Porsche 991 GT3 vs 997.2 GT3 RS: performance peers?
We’ll be honest; it almost feels a tad naughty pitching a Rennsport 911 against a contemporary that’s not endowed with the fabled ‘RS’ lettering affixed to its decklid.
After all, the Rennsport nomenclature is reserved for only the very best, representing the pinnacle of Porsche artisanship. In sheer performance terms, nothing should come close – and in the case of the 997 GT3 RS, very little else from its age group does.
However, the 991-generation is a quantum leap forward in technological terms, spawning a potential challenger to the 3.8-litre RS’s motorsporting credentials – a challenger bereft of that most cherished lettering duo at its rear.
Right from launch in 2013, the 991 GT3 has taken its place at the top table of elite 911s. A well-documented worldwide recall and subsequent full engine replacement in early 2014, the result of half a dozen examples catching fire, hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for this spectacular flat six-powered weapon.
Market values in its short life have so far reflected this: walk into any Porsche Centre today with the intention of purchasing even a Porsche Approved 991 GT3 and you’ll have to part with substantially more cash than the £100,540 original list price for the privilege.
By comparison, the 997 GT3 RS has enjoyed a quieter yet no less dazzling existence. Originally retailing for £109,123, it is the Rennsport that has enjoyed the shortest time at the top of the RS tree, eclipsed after only one year of production by the 997 RS 4.0.
Such a rapid in-house upstaging of its decorated RS model has only happened once before at Porsche, when the pioneering 2.7 Carrera RS of 1973 was replaced by the 3.0-litre variant in 1974 (though the 2.7’s cache of being the first Rennsport has stood it in good stead in the history books ever since).
That said, the second-generation 997 GT3 RS is by no means an underrated sports car – far from it. Considered a talisman of modern-day road and track exhilaration, it too has seen values rise in the last two years, with examples changing hands from around £150,000.
Their comparative journey to this point may be dissimilar, but there’s a metaphor to be had as these two cars sit side by side before us in the glistening summer sun.
To read Lee’s 991 GT3 v 997.2 GT3 RS head-to-head in full, pick up your copy of Total 911 issue 131 in store now. Alternatively, order your copy online for home delivery, or download it straight to your digital device.
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