911 GT3 RSR v. Carrera GT
 

Very interesting article 911 race car with 455 hp vs 605hp mid engine street super car.

I was surprised with the results and this must be interesting for a lot of you 911 fanatics.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=3377

I'd be surprised if it had turned out the other way. A dedicated race car is set up very differently than a street car, and the 911 chassis has so many years of development on its side. The Carrera GT wasn't designed for competition at all, was it? And in spite of the prices they list for each, my guess would be the team owner has a lot more invested in the race car.

Fun article.

The conclusion is what you would expect.

Actually, the CGT was developed from a stillborn project to create a Le Mans racer. It has plenty of racecar DNA, but I think the tires and alignment alone give a huge advantage to the RSR...

Like the end of the article said, slicks and a couple of adjustments on the CGT may have made a big difference.

I remember reading that originally, the engine was going to be a stressed part of the chassis on the CGT.

The CGT is still subject to the same laws of physics as all other vehicles. What does that thing weigh? Probably a THOUSAND POUNDS more than the GT3. It has air conditioning, cupholders, yadda yadda. The GT3 is all business. I could have written parts of the article before the test was performed.

Then again, a mid-engined, 605 hp, carbon-fiber car that is race prepped with A/C removed, etc......would probably smoke the GT3.

We're back to the old discussion about street cars versus race cars. There is no such thing as a combination. Rather, there are compromises. The GT3 is a track car. The CGT is a compromise. If the competition were held on the streets of Hollywood with high maintenance babes as the judges, the CGT would kick the GT3's butt.

Sounds like an RS Spyder, with a few more horses to boot.

No, the CGT weighs less than 3,100 and I know the GT3 Cups weigh around 2,700 (RSR may or may not weigh a bit less)...

Cool article. The 911 looks damn good in those pics too.

Here is the weigh for both cars giving on P.2 and P3

CGT- 3040lbs
RSR- 2420lbs (which is pretty damn light)

Thanks for the specs - RSR is much lighter than I thought, but 620 lbs of difference is still alot less than 1,000...

This got the calculator out.

Weight/power ratios of both cars are:

CGT: 5.02
RSR: 5.32

Pretty damned close, with the tiniest edge to the CGT. I suppose that reinforces the idea that tires, suspension and setup are the real differences.

The performance increments from street tires, to track tires, to slicks.......huge.
Probably 5 seconds for the first increment, and 3 for the next.

cool article - thanks for posting.

MAYbe on a very long track the CGT could have gained a bit in the top speed department, but the story in this case is simply the tires (race rubber) and their proper use (set up).

Of course, even with slicks, the lighter weight of the RSR should enable it to corner faster and accelerate and brake with higher G's than the CGT.

I never understand why they don't match the tires when they do comparisons like this. It's one of the reasons the lotus fairs so well, they give it R compound tires from the factory.

If you really care how fast your car goes, you'll throw on something fast anyway. I wouldn't consider it a mod or a non stock car just because you have stickier tires.

"Despite the V-10's prodigious power, the chassis' progressive, predictable nature makes approaching its limits a fascinating rather than a frightening affair — not unlike driving a big, expensive, 605-bhp Boxster."

First time for everything. Every other commentator I've read or heard said that the limit was incredibly difficult to drive at in the GT.

I agree with the quote. I've taken some absolute haul a$$ 9/10th laps ina CGT, and they reflect the comment above.