211 featured in the Total 911 article ‘Porsche 997 GT3 RS vs RS 4.0: Rennsport Masters. RS, short for Rennsport, evokes certain emotions in all Porsche lovers. It conjures up images of long days of motorsport-derived excitement at the hands of a world-class engine and 211 is happy to oblige. It drives beautifully and will look just as exciting on a show lawn as it does on the road.
Porsche Communication Module-PCM 3
Touch screen Satellite Navigation
Telephone
Chrono Pack
Sports Exhausts
Climate Control
19″ GEN II 997 GT3 Alloys
Full Porsche Service History
The 997 generation’s biggest updates were the interior and exterior styling, most notably the return to the “bug eye” round highlights of the 911 and 993 generations. The slightly widened body and larger 18” wheels gave the 997s a more aggressive stance, and they all benefited from slightly increased power. Inside, the design was similarly reminiscent of the pre-996 generation design. The return to traditional styling makes the 997 generation feel like an homage to the iconic and prolific original 911s, yet the futuristic and modern technology and engineering make it a car firmly rooted in the present. The 997 is truly the best of both worlds, a modern car in a subtly classic body, an eye on the past but a nod to the future.
After six years of testing both on the road and track, Porsche released the jewel of the 997 generation’s crown. At the time of its build, the GT3 RS 4.0 L featured the most powerful naturally aspirated flat-six Porsche had on offer, and after a strict diet, lost a further 22lbs past the original RS reduction making it the most radical iteration of road going Porsche 911s.
The 997 GT3 variant debuted at the 2006 Geneva Motorshow alongside the Turbo model. The GT3 model line was introduced as a way for Porsche to offer race cars for customer teams and homologate new aero features for racing. The Aerodynamic features on this model include a special front bumper with canards which increase cooling to the front mounted radiators and split spoiler at the rear, as well as a special bumper and centralised tailpipes that help draw heat away from the engine. The engine cover has been enlarged and features an additional air intake underneath the similarly enlarged rear wing.
This generation GT3 RS is regarded as one of the best cars Porsche has ever created and its Mezger engine is one of the reasons why. Mezger engines are the most revered iteration of the flat-six overhead-camshaft engines and whilst all other 911s adopted a new and somewhat problematic design, the GT cars stuck with it. Having proven itself by winning Le Mans in the 911 GT1-98, the engine was proving to be unbreakable, and to top it all off, sounded fantastic. The other reason the 997 generation GT3 is considered one of the best is because it was the last with the six-speed manual gearbox that had been a hallmark of its predecessors. The engine and the gearbox mark the end of an era for Porsche and place the GT3 RS 4.0L firmly in the company’s history books.