SPYSHOTS: 991.2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS seen testing

The updated, 991.2 edition of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS has been spotted on the roads around the Nurburgring once again, this time also virtually undisguised. It will take the mantle of the most track-focused, naturally-aspirated Porsche 911 yet, though it won’t be the quickest outright – that title goes to the recently unveiled GT2 RS.

With the latest 911 GT3 growing in engine displacement to 4.0 litres, this upcoming GT3 RS update will likely have to employ methods other than capacity growth to attain the higher engine outputs to help distance it from the standard GT3. It will almost certainly be more powerful than the standard car, with a maximum of 540 hp estimated here.

Visually, the front gains a pair of NACA ducts on the front hood, which along with the roof, features a recess sculpted along their respective lengths. The front wings also continue to have vents for relieving air pressure around the front wheels, towards achieving greater front downforce. The front lower lip is larger and more aggressive, and joins the new, more squared-off 991.2 GT3 front-end look.

Around the back, the extra large rear wing remains a fixture on the 911 GT3 RS’s rear decklid, as is the centrally-mounted exhaust exit. Curiously, the pre-facelift tail light clusters are in use here; the current three-dimensional items can be expected to bring the new car in line with the new family look.

Under its skin, the GT3 RS can be expected to include the requisite go-faster chassis componentry, namely a development of the rear-axle steering mechanism, electronically variable locking rear differential, torque vectoring, lower ride height, and higher spring and damper rates relative to the standard GT3, along with 918 Spyder full bucket seats and optional half-cage which are visible inside this test mule.

Though it is of higher specification, the upcoming GT3 RS is unlikely to be a strictly low-volume model like the 911 R before it; Porsche could well unveil another limited edition in the vein of the 997 GT3 RS 4.0 before the next-generation Neunelfer makes its debut in 2018 at the soonest.

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