The 911 also served as the basis for higher-class cars, including the Porsche 911 GT1 and Porsche 911 GT2. Since 2006, Porsche has competed in the GT3 class with the Porsche 911 GT3 R, oriented towards customer racing and based on the Carrera and Supercup one-make cup vehicles. All Porsche motorsport cars are built at the Motorsport Center in Weissach.
Based on the Porsche 996 GT3, the 996 GT3 R racing version was created in 1999 and debuted at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans. Manthey Racing and Champion Racing fielded the car as unofficial factory representatives. The Manthey-Porsche of Uwe Alzen, Patrick Huisman, and Luca Riccitelli won the class ahead of the Champion-Porsche of Dirk Müller, Bob Wollek, and Bernd Mayländer. The 996 GT3 R went on to achieve nearly all class wins in the American Le Mans Series from 1999 to 2001.
In the 2000 FIA GT Championship, the 996 GT3 R dominated the N-GT class, winning every round. That year, factory-supported Phoenix Racing also won the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. The 2001 season saw the modified 996 GT3 RS introduced, which also achieved overall victories: Jörg Bergmeister and Timo Bernhard defeated far more powerful prototypes to win the 2003 24-hour race at Daytona. In 2003, Stéphane Ortelli, Marc Lieb, and Romain Dumas won the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race — the first time in FIA GT Championship history an NGT vehicle had taken that victory.
The successor 996 GT3 RSR, recognisable by its teardrop-shaped headlights, debuted in 2004 with engine output increased from 415 to 455 hp and a sequential six-speed gearbox. By 2006, the 996-based racing versions had achieved seven class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and five class wins plus one overall victory at the Spa 24 Hours. Nearly 200 cars of this type were produced.
The 997 GT3 RSR debuted at the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans with displacement increased to 3.8 litres and output of 342 kW (465 hp). Manthey Racing again managed the car's initial deployment, with the vehicles finishing 14th and 15th at the 2006 Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race. From 2007, the 997 GT3 RSR was offered to customers — 35 units were produced over that winter — and deployed across FIA GT Championship and other series. Manthey Racing won the Nürburgring 24-hour race with this car in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011.
For the 2009 season, the 997 GT3 RSR received a major overhaul, identifiable by a new front end with large cooling air openings and ventilation ducts on the hood. Aerodynamics were improved and displacement was increased to four litres, though output fell to 331 kW (450 PS) due to a mandatory air flow limiter, with engine rotation topping at 9,400 rpm. Twenty copies of the revised version were planned.
The updated car first raced at the 2009 12 Hours of Sebring, where the factory-supported teams secured a double pole position in qualifying. In the race, Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, and Marc Lieb narrowly missed the GT2 class podium after two collisions. Lieb and Lietz took their first class win at the 1000 km race in Barcelona in the Le Mans Series.
In November 2011, Porsche unveiled the final version of the 997 GT3 RSR, delivered to customer teams worldwide from January 2012 at a sales price of 498,000 euros plus VAT. The body was widened by 48 mm to accommodate 30 mm larger front wheels; airflow was revised with additional intakes ahead of the rear fender and the hood scoop removed. The car competed in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship and the American Le Mans Series.
The 991 RSR debuted in 2013, departing from the GT3-based approach by using the Carrera 4S as its base, as the street GT3 had been introduced too late for homologation. This also avoided a naming conflict with the GT3 class racing car. The naturally aspirated 4.0-litre engine was retained, as the RSR competes in GTE — where the GT2 series uses turbo engines — making the GT2 RSR designation commercially inappropriate.
A core development focus was weight distribution. Against mid-engined competitors where engine, driver, and tank are centralised to reduce inertia around the vertical axis, the 911's rear-engine configuration is conceptually disadvantaged. The fuel tank was kept at the front for packaging reasons, meaning fuel level directly affects vehicle balance; rear tyres also wear faster when rear weight is high. Carbon fibre reinforced plastic was used extensively — front and rear fenders, front and rear hoods, doors, underbody, wheel arch linings, rear wing, dashboard, and centre console — to improve the distribution.
GTE regulations at the time allowed special technical permits (waivers) to offset objective concept disadvantages. The number of waivers granted to the RSR was not publicly disclosed, but approvals were known to cover side air intakes, vehicle width, underbody height, front double wishbones, and the engine. Manthey Racing, elevated to Porsche works team status from 2013, operated the vehicles in the WEC.
For 2016, new GTE regulations increased engine output by around 20 hp, reduced weight by 15 kg, and granted greater aerodynamic design freedom, aiming to differentiate GTE from GT3 cars — an issue that had arisen in the United SportsCar Championship, where GT3 vehicles sometimes outpaced GTE cars. The 2016 911 RSR was adapted with the rear wing mounted higher and further back, but could not fully exploit the new freedoms and was outperformed by the Ford GT and Ferrari 488.
For 2017, Porsche presented a wholly redesigned 911 RSR. Chassis, body structure, aerodynamic concept, engine, and transmission were all new. The engine-gearbox unit was reversed, transforming the car from rear-engined rear-wheel-drive to effectively a mid-engined racer — Porsche described the position as "in front of the rear axle," consistent with the arrangement used in the Porsche 911 GT1. This improved weight distribution, benefiting tyre wear, and created space for a larger rear diffuser permitted under the new GTE regulations. The rear wing mounting was moved to the top of the blade to eliminate interfering contours and improve interaction between diffuser and rear wing.
The engine was also new: a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six with direct injection, developing around 375 kW (510 hp) depending on restrictor size. Porsche opted against turbocharging due to a weight penalty of 15–40 kg plus space and cooling requirements. The fuel tank remained at the front. Double wishbone suspension replaced the previous MacPherson struts at the front axle. A new cockpit and a collision avoidance system — allowing faster prototypes to be identified on a cockpit monitor even in darkness — were also introduced.
Manthey Racing achieved a double victory in the GTE Pro class at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans and won the FIA World Endurance Championship in the 2018–19 season.
At the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Porsche unveiled a further evolution based on the 991.2, despite series production of the road car having ended in 2019. Ninety-five percent of the car was redeveloped; components carried over unchanged were limited to headlights, brakes, clutch, driver's seat, and parts of the chassis. The primary development goal was improved road holding in long, medium-fast corners. The exhaust was changed to two side-exit tailpipes ending ahead of the rear wheels — the original arrangement had caused scraps of rubber to collect and ignite on the exhaust, while centrally-exiting pipes were prone to damage in contact and constrained diffuser design. The new routing improved weight, aerodynamics, and contact patch. The naturally aspirated engine was enlarged to 4.2 litres with nearly the same output, improving torque. The 991.2 RSR debuted in the 2019–20 WEC season's GTE Pro class, while the previous model continued in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship through the end of 2019.
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