After our first drive last fall of the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS on the U.K.’s Silverstone circuit, we suggested a need for “a new metric for evaluating cars like this. Sure, the GT3 RS will produce solid figures in our traditional testing, from 0–60 and quarter-mile times to braking distances to skidpad g’s. But none of those things is what this race car level of capability is about, and they’ll do nothing to accurately express the reality here.” As Porsche GT division boss Andy Preuninger told us at the time, “This car, on high-speed corners with a Cup-R-rated street tire, is quicker than a 911 Cup race car on slicks. Not in every corner but in [some] high-speed corners. For a street-legal car this is a serious, serious statement.”
Why Are We Doing This?
To Preuninger’s point, fast cornering is the name of the game in this mind-bending era of big-downforce road-legal performance cars, and if you’re lucky enough to drive or ride in one at speed on a proper circuit, you immediately feel the phenomenal cornering grip and braking. Chances are, after just a lap or three, you’ll understand and never again question what the fuss is about. It’s a type of performance not captured in straight-line acceleration and braking tests, and neither is it given anywhere near its due by measuring lateral g’s during MotorTrend’s figure-eight course, which doesn’t allow for speeds high enough to bring much of the grip-generating aerodynamics into play. And in instances when we do drive cars on full-fledged racetracks, it’s one thing to interpret seat-of-the-pants feel to make proclamations about “race car levels of capability” and quite another to dive into real data to learn just how good something like the GT3 RS is compared to an actual race car.
Our desire to lay hyperbole to rest led us to Road America, the famous and fast 4.048-mile road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, with a 911 GT3 RS and 911 GT3 Cup race car in tow. Bringing two cars like this together isn’t the work of a moment, and we owe big thanks to two generous folks who share our curious nature: Chicago-area business executive, Porsche enthusiast, and amateur racer Steve Dimakos, owner
