Porsche 911 GT3 RS 2015 review - Faster than a Ferrari 458 Speciale? Watch to find out - Engine and gearbox
Breathtakingly exciting and the most communicative 991 yet, the latest GT3 RS is a triumph
The RS’s 4.0-litre engine has its red line at 8800rpm compared to 9000rpm in the standard GT3, and although the screaming top end is still very definitely worth reaching for you don’t get the GT3’s final 500rpm banzai flourish.
However, the trade-off is that the RS’s acceleration feels much stronger from lower down the rev range, giving a greater sense of flexibility and muscularity that is much closer in feeling to the old Mezger engine. With the intakes now positioned to take advantage of the vents in the hips, there is also a ram air effect at high speed, pushing the power above the quoted 493bhp.
With outright performance a priority in the GT3 RS it’s no surprise to find a seven-speed PDK ‘box the only option and while we still miss the interactivity of a third pedal and a manual gearlever, there can be no complaints about the way PDK goes about its business. Shifts are ruthlessly fast, yet so clinically smooth that they never unsettle the car and the excitement of a full-bore upshift punching through, sustaining the onward rush almost seamlessly, is something I think it would take a long time to get bored of. Ferrari’s dual clutch ‘gearbox might still be the most entertaining, but in this iteration Porsche’s PDK feels like the fastest.
