Porsche has uncovered its most powerful non-turbo road car ever with the arrival of the 911 GT3 RS 4.0 in all its 500hp glory. The limited edition will see only 600 versions made and all will see off 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds, shaving 0.1 seconds from the standard GT3 RS's time.
Just as importantly for Porsche, the RS 4.0 can complete a lap of the N�rburgring in just 7 minutes 27 seconds to put it among a most exclusive club of road cars.
A six-speed manual gearbox is used with the RS's 4.0-litre flat six-cylinder engine and Porsche says the gearing is set up for track use rather than ultimate top speed. There's also a revised PSM (Porsche Stability Management) set-up, uprated electronically controlled damping and an upgraded rear axle with additional ball joints for more adjustability.
Porsche has also been busy paring more weight from the RS, so simple bucket seats are used, thinner carpets fitted and the rear windows are now made of plastic. Along with carbon fibre fronts wings and bonnet, total weight now drops to 1,360kg for a power-to-weight ratio of 373hp/tonne.
All 600 RS 4.0s will come in a simple white paint scheme and there are "flics" (front air deflection vanes) for the first time on a production Porsche. Along with the large rear wing, the flics help push the nose of the RS 4.0 into the road at higher speeds for greater stability. Porsche says the flics help create 190kg of downforce at maximum speed.
There's not much in the way of luxury in this 911. Some Alcantara covers the steering wheel and gear lever, the seats have more Alcantara mixed with leather and there's a half roll cage, fire extinguisher and battery cut-off to show this is a car designed for the track more than the road.
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 is on sale in July.