Bitauto Original 992 GT3 will not enter domestic sales. It has caused a lot of discussion among friends who are interested in performance sports cars. But in fact, in my opinion, if you really understand the GT3 series and are really looking for a driving machine that is only built for the track, this It's not that hard to accept. At least in my opinion, GT3 models are really not that purely "born for the track", let alone achieve the so-called "quasi racing" positioning. Another reason that is “not so hard to accept” is that Porsche has indeed brought us the latest RS model: the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, a true track driving machine and a true “quasi-racing car”. Today, I will drive this GT4 RS at the Estoril track in Portugal to experience how the first mid-engine RS model in history performs.
InIn the GT4 category, the racing car used by Porsche has now been updated to the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. As a car in the GT4 category, its performance is restricted by the regulations of the category, and it cannot be made faster as desired. The lap time of GT4 cars on the Nürburgring is about 7 minutes. Therefore, the performance of the Cayman car series is limited by the GT4 group racing cars. As for the street version of the 718 CaymanGT4 RS, what is the actual lap time? An amazing 20.6km 7:04.511! I don't know why Porsche made this car so fast. It's so fast, so fast that it doesn't even have to be. And I immediately began to worry a little: there are many models now that sacrifice a lot of driving experience in order to be fast. If this car is like this, I will be really disappointed. Porsche, this is a naturally aspirated RS. I have never trusted you and done this for you before.Worried.
Finally got the car. Before starting, let’s briefly talk about the options of this car. Compared with the GT4, the GT4 RS without options loses 19 kilograms. The Weissach kit reduces weight by 6 kg, and the magnesium alloy wheels reduce weight by 10 kg, for a total weight reduction of 35 kg. The Clubsport package is a free option and includes a steel roll cage, a reserved power-off switch position and a multi-point safety belt that can be used on the track with the HANS system. I think for this car, the Clubsport package is a must-have.
In addition, the basic version of the Weissach kit costs 155,700 yuan, including the carbon fiber appearance of the front cover, air intakes on both sides, exterior mirrors, carbon fiber rear wing, titanium alloy exhaust tail pipe, etc. It should be noted here: the front cover is made of carbon fiber regardless of whether it has a Weissach kit or not. The only difference is whether the carbon fiber material is exposed in the appearance. As for the titanium alloy tailpipe, I have confirmed it with Porsche many times. It only changes the shape and appearance, and has a slight weight reduction effect, but does not change the tone and volume of the exhaust at all - whether it is equipped with the Weissach kit or not, it is the most moving. The natural air intake of 9000 rpm can provide sound waves. Appearing together with the Weissach package, there are also 4 magnesium alloy wheels as options, priced at 183,700 yuan, and the standard forged aluminum alloy wheels In comparison, a total of 10 kilograms can be saved. Finally, carbon ceramic brakes, 97,800 yuan.
At this time I was told that I could Take this car outside the track and experience its daily driving performancenow. But for me, the biggest value of the RS series being legal on the road is that there is no need to call a tow truck on the way to the track. The two storage spaces at the front and rear are enough to accommodate helmets and other equipment needed for track driving and a day or two of daily luggage, ensuring that the co-pilot position can be reserved for friends traveling with you. Two people and one car simplify the trip to the track.
The road conditions in Lisbon are better than I thought It's much worse. In order to simulate the common scene of participating in a track day, I walked around the city+suburban for a full hour before driving this track machine. Back to where it belongs. Fortunately, I was still able to get out of the car, change gear, and get ready for the upcoming track drive. The bucket seats and hard chassis used for close racing did not cause me much trouble after one hour, and the gearbox was smooth enough. Being able to do this has met all my needs for daily driving of RS models, and I can give it full marks. The driving on the track behind is the highlight.
Start the vehicle and prepare to go. The Estoril circuit was a very famous circuit in the 1970s and 1980s. When the car god Ayrton Senna was active, it was used to host F1 events . The length of this track is less than 4.4 kilometers, but there are many high-speed sections, except 8-12 Besides the short section of the corner, there are no other combination turns. The last Turn 13 is a long right-hand bend, a little similar to the right-hand bend before the big straight of the New York Speedway. It is very suitable for fully experiencing the dynamics of the vehicle in the corner. location.
