Report: Porsche Launches 480-hp GT3 R Race Car
Sometimes we wonder if Porsche builds more different versions of race cars than street cars. It only makes sense though, as the automaker’s impressive 911s (and other models) all get their road-hugging abilities from the company’s track expertise.
Today Porsche is introducing the new 911 GT3 R, which is designed to run in the FIA GT3 class and takes the place of the outgoing GT3 Cup S racer.
Designed to be both faster and easier to drive, the car gets a larger 4.0-liter flat-six motor with a total of 480-hp – 30-hp more than the old motor. To help in the corners the car is also wider than its predecessor, being based on the new GT3 RS’s platform.
A sequential six speed transmission is also a part of the package with a new “throttle-blip” function to make it easier for amateur drivers to master.
Porsche will debut the 911 GT3 R on January 14th at the Birmingham Motor Show. Deliveries to teams will begin in the Spring with an asking price of 279,000 ($418,000)
GALLERY: Porsche 911 GT3 R
Official release after the jump:
New Racing Version for International GT Sport
Stuttgart. Following the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is entering yet another racing car in the 2010 motorsport season: The 911 GT3 R will be raced in series based on the international FIA GT3 regulations, thus succeeding the 911 GT3 Cup S. The main focus in developing this new model was on even better drivability and even easier handling.
The 911 GT3 R is powered by a four-litre six-cylinder boxer engine delivering maximum output of 480 bhp (353 kW) transmitted to the rear axle by a sequential six-speed dog gearbox.
The starting point in developing the 911 GT3 R weighing just 1,200 kg or 2,646 lb was the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup presented in September for one-make cup racing. Thanks to its increase in engine size by 0.2 litres, the GT3 R offers 30 bhp more than the Cup model. Both cars are based on the extra-wide body of the 911 GT3 RS street-legal sports car.
An anti-lock brake system (ABS), traction control and an e-gas with “throttle-blip” function make it much easier to get used to this new GT3 racing car than its predecessor, meaning that the new model is also more appropriate for the ambitious amateur racing driver.
Flared wheel arches added on to the body both front and rear bear clear testimony to the wider track than on the former model. And like all second-generation versions of the 911, the new 911 GT3 R also comes with striking LED rear light clusters.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R is making its world debut on 14 January 2010 at the Birmingham Motor Show. The car is built by Porsche’s Motorsport Department at the Weissach Development Centre and will be delivered to Customer Teams the world over as of spring 2010. The base price of the Porsche 911 GT3 R is 279,000 euros plus local sales tax/VAT.
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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