Donny
12-18-2003, 11:39 AM
An in-depth look at Frankfurt´s Finest
by Donny
Porsche
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3.jpg
[b]This is the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The´RS´designation is one of the most evocative symbols of Porsche race technology. For example, you might remember the Carrera RS 2,7 from 1972 which is considered to be one of the best 911´s ever built. In that case, the road-going RS was the homologation basis for a very successful race car and the new 911 GT3 RS continues that tradition by fulfilling the homologation requirements for the next generation of racing GT3 in accordance with FIA-N/GT and ACO regulations. So, what makes the GT3 RS special from the standard GT3´s?
-All extraneous weight has been completely stripped from the car which means this car is approximately 50 kg lighter than the GT3 Clubsport. For example, the bodyshell is lighter, the front lid and rear wing are made from pure carbon fibre, and the rear screen is made from plastic. All soundproofing materials have been removed from the car, while the dashboard and door panels have been lightened. The powerful engine, 381 bhp, is unchanged but the lower weight increases the power-to-weight ratio by approximately 4% to 280 bhp/tonne.
-The suspension geometry is a modified version of the standard GT3 setup. The uprights are derived from the 911 GT3 racing car and combined with split wishbones at front and rear, as well as specially configured springs and dampers. All four springs also have a special red paint finish. Ride height, camber, toe angle and both anti-roll bars can be easily adjusted for competition use.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-2.jpg
The wheels comes from the standard GT3 but is painted in either red or blue. Each wheel also has a polished rim flange and carries the´RS´ logo at it´s centre as you can see on the picture. The wheels also comes with road-legal racing tyres. And as you can see, this car has the optional Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake system (PCCB).
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-3.jpg
The rear-wing is probably the most noticable exterior-change from the standard GT3. It is derived largely from the 911 GT3 Cup. The main wing profile is made from visible carbon fibre and can be set to one of two angles of incidence, 4 or 8 degrees. Other exterior changes include a lip spoiler at the base of the front apron and the radiator vents ahead of the luggage compartment, as you can see on the first picture.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-4.jpg
The 911 GT3 RS is only available in White. The side decals, as seen here, and rear logo can be specified in red or blue with a matching paint finish on the wheel spokes as I said before
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-5.jpg
Look at these beautiful mirrors, unfortunately only in carbon-look but it looks nice anyway. The last exterior-modification is that the tailpipes has an polished finish.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-6.jpg
The interior is pretty much the same as in the 911 GT3 Clubsport. Key features include a bolt-in roll-over bar that can be easily extended to form a fully enclosed competition roll cage. All components are supplied ready to install as part of the standard package. The bucket seats have a flame-retardant fabric finish. Other standard equipment includes preparation for a battery master switch and a fire extinguisher with mounting bracket. The standard three-points belts and six-point harness are supplied in the same colour as the exterior decals and logo, red or blue. The glove compartment featured in the standard GT3 has been removed to minimise weight too.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-7.jpg
The colour-theme of the interior is black, including the Alcantara rooflining, the flame-retardant seat fabric and the soft touch paint on all synthetic components.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-8.jpg
As you can see here the steering-wheel is covered with Alcantara for additional grip. Alcantara can also be found on the gear-lever and the handbrake grip.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-9.jpg
I guess you now, like me, find the GT3 RS quite amazing. The performance is very impressive; 0-100 km/h in 4,4 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 14,0 seconds and a top-speed of 306 km/h. But if this isn´t enough, Porsche also introduced their uprated 911 GT2.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2.jpg
This is the most powerful road-going 911 ever built, developing 483 bhp at 5700 rpm and a maximum torque of 640 NM between 3500 and 4500 rpm. That is 21 bhp and 20 NM more than the old GT2. The only gearbox available is a 6-speed manual but Porsche offers an interesting option; gears 3 and 6 can be matched to specific circuit characteristics with a range of optional competetion ratios. So what does this mean when it comes to performance? It means the 911 GT2 now is capable of accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 4,0 seconds (previously 4,1), 0-160 km/h in 8,5 seconds and from 0-200 km/h in 12,5 seconds (previously 12,9) and a on to a very impressive top-speed of 319 km/h, which is 4 km/h faster than before.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-5.jpg
Here is a better picture of the GT2´s mighty front spoiler, which makes it look more muscular than the 911 Turbo. The ground-clearance isn´t very street-friendly since it´s 20 mm lower than the Turbo.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-4.jpg