ExitPit room, accelerating at full speed, the first thing that impressed me was the engine of this car. The same horizontally opposed 6-cylinder naturally aspirated engine from the 992 GT3 and 992 GT3 Cup was turned 180% by Porsche engineersdegree is placed in this small sports car that is less than 4.5 meters long. Due to the mid-mounted layout, the length of the exhaust system has increased compared to the 911 model, and the maximum power has therefore been slightly reduced to 500hp, red line speed9000rpm, maximum power speed8400rev. Coupled with the 7-speed PDK dual-clutch gearbox from the 991 GT3 RS, the 0 time is 10.9 seconds. -The acceleration capability of 200km/h is enough for you to conquer any track. The accelerator is pushed to the bottom, and the speed is increased to over 6,000 rpm, which is the most comfortable range for this high-speed self-priming engine to exert power. With an exhaust sound that is very similar to the racing version, this small car keeps moving forward with energy that does not match the body size. forward. Another thing that I have never experienced before is that the engine air intake pipe is arranged directly next to your ears. As the speed increases, you can also distinguish the changes in the engine air intake sound, which is wonderful.
The braking at Turn 1 is slightly different from what I expected. The feel of this set of carbon ceramic brakes is not very hard and extremely sensitive in the early stages, but a very moderate but delicate and linear feeling. With this setting It makes it much easier for the driver to control the brakes. Naturally, there is no need to worry about the braking force after braking to the end. The 410mm front brake disc can pull this car with a dry weight of less than 1.4 tons very easily, and there is no need to worry about any overheating issues.
Remember the worries I mentioned before? With just one turn, my worries ceased to exist. The front axle of this car comes from the 991.2 GT3 RS. After I turned the steering wheel to enter the corner, the rough asphalt road surface appeared in front of me through the steering wheel like a high-precision photo. Oh no, it should be in my hands. I can perfectly judge the status of the front axle of the vehicle just by turning the reverse disk, which is really amazing.
The other thing is the dynamics of the car body. This car performs well in corners, whether in steady state or transient state.It perfectly inherits the characteristics of718 series. The higher cornering limit gives the driver more room for experimentation. As the driver tries to reach higher speeds in the corner, the front and rear axles approach the limit at almost the same speed, within a short range from when the tire starts to sound to when it breaks through the limit. , the car neither pushes the head nor flicks the tail in the steady state when bending outward. And the speed is faster. After breaking through the red line, the rear of the car starts to move first, gently swinging outwards. However, the movement of the rear of the car is still very gentle at this time. The center of the circle of the body's rotation is so easy to sense, and the steering and steering are found. The best way to operate the throttle to achieve the best cornering method. And if you want to do some more outrageous actions, feel free to let it go. It should be said that you will not be able to find the control beyond the limit like you can in this car in other mid-engined sports cars. However, these are all done at extremely high speeds.
In order to achieve this control, Several elements have to be mentioned. The first is the response speed of the 4.0 naturally aspirated engine. Even the best supercharged engine still lags behind at this point. When you are very When we make subtle adjustments to the throttle, that's when we love natural air intake the most. Of course, the 500 power also gives you enough reserves to use. The second is the chassis, which has eliminated all rubber bushings, which makes the car's response probably more than one level higher than the ordinary 718 model. Finally, there is Porsche’s insistence on this GT4 RS: in addition to providing a sufficiently fast lap performance, it must also provide a more mechanical and original driving experience. This car uses a mechanical limited-slip differential on the rear axle, no rear-wheel steering, and no PTVPlus Porsche Torque Vectoring System Plus, which are high-tech equipment that is equipped to the teeth for lap speed, as well as ESP electronic stability program and TC traction control program. Complete shutdown is also supported. Who wouldn’t love such a pure driving machine that brings us back to the original driving? At the same time, the car still achieved incredible lap times and was simply too powerful.
