If you’re a dedicated follower of 234Drive—as you should be—and you watched our exclusive interview with Polanco, a leading automotive dealership in Nigeria, back in March, you might remember when their manager Bash hinted at some interesting upcoming arrivals to their showroom.
Two months later, we reviewed one of these super cool arrivals, the Tesla Cybertruck, and it caught a lot of attention. Now, the 992 GT3 RS Porsche—the first of its kind in Nigeria and West Africa—has landed at Polanco. And we’re here to give you a front row seat in this equally show-stopping sportscar.
When Bash unveiled the car to Richie & Crank of 234Drive, there was only one word that came to mind: PERFECTION. The Porsche GT3 RS is the kind of car real auto aficionados want in their dream garage.
Typically, Porsche’s performance is the standard by which most other road-going sportscars are judged—a reputation that’s especially owing to the Porsche 911. The 911 has 12 different individual trims to pick from: The Carrera, Carrera S, Carrera 4S, Carrera GTS, Carrera 4 GTS, Targa 4S, Targa 4 GTS, Turbo, Turbo S, Dakar, GT3, and this one…THE GT3 RS.
The GT3 RS is the ultimate expression of the 911 just because of the wealth of technology integrated into this car. Don’t get me wrong, it is a Porsche 911 with the usual 4-litre flat six engine that puts out only about 525 hp, less horsepower than even an electric G-Wagon. But this car will go toe to toe with Burna Boy’s ₦3.5 Billion Mclaren Senna because of how Porsche perfected every technological aspect for the making of a perfect track car.
It’s not even as fast as most of the cars on our fastest cars in Nigeria list since it does 0 to 60mph in 3.2 seconds—in a world where 2 seconds is the new standard. Yet, this Porsche will leave you gasping in awe when you understand how it works. This car is not about numbers; instead, the wonder is in the details.
The aerodynamics is next level. This massive wing on the trunk is active, in the sense that it moves according to the driving condition. It sits higher than the height of the car to generate an unbelievable amount of downward force that keeps you planted on the road when you are taking corners or braking at high speeds.
The GT3 RS has no bonnet/frunk or storage area. Instead, what you get are hood scoops that divert air away from the body of the car for better aerodynamics and downforce.
We also have vents on the fender, specially shaped doors and a cut-out section around the wheel which reduces the air pressure building up under the car, thereby preventing the car from lifting off the ground while you speed.
So, every plastic and cutout you see was put there for a reason: AERODYNAMICS. This is that necessary factor that allows you to cut through air with minimal effect on the car’s movement—something like a jet. In essence, you can throw this car into any corner at high speeds while you are still very much planted on the ground.
Aerodynamics aside, the stance of this beauty is something to talk about. The rear tyre is 335 millimeters wide while the front is 275 millimeters. This is the final boss of a staggered setup.
You can see a wider or—let’s say—extra rear fender trying to cover up the width of the tyre. This is a widebody car.
This 992 also has an F1 racing Technology called DRS, meaning Drag Reduction System. When you are in a straight line, you can press the DRS button and the car gains extra speed because of how the spoiler adjusts to cut through air even better.
Steel brakes are standard on the GT3 RS, this helps you stop quickly at any speed. However, you can also get carbon ceramic brakes for extra braking power.
The engine, like I said earlier, is a 4-litre flat six engine that puts out about 525hp and revs up to 9000 RPM. Check the gauge on your car and you’ll understand what I mean. Most cars can only rev to about 7000/8000 RPMs but in the GT3-RS, you get an extra 1000 revolutions per minute on your engine.
With cars like this, you really don’t buy them for the interior comfort, but the 992 GT3 RS isn’t lacking in delivering an upscale experience on the inside.
The first anomaly you notice is a fabric door handle, because Porsche is all about weight reduction. The door frame also has carbon fibre door handles and of course, you get a full bucket seat with carbon fibre frames.
For the cockpit, you have a touchscreen that is equipped with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, and then you have 4 main gauges here that allow you monitor every important parameter while you are out there having fun on the track or on the road.
The transmission in the GT3 RS is a PDK, Porsche’s dual clutch transmission which combines the convenience of an automatic transmission and the speed of a manual one into one for you. This transmission has a manual mode that you can control using a paddle shifter placed behind the steering wheel.
Aside from the shifter paddles, there are a lot of controls mounted on the steering wheel. You have the DRS button that allows you to increase the car’s speed by deflecting the spoiler.
On the right area of the steering are the Stability Control buttons and Drive Mode selection buttons. Unlike other cars where you just turn on/off the traction control, you can control the level to which you want the car to help you with traction.
On the left area of the steering is the PTV+ (Power Torque Vectoring) button that allows you adjust power delivery/braking ability to the tyres and you also have the PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) button that allows you tweak the height and compression of the suspension.
In essence, the idea of the Porsche GT3 RS is to have a 911 sports car that can be fully tamed and controlled in a track environment, making you feel like you are in an actual racing competition.
Polanco imported this car for lovers of the Porsche culture, but we do struggle to see how the potential buyer/owner of this car will enjoy the full capability of the GT3 RS considering the absence of a proper track facility in Nigeria.
The full video is up now on our YouTube channel! Go check it out for yourself!
The First & Only Porsche GT3 RS in West Africa | First Look & Review of a $500,000 Porsche
