Porsche has officially announced its 2023 911 GT3 R, which will soon compete at GT3-compliant international motorsports competitions like the IMSA series, FIA WEC World Endurance Championship, and 24-Hour Le Mans in 2024.
Given that GT3 vehicles are going to replace GTE at Le Mans, the 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 R is here and it is more powerful than ever. This is Porsche’s specifically designed GT3-class race car, which will be allowed in sports car competitions all around the world.
In typical Porsche style, the car’s star component, a 4.2-liter flat-six engine with a maximum output of 565 horsepower, is hidden in the trunk. Porsche also improved the 911 GT3 R’s aerodynamics and balance to make it as competitive as feasible for a variety of drivers.
The front and rear suspensions of the 911 GT3 R are both multi-link designs with unequal-length control arms, and the adjustable KW shock absorbers have five settings.
According to Porsche, the suspension has been created to reduce tire wear on the rears, allowing racers to drive for longer periods of time without losing performance, as well as to make setup adjustments simpler. The increased wheelbase is also touted to increase tire durability and reliability over longer periods on the track.
The GT3 R heavily relies on aerodynamics. To increase downforce, the flat under tray, rear diffuser, and reconfigured front packaging were combined to form an elevated underbody area. Similar to the road-going GT3, the enormous rear wing uses a swan-neck mount to increase aerodynamic efficiency by allowing for smoother airflow under the wing. This big rear wing also adds to the creation of negative lift.
Four-piston, 14.6-inch rear discs and six-piston, 15.4-inch front steel discs are attached to aluminum monobloc calipers to act as the vehicle’s brakes. Additionally updated to lessen brake and tire wear are the traction control and ABS systems.
In comparison to the typical road-going 911, it is also lightweight. Although the GT3 R’s body panels are almost entirely comprised of carbon fiber, the aramid-fiber wheel arches are the only exception. It shares the same aluminum-steel composite construction with the road car below.
The 963 LMDh prototype racer and the GT3 R both use “collimator” technology for night racing. To illuminate a sizable area in front of the car, these headlights function almost like a reverse magnifying glass.
The World Endurance Championship, which includes Le Mans, will shortly join America’s GT3, making this new 911 GT3 R even more significant for Porsche. GT3 is the top class of sports car racing in North America. The 911 RSR qualifies for the GTE class, which will be phased out by the World Endurance Championship in 2024 and replaced by the GT3-class vehicles in both the professional and amateur GT classes.
“The new 911 GT3 R has big shoes to fill,” said Sales Director at Porsche Motorsport Michael Dreiser. “Its forerunner has won almost everything there is to win in the GT3 scene in four seasons since 2019.”
“Its stand-out successes include overall victories at the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and also here at Spa-Francorchamps.”
“Raced by our customers, the predecessor scored class victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. The new model faces a massive workload in the hands of the Porsche customer racing teams.”
As a result, the 911 GT3 R was created with customer teams that compete in competitions like the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and GT World Challenge America in mind. This required Porsche’s engineers to optimize the GT3 R so that it would still be quick but be simpler for racers of various ability levels to operate.
Porsche is aware that these racers frequently provide funds for customer teams claiming that the new GT3 R is less expensive to runcompared to the previous model.