992 GT3
Since we are talking about lap times, 992 GT3 This car appeared in my mind again. It uses the same engine, 992 GT3's new Northern Circle Speed RatioGT4 The RS is about 9 seconds faster, so what’s the difference? The main difference is the absolute mechanical grip in medium and low-speed corners. Compared with the GT4 RS’s front 245295 tire width, 992 GT3's tire width reaches the front255 rear315, coupled with the larger wheelbase at the front and rear, the resulting mechanical grip The improvement cannot be underestimated, which is why I did not describe GT4 as bottomless. RS. At the Wehrseifen corner, the slowest corner in New North, the lowest speed of GT3 is 74, GT4 RS is 69. But enough power makesGT4 The RS performs equally well on high-speed sections. At several points in New York where the tail speed can be observed, the tail speed of the GT4 RS is almost the same as that of the 992 GT3. These sections have enough distance to fully impact the tail speed. , it will not be affected by the exit speed of the previous corner. With enough power to guarantee, the lap speed will naturally be supported. In addition, compared with 992 GT3, GT4 RS has more excellent aerodynamic components. In high-speed corners, stronger downforce makes up for the lack of mechanical grip. Swedish Cross, the lowest speeds of the two cars are GT3 216 and GT4 RS 213. Finally, it is the rhythm, which is more track-oriented.When driving the RS series, the rhythm of the GT4 RS is obviously faster than that of the 992 GT3. In some continuous left, right, medium and low-speed corners without any breathing space, There are almost no small straights to adjust between corners. Although the corner limit is slightly lower, the GT4 RS's passing time on these sections is even shorter because it can achieve a faster pace. The same level of power, stronger downforce, and better rhythm allow the GT4 RS to reach or even surpass the level of the higher-positioned GT3 on many road sections in New York. It takes advantage of the disadvantages of narrower tires and smaller wheelbases. The impact was minimized, which is why such an amazing lap time was achieved.
< p>
The above theory was quickly confirmed at the Estoril track. Turn 5 is a full-throttle high-speed false turn, which should be extremely easy for the GT4 RS. But it was my first contact with the track and the car, so I was still a little hesitant, but in the end my trust in Porsche overcame my hesitation, and I passed at full throttle without any pressure.
Come soon as mentioned before The previous analysis was confirmed again in the 8-12 combination curve section. The rhythm displayed by the GT4 RS here is definitely racing-level, especially the two consecutive corners 9 and 10. It is so easy. When the action is completed, the vehicle is adjusted and ready to enter the next corner. Coming to the final 13 long right-hand turn, I even started teasing the accelerator frequently. This car fully fulfilled Porsche's promise: it can be completed. A very beautiful speeding lap, but if you need it, it can also instantly transform into the most fun to drive toy. In a short time I had forgotten about lap times and started enjoying the joy it brought. After options, the retail price exceeds 200 million. It is true that not everyone can afford it.of. But compared to the718 CaymanGT4, this is the most intuitive reflection of the gap between street cars and quasi-racing cars. The lap speed is faster, but it is far more than the increase in lap speed. Simple. This 2 million may be the most worthwhile purchase you make on a car.
But at the same time, my brain A little thought came to mind: Why doesn't this car have a manual transmission? Porsche gave an official explanation: Due to layout reasons, the manual transmission on the GT3 model cannot be used directly. : 2em;">The manual transmission on GT4 cannot withstand a more powerful engine. If you want a manual version of GT4 RS, you must develop a new transmission . At the same time, the RS car series has not provided a manual transmission version since the 991 generationGT3 RS, in order to achieve a driving experience closest to a racing car. This is also The original intention of the RS car series. And we all know that in the GT4/GT3 category, where are the manual transmissions?
99.9 points, this is the score I gave this GT4 RS. It is really, really a car with perfect scores, but please allow me to use my insignificant 0.1 points to pay my respects to the manual version that will never appear.