The GT2 has a revised spring and damper system compared to the 911 Turbo. The adjustment range of the front and rear suspension has been increased for track use. Set-up options include ride height, camber and track, as well as five-stage (front) and four-stage (rear) anti-roll bars. The GT2 is also available with competition springs.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-3.jpg
These are the new GT2-wheels which follows the design from the GT3. They are 1,8 kg lighter than the former wheels. The GT2 also have the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes as standard. These discs weigh 50 % less than metal discs, which reduces unsprung masses by approximately 18 kg. The brake system is now monitored by the new four-channel 5.7 ABS generation, instead of the two-channel version 5.3 ABS used in the old GT2. This system is faster and more sensitive than the old system.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-2.jpg
This particular GT2 is equipped with the optional, but at no-cost, exterior Carbon package which includes a carbon-fibre rear wing, which is approximately 2,8 kg lighter than the standard wing, and exterior mirrors and radiator ducts in carbon. But if you´re really into racing I would recommend the Clubsport option. This package includes the things described above plus some of the interior changes the GT3 RS has which means a bolt-in roll-over bar which can be upgraded to a full roll cage for competition use and bucket seats finished in flame-retarding fabric for example.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-6.jpg
These were the two most interesting cars in Porsches stand, I think. But of course they displayed most of the other models as well such as the new 911 Turbo Convertible:
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/911T.jpg
Sure, this is more of a poser car than the standard 911 Turbo but it´s still a very nice performance car. 0-100 km/h in 4,3 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 14,8 seconds and a top speed of 305 km/h isn´t too shabby for a convertible. The roof mechanism is very interesting because it is possible to open or close the roof at speeds up to 50 km/h. For those of you that doens´t remember the old 911 Turbo Convertible, that car was built between 1987 and 1989 and of course based on the 930. The thing I don´t like about the new car is that the rear-spoiler ruins the lines of the convertible, in other words I think the Carrera 4S Convertible looks better. What do you think?:
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/911T-2.jpg
Enough of the 911´s. For model year 2004, Porsche offers customes a choice of no less than 17 models with performance reaching from the 214 km/h/0-160 km/h in 25,0 seconds Cayenne V6 Tiptronic to the 330 km/h/0-160 km/h in 6,9 seconds Carrera GT. Unfortunately I didn´t get any good pictures of the Carrera GT but here is one that´s alright:
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/CarreraGT.jpg
If the GT2 is extremely fast, the Carrera GT is nothing short of sensational. You might know the specifications by now; 5,7 litre V10 (weighs 214 kg), 612 bhp at 8000 rpm, 590 NM at 5750 rpm. It is 60 kg lighter than the GT2 which means 1380 kg. The wheels are made of forged magnesium, 19" at front and 20" at rear, and to allow a quick tyre change they are fastened on the hubs by one central bolt. As the GT2, the Carrera GT comes with ceramic brake discs but they have been enlarged and now measures 380 mm. That´s not the only parts made of that material since the Carrera GT is the first car in the world to feature a ceramic clutch, called PCCC. The seats are made of composite carbon and aramide fibres, aramide being better known as kevlar. They weigh 10,3 kg, only about half as much as convetional seats. What about the performance? 0-100 km/h in 3,9 seconds, 0-160 km/h in 6,9 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 9,9 seconds, standing-start km in 20,0 seconds and a top speed of 330 km/h. It will only be built in 1500 units, so hurry up.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/Cayenne.jpg
From the fastest Porsche to the ugliest, the Cayenne. But this was an interesting detail I´ve never seen in a car before and is, according to Porsche, a world-first achievement. By pressing the button, the towing bar folds down electronically. It worked really fine. Other interesting options for the Cayenne is the offroad navigation system which offers altitude information, presenting the position of the wheels and also serving as a compass. A further feature of the offroad navigation is the choice give to the user to enter his destination on a map by way of a hairpin finder, and to use the backtracking function memorising the route covered and guiding the driver back on the same route he took to his initial destination. Oh, and another new option; A V6-powered Cayenne=Slow! :|
by Donny
Porsche
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3.jpg
[b]This is the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The´RS´designation is one of the most evocative symbols of Porsche race technology. For example, you might remember the Carrera RS 2,7 from 1972 which is considered to be one of the best 911´s ever built. In that case, the road-going RS was the homologation basis for a very successful race car and the new 911 GT3 RS continues that tradition by fulfilling the homologation requirements for the next generation of racing GT3 in accordance with FIA-N/GT and ACO regulations. So, what makes the GT3 RS special from the standard GT3´s?
