Car of the Day - 2008 Porsche GT3 RSR

Car of the Day -
2008 Porsche GT3 RSR

Porsche and Ferrari - they’re like Newman and McQueen - simply the best. While some may have their favorites, some may consider one better than the other, it’s like,.... why bother, the world is a much better place for having both of them.

In 2007 the Ferrari camp had the upper hand on the Porsche people in the GT2 series and for 2008 Porsche needed to play catch up. The result was an extensively modified GT3 RSR. They had a pretty good base to start with, with a car that had class victories in 2007 in the 24 hour races of Le Mans and Spa as well as overall victory at the Nurburgring 24 hours.

Modifications came predominantly in areas of aerodynamics, the transaxle and suspension set-up. The engine remained relatively unchanged with output at 465 hp (342 kW) at 8,000 revs per minute and torque at 430 Nm at 7,250 revs.

The redesigned sequential six-speed transaxle is lighter and has less internal friction than its predecessor and allows for a wider radius of suspension adjustments. The Porsche engineers transferred knowledge gained from the development of the RS Spyder sports prototype into the transaxle assembly of the RSR.

With regard to aero the front end received new small front flicks on the valance and a small Gurney Flap was placed on the engine cover. The flicks with optimised air ducting and newly-designed side air outlets generate more downforce and reduce drag. The major aero components such as the wing remained unchanged.

Thirty five GT3 RSR’s where built with a base cost per car of 349,800 Euro plus VAT.

Rod Halligan