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Porsche 996 GT3 RS
At Classic Heroes, we have always had a soft spot for homologation specials. Cars developed with an uncompromising approach and built in limited numbers to ensure a single purpose; motorsport dominance. Some of our favourite cars are not only regularly seen on the front row of the grid having been fettled by skunkwork motorsport departments, but many started life in far more ordinary form.
If you are a petrolhead at heart your mind is never far away from thinking about the magical ingredients that get the blood pumping through your veins and the adrenaline surging. The pleasure of your hands griped to a perfectly weighted steering wheel and your feet dancing on the pedals pushing you along a sweeping B road bend. The mixture of lightweight materials, a beautifully balanced chassis and a close ratio box connected to sonorous power unit is hard to beat.
Many an hour has been spent at the Classic Heroes HQ arguing over what cars fit this description and what is the next car that should be added to our own collection. Increasingly, we kept coming back to the Porsche 996 GT3 RS. Now, you would never describe a 911 as ordinary but it is certainly fair to say that some versions are in a different league to others. Quite often those extra special models have carried the RS moniker.
The 996 represents the advent of the modern 911. The re-birth of the legendary sports car to bring it into the 21st century and ensure its competitiveness on the forecourt and starting grid. The most controversial aspect was the move to a water cooled power plant. The purists cried foul in much the same way as we have seen the grinding of teeth at the move to PDK gearboxes and electric power steering. But the passing of time heals many wounds and we are now fast approaching almost 20 years of water cooled, power fed 911's. Soon there will be a new generation of Porsche enthusiasts that never knew anything else other that water cooled Porsches.
Built specifically to compete in the GT3 class, the 996 RS was the most track focused, hardcore version of Porsche's new baby. It needed to produce 200 units to
homologate the chassis and the result was one of the the purist, race focused but road legal 911's ever made. The addition of a carbon fibre bonnet, front and rear spoilers, revised aero package, polycarbonate rear window and a host of suspension changes fundamentally changed the nature of this 996. A factory fitted roll cage, lightweight Recaro's with race harnesses and fire extinguisher all added to the feel of you sitting on a grid whilst your were actually sitting on your driveway. Porsche even went to the extent of replacing the normal enamel crest on the bonnet with a sticker to save weight.
Just 682 cars were made and all supplied in Carrera white. Your choice was either blue or red decals; another nod in the direction of the legendary 2.7 RS. Just 140 cars were made in RHD of which just 113 were C16 UK market cars. This makes the 996 GT3 RS the 2nd rarest RS ever made. Only the 997 GT3 RS 4.0 has been made in fewer numbers.
First registered on in the U.K on 31 May 2004 and specified with the ultra expensive Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brake option (£5,335), this lovely RS has covered just 19,000 miles and is in as new condition. We are very proud to be the lucky custodians of the next chapter of its life and feel certain that the 996 GT3 RS will soon pass into the folklore of 911 history.
