Porsche unleashes 911 GT3 RS 4.0

Porsche has been rolling out limited-edition 911 variants at the rate of almost one a month in recent times, and here's another addition to the catalogue.

Witness the 911 GT3 RS 4.0, which garners many of the best bits from the 911 GT3 RSR track car, including (as its moniker suggests), the latter's 4.0-litre flat-six engine, which is good for a towering 368kW at 8250rpm and 460Nm at 5750rpm.

Just 600 examples of the newcomer will be offered for sale worldwide, and its select few owners stand to gain arguably the ultimate road-going track car on the market.

The aforementioned 4.0-litre donk (with titanium conrods) is the biggest 911 engine to date, and it's carried over unchanged from the racer. It enables the 1360kg coupe to sprint from 0-100km/h in just 3.9sec, and with gearing designed for racing (a six-speed manual is the only transmission offered), it clocks 200km/h in under 12sec.

But arguably the most impressive stat is a Nürburgring-Nordschleife lap time of 7min 27sec, which puts it in the company of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and Nissan GT-R (although Porsche continues to doubt the credibility of the latter).

Fat-busting measures include carbonfibre bucket seats, bonnet and front wings, along with plastic rear windows and 'weight-optimised' carpets.

As per the 'regular' GT3 RS, the new model sports a wider, lower stance than lesser 911s, and it's further distinguished by a huge rear wing with adapted side plates, aero-optimised bodywork and twin central tailpipes.

The lateral front air deflection vanes, so-called 'flics', making their first appearance on a production Porsche, are said to boost downforce on the front axle to complement the effect of the rear wing. According to the company, this results in 190kg of downforce at top speed.

Interior upgrades include black leather/red Alcantara-trimmed seats with 'RS 4.0' logos emblazoned on the headrests, while the steering wheel and gearshift lever are also trimmed in Alcantara with red stitching.

Ensuring that there's no mistaking its identity, there are also 'RS 4.0' logos on the carbonfibre door sill trims and on the dashboard trim strip above the glovebox lid.

As is the case with the existing 911 GT3 RS, the Clubsport package – comprising half roll cage, seat belt harnesses, fire extinguisher and battery cut-off switch – is also standard kit.

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