When we drove the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS in Germany last year, we were kept off public roads. You see, to legally drive any car in Germany between November 1 and April 15 means fitting winter tires. Now, a GT3 RS on snow shoes does sound like the right kind of ice racing, but in hopes that we'd properly lick the performance envelope, Porsche kept our behind-the-wheel time to laps on the Nürburgring Formula 1 track. In that environment, the most race-car-like Porsche that breathes in the atmosphere is everything you'd hope it'd be. The 520-hp flat-six howls like Allen Ginsberg at 9000 rpm. Its electrically assisted power steering is perfectly reactive for diving toward apexes as the wings push you deep toward the Earth's mantle. The wider-is-grippier chassis, borrowed from the 700-hp GT2 RS, holds on like it cares about you. And Porsche's dual-clutch automatic is like having Hurley Haywood choosing the gears as it perfectly anticipates your every move on the track and always finds itself in the right one of its seven forward ratios.

Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

HIGHS: Breathtaking soundtrack, clairvoyant transmission, huge grip levels, livable around town.

Porsche certainly could have held the drive program outside Germany, which made us suspect that maybe its PR department didn't want us to drive the RS on the street. Perhaps it was too loud or too harsh or too extreme for the world outside the racetrack: more Dodge Viper ACR than Porsche 911. And then the phone rang with the offer to drive a GT3 RS in Southern California. So, in the interest of science and being thorough—and offering relevant consumer advice to shoppers in the $200K sports-car segment—we agreed to a week with a $208,717 GT3 RS.

A Pet Monster

First off, GT3 RS shopper, the ride quality is civil enough so as to not disturb your significant other when you volunteer to drive to dinner, although pulling 1.24 g's in a corner may permanently rearrange their opinion of you. Pretty much the only rubber in the chassis is the tires (optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Rs; $3737 at Tire Rack), as the softer suspension connections that help isolate and coddle lesser 911s have been replaced by ball joints to cinch up the RS's responses. The result is a little harsher ride, but leave the adaptive dampers in their softest setting and they'll keep your head and body fat from jiggling excessively. Is it too much for commuting? No, it's fine. Drive it to the office; just be sure to remember to hit the button for the optional ($3490) nose-lift feature to keep the front air dam from scraping on sloping driveways.

View Photos Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

Trundling around, the RS isn't any more punishing than a regular GT3, which itself isn't that far off a standard-issue 911. At 70 mph, the RS's 75-decibel reading actually matches that of the Carrera S. To turn up the volume, stomp the accelerator on your freeway cruise and what sounds like a Kansas thunderstorm moving across the prairie rumbles out of the titanium exhaust system. Every rip, every blip, every pull of the engine serves as a call to prayer, a reminder of how cars can transcend their simple function to bring joy. That flat-six behind where the rear seats are in a normal 911 is a mood-altering device. It is the most special element in a car made almost entirely of special elements. Zing the 4.0-liter to 9000 rpm and 102 decibels come through, a big 14 decibels louder than a Carrera S. We should mention to potential buyers that from about 8000 to 9000 rpm the engine sounds like a table saw having a debate with an armoire.

LOWS: It's really loud, rather pricey, near-race cars don't do subtle.

A regular 911 has what is arguably the best electrically assisted power steering in the entire industry, but the RS models are even a little better. May we suggest that every car company buy a GT3 RS and figure it out once and for all? Accurate to the nanometer and filled with flavor, the steering is sharp and responsive when you use it and smooth and stable when you point the nose straight. It resembles unassisted steering in the way that you can sense the pebble and grain of the road through the steering wheel. But the additional feedback is never annoying. None of what you sense degrades the refinement of the car. Drive any other car after the RS, and it'll seem like a numb imitation of driving.

View Photos Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

Settling In

Some of that link is fostered by the snug, one-piece seats, which won't fit everyone. But don't fret, consumer, because 18-way power-adjustable seats are a no-cost option. Speaking of seats, there are only two, so unlike other 911s, you can't put kiddos in the back seat. Other no-cost options that shoppers should definitely select are the net pocket in the passenger footwell and the smoker's package, which adds a 12-volt outlet behind the shifter. Also, be sure to spend the $140 for the 23.8-gallon fuel tank (up from the standard 16.9 gallons) because range is a luxury and the GT3 RS is a gas guzzler in the eyes of the government, returning 15 mpg city and 19 mpg highway on the EPA cycles. Somehow, we averaged 16 mpg—not bad for a sports car that can catapult to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and cover the standing quarter-mile in 11.0 flat at 129 mph.

Built to generate low lap times and impressive numbers at the test track, the RS is a car you'd expect would be out of its element on the street. We expected a punishing and compromised machine, but Porsche wisely left in enough 911 to maintain a good sense of civility and refinement. The RS offers everything you'd ever want in a track car, and it'll carve through mountain passes faster than you can imagine, but it'll also take you to work without causing any pain. There's no higher praise for a sports car, or any car.

Specifications Specifications 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS VEHICLE TYPE

rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe PRICE AS TESTED

$208,717 (base price: $190,050) ENGINE TYPE

DOHC 24-valve flat-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel inject

Displacement

244 in3, 3996 cm3

Power

520 hp @ 8250 rpm

Torque

346 lb-ft @ 6000 rpm TRANSMISSION

7-speed dual-clutch automatic with manual shifting mode CHASSIS

Suspension (F/R): struts/multilink

Brakes (F/R): 16.1-in vented, cross-drilled carbon-ceramic disc/15.4-in vented, cross-drilled carbon-ceramic disc

Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R, F: 265/35ZR-20 (99Y) N0, R: 325/30ZR-21 (108Y) N0 DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 96.6 in

Length: 179.4 in

Width: 74.0 in

Height: 51.1 in

Passenger volume: 47 ft3

Cargo volume: 14 ft3

Curb weight: 3260 lb C/D TEST RESULTS

60 mph: 2.9 sec

100 mph: 6.6 sec

130 mph: 11.2 sec

150 mph: 15.9 sec

Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 3.7 sec

Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.2 sec

Top gear, 50–70 mph: 2.1 sec

¼-mile: 11.0 sec @ 129 mph

Top speed (drag limited, mfr's claim): 194 mph

Braking, 70–0 mph: 128 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.24 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY

Observed: 16 mpg EPA FUEL ECONOMY

Combined/city/highway: 16/15/19 mpg Expand Collapse

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io