Porsche GT4RS Itzkirb | 718

The RS acronym has been associated with the GT2 and GT3 racing classes for a good number of years. On top of that Porsche has always brought us the tamer GT3 model, but they followed it up with an RS model. For the GT4, it’s the very first time they bring to the world a GT4RS.

But what does RS stand for and what makes it so special? Ad literam, it would mean RennSport or Racing Sport. This encompasses all the technological advances that Porsche has accomplished in their motor racing division, but brought to a road-legal “killing bugs fast” sports car.

We can tell that Porsche took a lot of the 991.2 GT3RS tech and added it to the GT4RS, but it would be unfair to just stop there, so the engineers and designers at Porsche brought us a lightweight construction, a lot more downforce, more direct handling and of course more horse power. These are obviously the highlights as the complete list of changes is known only to Porsche.

So in true Porsche manner, does this GT4RS kill bugs fast? At least on paper it does. The GT4RS inherits its slightly older brother’s engine, so the GT3 engine is slightly detuned and sits in a more central location in the car. The 4.0 liter naturally aspirated boxer 6 motor creating 493HP/331 lb-ft, puts the GT4RS 3rd in the 7 minute marker at the Nordschleife, 3 seconds behind the monstrous Dodge Viper ACR. Fun fact here is that the GT4RS sits 2 seconds ahead one of the 992.1 GT3RS Weissach package attempts.

This particular Yachting Blue Metallic M5S GT4RS came to us, via our good friend itzkirb and it’s complimenting his Porsche collection. The Weissach package with the exposed carbon gives it a very distinguished look and those side carbon intakes complete a stealth looking street legal rocket. The swan neck wing found its way to the GT4RS lineup and it has received the love it deserves. The sought after Weissach package with the carbon fiber hood, mirrors, roof, intakes, swan neck mounted wing and engine cover received its own share of care and restoration, to bring out the beautiful nuances of the dry carbon underneath that clear coat.

But the attention this car deserves did not stop here. For the first time in the 718 lineup a car has received centerlock wheels, so they’re getting attention from Porsche enthusiasts and connoisseurs. But centerlock wheels are not as easy as Formula 1 makes it look on TV. They got a lot of attention with a special application method using a Kamikaze Collection blend of ceramic coating specifically formulated for the harshness of the elements. The kicker here is that they didn’t have to come off and the 600lb-ft torque wrench didn’t have to come to the rescue, thanks to the setup consisting of the Nussbaum Sprinter 7 scissor lift.

The rubber trim has always been a sore spot for a lot of Porsche owners and we have applied another Kamikaze Collection blend to protect it for the years to come. The light tunnel came in handy and has shone the way (pun intended) for us to get all the rubber and plastic trims taken care of.

While the outer carbon is protected by PPF, the inner carbon fiber wrapping the engine bay compartment has received multiple layers of Kamikaze Collection Over Coat. This sealant spray is doing the job of an entry level coating, both in terms of cost and actual reliability, and it brings out the true nuances of the carbon.

We’ve talked about the looks about the GT4RS, but let’s dive a bit into how it sounds. What we can say is the exhaust notes are distinguishable and make this car even more special. Now we cannot really translate that into anything discernible here. The one thing we can do is to make sure those special exhaust tips are getting their own share of attention.

We don’t know whether this is going to be a one off, for this particular 718 generation or whether the GT4RS will establish itself as a household name in the Porsche lineup or in the GT4 class for that matter.

Given that the GT4 class is a pro/am and that most cars are essentially track cars, the Porsche factory team has not backed any team officially. Manthey Racing has tuned several GT4 Clubsport cars to compete in the European GT4 class. Let’s see if Porsche will support this directly now that the GT4RS is out, or maybe Manthey will take the GT4RS and apply their own secret sauce and get it to compete in the GT4 series.

Only time will tell!

See you soon GT4RS! We enjoyed our short time in your company!