Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of this last and loudest laugh of the 996/997 series of Porsche 911s, you should know its run of 600 units is dictated not by demand, but that thereafter its parts supplies will dry up; and at a price of £128,466, Porsche will make no money from any of them.

Think about that. What you are looking at is the greatest version of the greatest sports car ever built. Porsche knows it could have made thousands and charged half as much again for everyone. But it chose not to.

Instead it is what Porsche calls a ‘thank-you’ to its most loyal customers, the only people with a hope in hell of getting a sniff of one. Most will have already owned at least three GT3s.

What’s it like?

What they will find is so much more than an RS with a bit more poke. Instead it is a heady confection of Porsche’s most extreme road car, the GT2 RS, and its all-conquering racers, the GT3R and RSR. The Rose-jointed rear suspension with its helper springs is pure GT2 RS, the engine courtesy of the race cars, their long-throw crankshaft stroking the unit out to 3996cc, making this the largest engine ever to sit in the boot of a Porsche.

A new suspension tune has been achieved thanks to bespoke spring rates, but much of the car, including the gearbox, its ratios, the steering, brakes and tyres are carried over from the ‘normal’ GT3 RS. Myriad weight saving measures including the carbon bonnet and front bumper from the GT2RS, meaning a base-spec car wearing optional ceramic brakes weighs just 1360kg, about 10kg less than a 3.8-litre RS.

A new aero pack provides more downforce than any previous RS, those natty front winglets essential to balance the extra rear grip provided by that new rear wing with its 9deg angle.

The result? The car we named last year’s best driver’s car in Britain, the 3.8 RS, has not been made to stand aside. It’s been blown off the road.

Look at the stats like the 0.1sec knocked of the 0-60mph time and it’s hard to see why. But drive the 4.0 RS and it’s blindingly obvious. Despite it’s extra 50bhp, it’s not the power you notice, nor even its additional 22lb ft of torque. It’s where that torque is that makes all the difference.

One fault common to all GT3s is their unorthodox blend of a peaky engine and wide gear ratios. With the new motor, those gears finally make sense. On the road you can just park it in fourth gear and go anywhere from shopping to prison. On the track you have to rewrite your mental circuit notes because almost every corner is now a gear higher. It’s faster, yet easier.

Its composure in fast turns something you’d not credit a car with a tax disc, yet even if you turn off all the electronics it remains fundamentally forgiving, something you’d never say about the more expensive, flawed and less-enjoyable GT2RS.

Is it perfect? That car has still yet to be built and you’ll find the 4.0 RS keen to understeer in slow corners and its ride merely impressive rather than exemplary over the worst British B-roads.

Should I buy one?

Ask if there is a car on sale today I’d rather drive on a combination of road and track over the course of the next 20 years and I’ll tell you that if there is, I haven’t driven it.

Andrew Frankel

Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0>/h3>

Price: £128,466; Top speed: 193mph; 0-62mph: 3.9sec; Economy: 20.1mpg; CO2: 326g/km; Kerb weight: 1360kg; Engine type: 6cyls, 3996cc; Power: 493bhp at 8250rpm; 
Torque: 339lb ft at 5750rpm; Gearbox: six speed manual

source: autocar.uk

Hey you just scratch my Aston Martin DBS

I don't know which one to blame but it seem like a big accident hehehehe

TVR Chiamera

Clamped Lamborghini

Porsche Panamera 4.8 V8 Turbo S PDK

This is the £122,623 Panamera Turbo S, a riotous extension of Stuttgart’s blown four-door rocketship boasting, at 543bhp, a crowd-pleasing 50bhp more than the standard Turbo. More pertinently, the Turbo S produces 553lb ft, rising to 590lb ft with overboost, compared with the non-S Turbo’s positively asthmatic 516lb ft, or overboosted 567lb ft.

The Turbo S also gets cosmetic upgrades including side skirts, new 20-inch alloys, 5mm spacers behind the rear wheels to widen the track (Porsche says it’s an aesthetic upgrade, not a performance one), revised engine bay styling, a two-tone leather interior and its own unique agate grey metallic paint option. It also comes as standard with a sports exhaust, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) and a Sport Chrono Package, all upgrades that would be cost options on lesser Panameras.

What’s it like?

This is a properly fast car laden with kit. Top speed is 191mph, which is faintly academic, while 0-62mph appears at the touch of a button, thanks to launch control, in 3.8sec, which is faintly ridiculous for a 1995kg saloon.

In-gear acceleration and overboost-enhanced kickdown are roundly impressive too, with the Turbo S capable of dispatching overtakes or reeling-in big chunks of the horizon in a manner that doesn’t befit something so large and luxurious.

But that’s nothing compared with the tricks the Turbo S’s chassis can perform. Don’t be fooled, this is no four-seat 911 in outright handling terms, but the three-mode switchable PASM, PDCC and the Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus) work together to contain, control and coerce the Turbo S to the extent that it can be hustled along a mountain pass in a way that takes some adjusting to, particularly in the PASM’s lowered Sport Plus mode.

There’s an almost unnatural lack of body roll for such a big car, and it takes ham-footed stabs at the accelerator to find the limits of traction on corner exits. At times you’re aware that there’s a lot going on beyond your fundamental steering, braking and accelerator inputs, but the systems themselves aren’t overly intrusive, and they’re broadly welcome for the combination of dynamic agility and electro-mechanical safety net that they provide.

There is an overall feeling of artificiality to the way the Panamera goes about its business of devouring challenging twisty roads. It is, however, an impressive, accomplished and entertaining experience, although if you explore the limits of the Turbo S’s dynamic repertoire for too long it’s debatable whether your three passengers would enjoy the experience as much as you would from the driving seat.

Should I buy one?

And with performance like this on offer you can start to forgive the Panamera’s more challenging aesthetic disadvantages, but even so, nigh-on £123k is a lot of money to spend in order to transport four people, even if you do want to do so (very) quickly and quite luxuriously. And if you only want to use all four seats on occasion, then the Panamera, any Panamera, is a lot of car to be driving around in for the rest of the time.

As an engineering achievement the Turbo S is a mightily impressive one, but arguing a convincing case for its purchase isn’t quite so clear cut. However, at this price point purchases start to happen beyond the normal conventions of automotive buying decisions, so if you’ve got £120,000 or so gathering dust on the kitchen table then you won’t be in the least bit disappointed if you spend it on one of these.

Tim Dickson

Porsche Panamera Turbo S

Price: £122,623; 0-62mph: 3.8sec; Top speed: 191mph; Kerb weight: 1995kg; Economy: 24.6mpg (combined); Co2: 270g/km; Engine: V8, 4806cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol; Max power: 543bhp at 6000rpm; Max torque: 590lb ft at 2500-4000rpm (overboost)

source:autocar

Ferrari F430 scuderia 16M