-All extraneous weight has been completely stripped from the car which means this car is approximately 50 kg lighter than the GT3 Clubsport. For example, the bodyshell is lighter, the front lid and rear wing are made from pure carbon fibre, and the rear screen is made from plastic. All soundproofing materials have been removed from the car, while the dashboard and door panels have been lightened. The powerful engine, 381 bhp, is unchanged but the lower weight increases the power-to-weight ratio by approximately 4% to 280 bhp/tonne.
-The suspension geometry is a modified version of the standard GT3 setup. The uprights are derived from the 911 GT3 racing car and combined with split wishbones at front and rear, as well as specially configured springs and dampers. All four springs also have a special red paint finish. Ride height, camber, toe angle and both anti-roll bars can be easily adjusted for competition use.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-2.jpg
The wheels comes from the standard GT3 but is painted in either red or blue. Each wheel also has a polished rim flange and carries the´RS´ logo at it´s centre as you can see on the picture. The wheels also comes with road-legal racing tyres. And as you can see, this car has the optional Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake system (PCCB).
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-3.jpg
The rear-wing is probably the most noticable exterior-change from the standard GT3. It is derived largely from the 911 GT3 Cup. The main wing profile is made from visible carbon fibre and can be set to one of two angles of incidence, 4 or 8 degrees. Other exterior changes include a lip spoiler at the base of the front apron and the radiator vents ahead of the luggage compartment, as you can see on the first picture.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-4.jpg
The 911 GT3 RS is only available in White. The side decals, as seen here, and rear logo can be specified in red or blue with a matching paint finish on the wheel spokes as I said before
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-5.jpg
Look at these beautiful mirrors, unfortunately only in carbon-look but it looks nice anyway. The last exterior-modification is that the tailpipes has an polished finish.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-6.jpg
The interior is pretty much the same as in the 911 GT3 Clubsport. Key features include a bolt-in roll-over bar that can be easily extended to form a fully enclosed competition roll cage. All components are supplied ready to install as part of the standard package. The bucket seats have a flame-retardant fabric finish. Other standard equipment includes preparation for a battery master switch and a fire extinguisher with mounting bracket. The standard three-points belts and six-point harness are supplied in the same colour as the exterior decals and logo, red or blue. The glove compartment featured in the standard GT3 has been removed to minimise weight too.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-7.jpg
The colour-theme of the interior is black, including the Alcantara rooflining, the flame-retardant seat fabric and the soft touch paint on all synthetic components.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-8.jpg
As you can see here the steering-wheel is covered with Alcantara for additional grip. Alcantara can also be found on the gear-lever and the handbrake grip.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT3-9.jpg
I guess you now, like me, find the GT3 RS quite amazing. The performance is very impressive; 0-100 km/h in 4,4 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 14,0 seconds and a top-speed of 306 km/h. But if this isn´t enough, Porsche also introduced their uprated 911 GT2.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2.jpg
This is the most powerful road-going 911 ever built, developing 483 bhp at 5700 rpm and a maximum torque of 640 NM between 3500 and 4500 rpm. That is 21 bhp and 20 NM more than the old GT2. The only gearbox available is a 6-speed manual but Porsche offers an interesting option; gears 3 and 6 can be matched to specific circuit characteristics with a range of optional competetion ratios. So what does this mean when it comes to performance? It means the 911 GT2 now is capable of accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 4,0 seconds (previously 4,1), 0-160 km/h in 8,5 seconds and from 0-200 km/h in 12,5 seconds (previously 12,9) and a on to a very impressive top-speed of 319 km/h, which is 4 km/h faster than before.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-5.jpg
Here is a better picture of the GT2´s mighty front spoiler, which makes it look more muscular than the 911 Turbo. The ground-clearance isn´t very street-friendly since it´s 20 mm lower than the Turbo.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-4.jpg
