EVO Best of 200: 911 GT3RS 3.8

Evo 200_12 THISISEVO - Evo
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The car deserves it, one of the best driving cars and its quiet comfortable to drive on the road. Do you have the other cars in the list, I could only find the top 5 cars like speciale, Lexus LFA etc.

 

slightly off topic, but has anyone driven one of those Renault Meganes? Evo raves about them. IIRC Jeremy Clarkson hates them. so they must be good

we don't get them in the US, has anyone driven one elsewhere?

 

I do not.

 

I have driven my mate's R26R both on and off the track; its a fantastic car. You really feel the lightness of the car and the turn in is so sharp. It is extremely easy to drive, light clutch and steering along with a short shifter. The feedback from the car gives you confidence and makes it very easy to drive fast. The power is slightly down though, I expected it to have similar pull like other Turbo cars (Sti, Evo...etc).
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I'm surprised that they didn't include the GT3 RS 4.0

 

I surprised myself!

 

Haven't read the article but it probably has a cost/fun calculation involved.

 

This excerpt might explain their logic on that one:

"This is the best balanced of all RSs for me. The ride and handling are perfectly balanced, the crazy top end of the 3.8 is plenty crazy enough"

 

Considering the experience & credibility of the testers involved, its hard to think of a better endorsement for the GT3 RS. The article was purely about driving feel on good roads, no cost/fun factor considered here:

"The elephant in the room is a Porsche 911 GT3 RS 3.8 parked on the moor, ticking noisily beside the road having been given one final blast by the evo team.
Jethro eventually volunteers to be the one to put his thoughts into words: ‘Every time I think I’ve just experienced motoring nirvana in one of the other cars, I drive the Porsche and think, “No, this is it…”
SO THIS IS it. This is evo. This is the car that we hold aloft as the one that has reached the highest heights in this crazy mixed-up world we call the Thrill of Driving. The Porsche 911 GT3 RS 3.8.
That it fights and almost wins against a car that is so aligned with the more analogue leanings of the team is remarkable, and while the GT3 RS should be celebrated as the best of the past 200 issues, it’s the Speciale that sets the benchmark for the next 200.
So what is it about the GT3 RS that elevates it above the others? John Barker explains: ‘Take the best bits of everything else in this whole test, cram them into a ridiculously compact shell and you’ve got the 911 GT3 RS.’
‘If the Speciale is a masterclass in response, the GT3 RS is the definitive lesson in feedback,’ adds Jethro. ‘The steering – I know we’re forever banging on about bloody steering! – is truly special, bubbling and wriggling with the most wonderful detail. Not just of the road surface but flowing information about weight transfer, the shifts in balance that are at the core of this car.’
At this point Henry chips in: ‘The way its damping copes with the Welsh roads is just perfect and not once did I feel like the mighty Mezger wasn’t strong enough. What’s more, the suppleness in the suspension set-up means that I could enjoy all these lovely adjustable 911 feelings even when we were just pottering along in the morning at five- or six-tenths.’
Back to Barker: ‘This is the best balanced of all RSs for me. The ride and handling are perfectly balanced, the crazy top end of the 3.8 is plenty crazy enough, the heft of the hefty gearshift is as hefty as I’d want it and there’s nothing I want more of from an RS.’
‘It’s alive at all times,’ explains Jethro, ‘and you feel the weight shifting around, the slight softness of response as you guide it gently into easy curves. But then the transformation when you decide to snap between direction changes is incredible. Suddenly the front-end is pinned and the traction is, of course, almost surreal.
The final words go to Dickie: ‘As much as I love the Speciale, the RS is a tougher, grittier experience. Of course you have to drive the Speciale to get the best from it, but ultimately there’s less to get to know. The RS demands a broader skill set and greater intimacy with its ways and foibles before you’re able or confident enough to push it.
‘Essentially these cars perfectly illustrate the difference between the analogue and digital ages. We just happen to be living through the transitional phase, so while it’s brilliant that a car like the Speciale can deliver such a vibrant and all-consuming experience, the appeal of cars that require you to use hard-won skills – and the satisfaction they deliver when you do so to the best of your ability – remains irresistible.’
The epic Speciale proves the future is in good hands, but looking back over the last 200 issues the GT3 RS is the defining car – the pinnacle of an extraordinary era."