Porsche proves the 911 GT3 RS is a track-storming beast with blistering Nurburgring lap time

The incoming Porsche 911 GT3 RS has completed a blistering lap of the world’s most iconic race track, setting a 6.49.328 time at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

Piloting the fourth-generation 911 GT3 RS was German racer, and Porsche ambassador, Jörg Bergmeister, who you could argue knows the vehicle better than just about anyone, given he was “intensely involved in the development” of the new RS.

The time saw the new RS lap the ‘Ring a whopping 10.6 seconds faster than the current 911 GT3 — and that’s a lot, even when you consider the vast distance covered (at 20.8kms, the Nurburgring is the world’s longest and most challenging track).

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Scarier still, Mr Bergmeister says he thinks there was more in it, but a strong wind on the day wreaked havoc on the vehicle’s downforce.

“We lost a little downforce due to the strong, sometimes gusting wind, but I’m still very happy with the lap,” he said.

“In the fast sections in particular, the 911 GT3 RS is in a league of its own. It’s on a level usually reserved for top-class racing cars.

“The car is also setting new standards in braking. Fast laps on the Nordschleife are simply so much fun in this car.”

Helping deliver that fun is the 911 GT3 RS’s 4.0-litre flat-six naturally aspirated engine that produces a potent 386kW. That grunt is channeled through a performance-focused seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, allowing for a sprint to 100km/h of 3.2 seconds.

The track-attack special was equipped with a Weissach package (which adds more carbon-fibre reinforced plastics, anti-roll bars front and rear, a carbon roll cage, and motorsport-spec magnetic shift paddles on the wheel) and was fitted with the optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres.

The aero package is also impressive — the liberal use of carbon-fibre reinforced plastics limits the vehicle’s kerb weight to 1450kg, but Porsche says that, when travelling at 285km/h, total downforce is 860 kilograms, gluing the vehicle to road with three times the force generated by the 911 GT3.

But while the speed has improved generation to generation, so has the price, with the GT3 RS listing at $500,200 before on-road costs — up from $415,700 (in 2019) in the previous vehicle.

Australian deliveries commence in Q2 next year.