT3, although with a lower top speed.

On any other car, this would look ridiculous

On any other car, this would look ridiculousThe new GT3 RS also gets Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), but this has been tweaked specifically for the new car to, in Porsche’s words “further improve the sporting behaviour of the chassis”. Another piece of electronic cleverness fitted to the new GT3 RS is Porsche’s Active Drivetrain Mounts (PADM). Depending on driving conditions, the engine mounts change in their stiffness and damping effect to resist the movement of the drivetrain in the bodyshell.

More significant to the RS’s ‘sporting behaviour’ are wider tracks front and rear, necessitating blistered front arches and wider rear bodywork. Beneath those chunky arches sit beefy 245/35 ZR 19 tyres at the front, and 325/30 ZR 19 tyres at the rear. The front tyres measure 9 inches across, while the rears are a whopping 12 inches wide.

The requisite racing seats and roll cage

The requisite racing seats and roll cageLight weight is also a key element of any good RS Porsche and, although Porsche hasn’t yet released any details about the car’s overall weight saving, the latest 911 GT3 RS duly delivers, with an optional lithium-ion that saves more than 10kg over a conventional lead-acid battery.