This Is Probably the Best Spec for the 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS

The 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS makes you wonder how something like this can be road legal. Even though it only has 518 HP (525 PS) thanks to an enhanced 4.0-liter boxer power unit, its radical appearance is what builds on this dramatic yet familiar presence. It's eye-catching but not revolutionary. You know what it is, but, at the same time, you can't wait to discover it in full and form a bond with it.

However, the motoring world is filled with 1,000-HP supercars and hypercars. We are slowly getting used to astonishingly high power figures thanks to crazy EVs, engineering excellence coming from certain European and American brands, and, of course, industry-wide electrification.

Arguably, this is the right moment to turn some internal combustion engine-only vehicles into plug-in hybrids to give them that extra oomph and heightened practicality in urban environments. Gas and diesel engines have constantly been evolving for a couple of decades now, so helping them become more efficient by also offsetting the imminent downsize is a great way to reach a lower driver carbon footprint. Anyway, let's get back to our star (that is not the new four-cylinder Mercedes-AMG C63).

There are also cheaper options out in the world that boast impressive numbers, like the 617-HP (625-PS) BMW M8 Competition or direct rivals like the pricey Mercedes-AMG GT R and the alien-looking McLaren 600LT. So, what makes the 911 GT3 RS so appealing? Why is it that a two-door coupe with a big wing on its back is riling almost all of us up? The answer is dead simple, really – it’s the embodiment of the desire to reach automotive perfection. When you mention the GT3 RS, people already figure out that you’re talking about the best of the best. It’s meant to be at the top.

So, naturally, we decided to configure one for ourselves. Stay with us until the end to see why we ended up with this spec.

autoevolution’s 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Although Porsche currently allows anyone to configure a brand-new 911 GT3 RS, I sincerely hope they won’t start handing them out to anyone like cheap candy. I do not care about the used car market and don’t mind what flippers are doing to earn some money, but I do want this vehicle to remain in the hands of enthusiastic drivers who will drive them as they were meant to by the manufacturer.

To make sure this vehicle truly reflects our team’s desires we made sure to use Porsche UK’s online configurator because it offers more options than the American platform. If you’re from the U.S., don’t worry. The automaker’s domestic dealers would most likely satisfy your demands for the right price.

The first thing that we need to cross off our list is the color. There are four standard and five special ones available as a no-cost option. This is an exceptional car. It deserves extra attention which means we must go onto the paint-to-sample way. The £9,932 ($11,045) option opens a very generous list of colors. We counted them and there are 114 metallic and solid paints available. Our top three contenders were Ultraviolet, Porsche Racing Green, and Rubystar. We were very close to having a brand-new Rubystar 911 GT3 RS, but the majority picked Porsche Racing Green. It is a bit understated, but it gives this two-door monster a very elegant look.

Next stop – wheels! The choice is obvious. We must pick gold wheels. But Porsche gives us two options here – aluminum or magnesium. Even though the latter is around 33% lighter than the already not heavy aluminum ones, we picked the first option. They’re stronger and are known to last longer. This adds £1,986 ($2,203) to the car’s price.

Now’s the time to do the interior. Although meant for racing and impressive track times, we picked the 18-way adjustable adaptive sport seats. Porsche is known for making its cars useable in everyday situations as well, so there’s no need to suffer in a bucket seat while stuck in traffic. To give the interior a splash of color, we went with the extensive leather and Race-Tex interior with some items in Guards Red. Fortunately, this was a no-cost change.

Now comes the hard part!

It’s turning into a big-budget build

There’s no point in buying a new 911 GT3 RS without the Weissach pack. It shaves off an extra 22 kg of weight and adds the flappy paddles (thanks, Jeremy Clarkson!) with magnetic technology. When you use them, the clicking sound is immensely satisfying. The good news is that you can opt-out of having a roll cage in your vehicle if you don’t want it. You might think that’s not something worth leaving out, but the two-seater doesn’t come with a front trunk! Instead of the luggage space, there are radiators installed.

So, we did the unthinkable and left out the roll cage but specced the Weissach pack for £20,529 ($22,848). This also forced us to give up on the aluminum wheels and accept the lightweight magnesium ones.

Because we added the Weissach pack we also couldn’t tick the box for the exterior mirror housing painted in the exterior color. Instead, we opted for the “PORSCHE” logo LED door courtesy lights and the deletion of the decorative "GT3 RS" logo on the side of the vehicle for an extra £101 ($112).

To keep it practical for everyday use, we also added the front axle lift system and decided carbon-ceramic brakes with high-gloss black calipers are a must. So, we added another £8,712 ($9,688) to the price.

To keep its elegant yet bizarre look we continued with the splurging and checked the boxed for the tinted LED headlamps with matrix functionality, the exclusive design (smoke clear) taillights, and privacy glass for another £3,464 ($3,849).

Surprisingly enough, you must pay for ultrasonic parking sensors and the reversing camera, so we added them to make sure the driver will never make a mistake. Traffic sign recognition is also good to have when you’re not on the Autobahn in Germany, so we paid for that too. That’s another £1,170 ($1,300) right there.

But wait! There’s more!

Porsche says its textile Race-Tex is more breathable than leather. But those of us who went on a track and drove without gloves know that palms tend to get sweaty. So, to avoid a future in which the steering wheel will look horrendous, we chose to have it in leather. Also, we opted for seat heating and the light design package that animates the interior a little bit. Other important addition is the yellow rev counter, chrono stopwatch, and seat belts. All this added another £1,383 ($1,537) to our car’s cost.

Porsche also offers some more personalization options for many other things like the floor mats or the air vents, but the only thing we picked was the illuminated door sill guards in matt carbon for £294 ($326).

You can’t have a cool car without a good sound system, so we checked the box for the £1,002 ($1,112) Bose surround audio system.

Anticipating that this 911 GT3 RS will become a collectible in the next couple of years, we also chose to have the leather luggage seat that has an eye-watering price of £4,110 ($4,564). Knowing that something like this vehicle won’t be used every single day, the box for the £450 ($500) indoor car cover "Grello" design was also ticked.

Porsche doesn’t let you off the hook easily, so we added the toolset and the trickle charger for another £416 ($462).

Now we have reached the end of our speccing process. The recommended retail price is £232,630 ($258,539) which includes everything, even the accessories. Our configuration has £49,154 ($54,601) worth of extras. It’s like adding a base-spec £50,800 ($56,418) Macan on top of the £178,500 ($198,267) MSRP of the all-new 911 GT3 RS. But, oh boy, it's worth it!

We think it looks spectacular and has enough creature comforts to make it usable in virtually any environment that has some pavement. Plus, you can’t go wrong with driving a 911 GT3 RS that bears your signature. You can take a look at everything we added down below where you’ll find our complete build in .PDF format.

Lastly, it looks like we are heading into very uncertain and stressful times. Knowing that the 911 GT3 RS (992) came and is as good as anticipated makes us feel more comfortable about the years to come and more confident in humanity. There’s hope for better days ahead.

Don’t forget to tell us what you think about our 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS!