Supercars
Andreas Preuninger talks TG through the latest track-honed wündercar
The 992-generation 911 GT3 is already an ‘extreme’ car, at least according to the boss of Porsche’s GT division Andreas Preuninger. So extreme, he wanted to immediately make it more extreme.
“We always challenge ourselves,” he told TG, which is why we’re staring down the aero-honed flanks of what is essentially a racecar for the road, the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
“From the mechanical side we thought we could be a little better,” he said. “Use the wider platform of the Turbo, fit in bigger tyres with a bigger contact patch, but then there’s the other thing…”
Aerodynamics
“You need the downforce in the fast corners,” he said, “and I always wanted to do something active aerodynamically. The McLaren Senna started it, and I loved it and said, ‘we have to do this but do it better’.” A laugh as he acknowledges the shade thrown. “Sorry for that!”
Yup, for the first time in the GT3 RS’s life, it comes with proper active aero. There are continually adjustable wing elements in the front and on the two-part, DRS-style rear wing that generate twice as much downforce as the previous GT3 RS, and three times as much as that already ‘extreme’ GT3.
“And it’s not only solid-state, like on or off,” Preuninger said of the adjustable aero. “It’s infinitesimal. It goes in five-degree angles and the computer knows exactly how much downforce the car can take. You can do it manually as well.”
He noted how the ‘wind really hugs the car’, a result of spending countless hours in the wind tunnel.
Other innovations allowed the aero to really flourish, too. He pointed to things like the doors being fully carbon fibre and the ‘mono radiator concept’ whereby the GT3 RS’s traditional three-radiator layout was shelved in favour of a single central, angled unit stuck in the car’s nose taking up the front boot space. That’s an idea utilised successfully on the Le Mans class-winning 911 RSR and GT3 R. That central radiator allows the fitment of those continually adjustable front aero elements.
Engine
It’s ‘relatively easy’, Preuninger said, for a 4.0-litre race car to make somewhere in the region of 570bhp, but for the new GT3 RS it’s been pegged back to 517bhp because of emissions. “Customers are asking me why we didn’t [make it more powerful], and it’s because we have to fulfil worldwide regulations.”
Deploying a mantra straight from the Gordon Murray school of supercar design, Preuninger said that “around 525 [PS] is the sweet spot anyway, because with more power you need bigger brakes, you need more weight put in the car… we’re pretty quick with this one already.” ‘Pretty quick’: the new GT3 RS claims 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 184mph.
If the engine’s pushing to the max, Preuninger was looking at everything else on the car.
Suspension
In terms of the suspension meanwhile, the third ‘innovation’ comes via fine-tuning of the compression and rebound of the dampers on both axles, and in several stages. Even the rear diff can be adjusted via a steering-wheel mounted button, another idea Preuninger carried over from Porsche’s motorsport cars.
“This was by far the most complicated project we have ever done,” Preuninger said about the 992 GT3 RS. “It’s been the most difficult and challenging RS project we’ve had… and we’re still not 100 per cent ready.”
That’s right, the show car unveiled is “99.5 per cent” there, and Preuninger admitted there’s still some work left before it goes into series production. Not on the looks, mind.
“For me personally, it looks stylish. You could drive it to the opera… if it was in black or something! But it is absolutely top dog on the track.”
The Nürburgring
And speaking of the track, Preuninger doesn’t think this car can top the Manthey Racing GT2 RS’s exploits around the Green Hell. “One has to be realistic. The GT2 RS with the MR package is 200 horsepower more powerful and gets a lot more torque. And on the Nürburgring you have three sections where you can really use that power.
“We gain a lot of time in the corners [in the new GT3 RS] as a matter of fact, but maybe we lose time, especially against the GT2 RS, on the straight. So we’re quite curious if we can beat it. I personally have my doubts.”
Despite Preuninger’s doubts – valid coming from such experience – he still reckons the new GT3 RS’s ‘Ring time will be relatively on the same level.
“We’ll have to wait until October,” he said about any Nürburgring attempts, “but it will be quicker than the GT3.”
A car that’s already fairly extreme…
Keyword: Porsche GT boss: new 911 GT3 RS 'most complicated' project ever