First Drive In My NEW Porsche GT3 RS 4.0L 27 Sep 2021
We’re back up to Scotland to take a very special drive with my dream car – my Porsche GT3 RS, with its amazing 4.0L engine.
There was never supposed to be a GT3 RS 4.0L, with one of the final Metzger engines, the 3.8L model was meant to be the final stop on the GT3 RS journey. So celebrated it was though, that they had to release a clutch of just 600 4.0L models.
The weight was reduced yet again to exalt maximum power, and I want to share the 4 main attributes of this model which makes it such an emotive drive. The engine, the clutch, the steering and the gear shift.
The engine is the beating heart of this car of course, you wouldn’t think it was much different from a 3.8L, but the increase in torque is what sets this model apart. The way it builds momentum is truly effortless, and the lack of mass is markedly noticeable. The car has its own micro-crescendos such as the build of the engine, and the flywheel drop off as you depress the clutch.
There are nuances of engineering that have a certain speed and flow that makes it click, it’s perhaps stiffer than the 3.8L due to the rose jointed suspension but driving it to the track and really pushing it to its limit is perhaps the best use of the 4.0L.
The amount of driver-focused engineering that has gone into the 4.0L means you can still have an exhilarating drive at appropriate speeds. It’s about an engagement with the gear shift and the feeling of the car’s movement on the road which can often be lacking in automatic transmission, it’s the aerodynamics and the handling too. When you marry these components together, it’s one of the most rewarding and energetic driving experiences I can think of…