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Porsche 911 996 GT3 RS

Porsche Has Been Holding Out On Us; Check Out Its Secret GT Garage

“A secret garage filled with rare sports cars” is a phrase that would make any self-respecting car nerd stop in their tracks. As a matter of fact, it is about as cool a phrase as possible in the car world. Well, that exact dream scenario is happening just over in Stuttgart, Germany. Porsche just gave …

“A secret garage filled with rare sports cars” is a phrase that would make any self-respecting car nerd stop in their tracks. As a matter of fact, it is about as cool a phrase as possible in the car world. Well, that exact dream scenario is happening just over in Stuttgart, Germany. Porsche just gave the world a little peek into their unbelievably cool secret garage. This heavenly shed is slammed full of some of the rarest and most incredible 911 GT cars ever built.

Why does Porsche have a secret garage full of 911 GTs?

That’s right; This Porsche facility is full to the gills with rare unicorn-esqe 911 GT cars. According to MotorTrend, Porsche keeps this hidden warehouse of extreme 911s to both torture Porsche nerds and inform the design of new cars. Andy Preuninger, Boss of the Porsche GT sector, gave Angus Mackenzie a tour of the treasure trove, and it’s marvelous. 

Jaw-dropping Porsches greet Mackenzie before he ever gets to the secret warehouse. Preuninger drives him over to the clandestine facility in a 2021 911 GT3 Prototype. Upon arrival, the GT3 pulls up to a wide set of doors which open to reveal a second massive hangar-style door behind which lies the German cave of wonders. 

What Porsche 911 masterpieces await? 

Mackenzie says the white garage is full of the greatest Porsche GT cars he has ever seen. 911 GT3s and GT2s splatter the scene. The room is home to over 20 extremely rare Porsche 911 models that would make any Porsche-nerd a little wobbly in the knees. 

A Porsche Index 996.1 GT3 sports ca
A Porsche Index 996.1 GT3 sports car | Neil Godwin/Total 911 Magazine/Future via Getty Images

The First Porsche 996 GT3

As Porsche folk likely know, the 996 was the first Porsche to carry the GT3 moniker. As MotorTrend notes, most of the Development work for the 996 was done when Preuninger was just starting at Porsche in 2000. Preuninger even drove this early example himself for a time. 

The second-generation 996 GT3

While Preuninger was zipping around Stuttgart in that first GT3, he was hard at work on the second-gen version of that very car. Mackenzie says when they walked up to the 996.2 GT3 RS,  it was clear that Preuninger was still very fond and proud of this car. The legendary white-on-blue color scheme is worn appropriately by this version that has a special powertrain, wheels, brakes, and suspension. 

Porsche 911 996 GT3 RS
A Porsche 996 GT3 RS sports | Michael Schmucker/Total 911 Magazine via Getty Images

Porsche-nerd secret alert: Preuninger tells Mackenzie that the first 200 examples of the second-gen 996 GT3 RS secretly got specially-machined heads and polished combustion chambers. Preuninger says, “We did it so we could homologate those modifications for the racecars, but we never told anyone. Most of those cars had 400 hp or more, not the 381 we said.” Sneaky Porsche people. 

First-generation Porsche 997 GT3

This first-gen car was the first to sport the, now iconic, central exhaust. This generation also had the strange phenomenon of certain examples whose engines would rev beyond 8,000 rpm. According to Preuninger, “Officially it had 415 hp, but some had close to 430 hp.” Aside from those things, the first-gen 997 was special because its suspension was designed by legendary Porsche racecar development engineer Roland Kussmaul. 

The Benchmark for all 911 GT3s

In 2011 the 911 GT3 RS 4.0 made its snarling debut into the world. This car, as Preuninger puts it, “In some ways, it’s still a benchmark,” he says. “We try to make improvements with all our cars, but not lose our virtues.” They say the GT3 RS 4.0 captures the very essence of what the legendary GT3 name is all about. 

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