Porsche 993 RS - Really Special
It
is one of the more frustrating paradoxes of human existence
– and perhaps even contrary to the theory of evolution –
that the better one is at some given task or other, so
generally the more difficult it then becomes to make further
substantive improvements to one’s performance. The first
four-minute mile, for instance, was run by Roger Bannister
in Oxford way back in 1954, and that figure has, not
surprisingly, been under constant attack from other athletes
around the world ever since. But the current record of a
little over three minutes and 43 seconds is now highly
unlikely ever to be reduced by more than a few hundredths of
a second at a time – certainly not within the next 50 years
or so, anyway.
The problem is much the same for the makers of what might be
termed planes, trains and automobiles – with the added
complication that any major improvements in specificati
on,
and thus all-important performance, generally end up costing
a disproportionately huge amount of money; in this case it’s
the law of diminishing returns. Thanks to the recent
much-publicised opening of the high-speed rail link from the
refurbished St Pancras station to the Channel Tunnel, for
example, you can now travel between London and Paris in a
little over two and a quarter hours without the hassle of
setting foot in an airport. But is the 20-minute time saving
over the old line through Kent really worth the billions of
pounds the new one is estimated to have cost us? One
suspects not. Then again, if you’re reading this in the
departure lounge at either Heathrow or Gatwick airport,
maybe it is…
As with trains
, so with sports cars. Porsche’s latest
997-model GT3 RS, for instance, is a truly awesome,
breathtaking achievement – 415bhp, 0–62mph in just 4.2
seconds, a maximum speed of 192mph and, in the hands of an
expert, levels of grip, roadholding and braking (and thus
lap times) that seem not just to defy the laws of physics,
but actually to rewrite them. Dull it most definitely is
not. But just ask yourself this question. How much better is
that new GT3 RS than the regular 997 GT3? (And do bear in
mind that while the former costs from £94,280, the latter
starts at a comparatively cheap £79,540.) Then again, how
much better (in technical terms, at least) is either of
those models than the original, first-generation 996 GT3?
And rather more to the point as far as we’re concerned here,
how much better than a 993-model Carrera RS? Even with a
mere 300bhp this now increasingly desirable (and thus
steadily appreciating) modern classic offers 0–62mph in five
seconds, a top speed of 172mph, and genuinely race-bred
handling. And all – at the moment, anyway – for quite
possibly less than £45,000–£50,000. Tempting, isn’t it?
Here, though, we immediately run into yet another intriguing
paradox. Which, put simply, is that if you’re in the market
for a 1990s’ 911 RS, then the 993 model was – and remains –
a huge leap forward from the 964 version. Don’t get us
wrong. The 964 RS is a superb car, well worth owning.
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