AIRBORNE WEAPON

THE NEW 911 GT3 RS HARNESSES THE AIR TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE TRACK-BRED PORSCHE.

AFTER A HALF CENTURY of 911 RS models, Porsche could be suffocated by success, having bumped the ceiling of what a gasoline-powered sports car could do. The 2023 911 GT3 RS, though, is a naturally aspirated glutton for (and a spectacular example of) fresh air.

The GT3 RS generates 518 hp and 342 lb-ft of torque from its 4.0-liter six. That power is best unleashed on a circuit such as England's Silverstone, a Formula 1 amphitheater that highlights this superstar's 9000-rpm vocal range and gripping performance. The RS brims with carbon fiber, in most body panels as well as in its skyscraping rear wing, Race-Tex-clad bucket seats, and, with the Weissach package, anti-roll bars. A Ring-ready suspension is a racer's dream: Springs are firmer than a standard GT3's (50 percent more so up front, 60 percent in back), and four intuitive steering wheel knobs allow adjustment of front and rear rebound and compression. Porsche Torque Vectoring offers a similar plus-minus range of settings for the electronic differential, for either coasting and braking or lockup on corner exits.

Air is the GT3 RS's stock-in-trade, the cooling breeze, vivifying oxygen, and crushing downforce that links it directly to the GT3 R racer that glowers in the Silverstone paddock. Andreas Preuninger, head of Porsche GT vehicles, explains the obvious, saying, "From the first look at the GT3 RS, you know: It's all about aerodynamics."

That look socks your eyeballs like a young Mike Tyson. Another jab comes with the price, $225,250 even before the inevitable knockout blow of dealer markups. Add stuff like ceramic-composite brakes and the $33,520 Weissach package-which trims 33 pounds from U.S-spec models, for a total of 3235-and there's two GT3 RS vehicles here at Silverstone today that top $304,000.