Porsche’s Ultimate Road Going 997: The GT3 RS 4.0

Almost under the radar, Porsche introduced a farewell edition of its 997 GT3 RS for 2011. This was the final iteration of the platform concept. A hint that it was an afterthought—a final frisson before the 991’s arrival—was that the production line that produced its veteran Mezger-designed engine had been closed down. It had to be rescued from the warehouse and reactivated to build flat sixes for the six hundred GT3 RS 4.0 models that Porsche committed to build.

While €178,596 was the ex-works price and £128,466 the price for Britons, Americans paid $185,950 for the 126 RS 4.0s that were sent to the USA. They were the last of the 15,000-odd GT3s on the 996 and 997 platforms that reached buyers who appreciated their visceral attributes, including their six-speed manual transmissions.