For decades upon decades, the Porsche 911 has been powered by a flat six engine. While other manufactures have worked with a plethora of cylinders to achieve massive power, Porsche has stayed true to their brand and thus have created some of the most powerful six cylinder engines known to man. When the 997 911 was released, we thought we had seen the largest flat six (the Carrera S’s 3.8 liter) to be produced by the company, but for 2011, Porsche has upped the ante even more.
Under the engine cover of the soon-to-be released 911 GT3 RS 4.0 is the largest displacement 911 engine ever to be put into production. Displacing a huge 4.0 liters, the new engine is also the highest horsepower per-liter natural aspirated flat six they have produced: 125 horsepower per-liter. If you do the math that is 500 hp which can be felt at a staggering 8,250 rpm. Peak torque is a claimed 339 lb-ft at 5,750 rpm. The engine produces all this thrust by way of forged pistons, titanium connecting rods and a crankshaft that was pulled directly from the 911 GT3 RSR race car.
Available only with a 6 speed manual, the 4.0 will hit 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. With that power, and a weight of only 2,998 lbs, the new 911 has lapped the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 27 seconds. Numerous track-special aerodynamics and chassis enhancements also made this blistering fast lap time possible; the word “carbon fiber” comes up a lot when talking about the interior and exterior of the 4.0.
The 911 GT3 RS 4.0 is sure to make any Porsche track nut happy and is also sure to cause some serious smiles on track days. And track days are where this limited production (600 vehicles worldwide) super coupe will see most of its work. If you haven’t placed your order just yet, grab your check book and make a payment of $185,000 to Porsche to own another piece of racing history.