The GT2 has a revised spring and damper system compared to the 911 Turbo. The adjustment range of the front and rear suspension has been increased for track use. Set-up options include ride height, camber and track, as well as five-stage (front) and four-stage (rear) anti-roll bars. The GT2 is also available with competition springs.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-3.jpg
These are the new GT2-wheels which follows the design from the GT3. They are 1,8 kg lighter than the former wheels. The GT2 also have the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes as standard. These discs weigh 50 % less than metal discs, which reduces unsprung masses by approximately 18 kg. The brake system is now monitored by the new four-channel 5.7 ABS generation, instead of the two-channel version 5.3 ABS used in the old GT2. This system is faster and more sensitive than the old system.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-2.jpg
This particular GT2 is equipped with the optional, but at no-cost, exterior Carbon package which includes a carbon-fibre rear wing, which is approximately 2,8 kg lighter than the standard wing, and exterior mirrors and radiator ducts in carbon. But if you´re really into racing I would recommend the Clubsport option. This package includes the things described above plus some of the interior changes the GT3 RS has which means a bolt-in roll-over bar which can be upgraded to a full roll cage for competition use and bucket seats finished in flame-retarding fabric for example.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/GT2-6.jpg
These were the two most interesting cars in Porsches stand, I think. But of course they displayed most of the other models as well such as the new 911 Turbo Convertible:
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/911T.jpg
Sure, this is more of a poser car than the standard 911 Turbo but it´s still a very nice performance car. 0-100 km/h in 4,3 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 14,8 seconds and a top speed of 305 km/h isn´t too shabby for a convertible. The roof mechanism is very interesting because it is possible to open or close the roof at speeds up to 50 km/h. For those of you that doens´t remember the old 911 Turbo Convertible, that car was built between 1987 and 1989 and of course based on the 930. The thing I don´t like about the new car is that the rear-spoiler ruins the lines of the convertible, in other words I think the Carrera 4S Convertible looks better. What do you think?:
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/911T-2.jpg
Enough of the 911´s. For model year 2004, Porsche offers customes a choice of no less than 17 models with performance reaching from the 214 km/h/0-160 km/h in 25,0 seconds Cayenne V6 Tiptronic to the 330 km/h/0-160 km/h in 6,9 seconds Carrera GT. Unfortunately I didn´t get any good pictures of the Carrera GT but here is one that´s alright:
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/CarreraGT.jpg
If the GT2 is extremely fast, the Carrera GT is nothing short of sensational. You might know the specifications by now; 5,7 litre V10 (weighs 214 kg), 612 bhp at 8000 rpm, 590 NM at 5750 rpm. It is 60 kg lighter than the GT2 which means 1380 kg. The wheels are made of forged magnesium, 19" at front and 20" at rear, and to allow a quick tyre change they are fastened on the hubs by one central bolt. As the GT2, the Carrera GT comes with ceramic brake discs but they have been enlarged and now measures 380 mm. That´s not the only parts made of that material since the Carrera GT is the first car in the world to feature a ceramic clutch, called PCCC. The seats are made of composite carbon and aramide fibres, aramide being better known as kevlar. They weigh 10,3 kg, only about half as much as convetional seats. What about the performance? 0-100 km/h in 3,9 seconds, 0-160 km/h in 6,9 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 9,9 seconds, standing-start km in 20,0 seconds and a top speed of 330 km/h. It will only be built in 1500 units, so hurry up.
http://www.bmwm5.com/articles/IAA/Cayenne.jpg
From the fastest Porsche to the ugliest, the Cayenne. But this was an interesting detail I´ve never seen in a car before and is, according to Porsche, a world-first achievement. By pressing the button, the towing bar folds down electronically. It worked really fine. Other interesting options for the Cayenne is the offroad navigation system which offers altitude information, presenting the position of the wheels and also serving as a compass. A further feature of the offroad navigation is the choice give to the user to enter his destination on a map by way of a hairpin finder, and to use the backtracking function memorising the route covered and guiding the driver back on the same route he took to his initial destination. Oh, and another new option; A V6-powered Cayenne=Slow! :|