Porsche recently unveiled its latest 911 offering at the 2016 Geneva International Motor Show — the new 2016 Porsche 911 R, which, according to Porsche, was created for “the purist.”  

Amid the clamoring cries to “Save the Manuals!” in this digital, automated day and age, the new 2016 Porsche 911 R definitely has a built-in market segment of vociferous diehard purists:  The 911 R is among the last of a vanishing breed of Porsches with a normally aspirated engine coupled to a manual transmission.

What’s more, it’s a rather expensive Porsche to be had for the “simpler times” privilege.

Further inflating the value of that privilege is the fact that the new 2016 Porsche 911 R is set as a limited-edition series — with only 991 units to be produced.

Its MSRP?  Only $185,950.  An extravagant privilege indeed for an intended back-to-basics Porsche.

new 2016 Porsche 911 R: 2016 911 R, right-rear on road. Credit: Porsche AG
Credit: Porsche AG

The New 2016 Porsche 911 R – as in “R” for Rennsport

The “R” in 911 R of course stands for “racing” or more specifically “rennsport.”  Thus Porsche intends to evoke the tradition set in 1967 by the first road-homologated 911 race car bearing the same name.

The 1967 911 R was produced in even more limited production numbers (i.e., 20 production cars in total, preceded by four initial prototypes).  The ’67 911 R achieved its own rightful albeit modest glory in its day.  It was contested in rallies, in the Targa Florio and in world record runs.

According to Wikipedia, the 911R “was a lightweight racing version with thin aluminium doors, a magnesium crankcase, twin-spark cylinder heads, and a power output of 210 PS (150 kW; 210 hp).”

(Learn more about the original 911 R by clicking here to go to the Ultimate Car Page website’s concise, cogent article on this original inspiration for the new 2016 Porsche 911 R.)

New 2016 Porsche 911 R: 2016 911 R right-front, at rest. Credit: Porsche AG
Credit: Porsche AG

Purity.  Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts?  Or Price?

As if to calm those aforementioned cries for resurrecting sports cars from simpler times for the purist, Porsche declares that the new 2016 Porsche 911 R represents its “commitment to building emotional and engaging high-performance sports cars with a maximum amount of driving pleasure.”

Of course, it’s up to all of you to make that call at this early stage in the game.  Notwithstanding actual road tests in the not-too-distant future, here are Porsche’s particulars in an effort to make its case:

In keeping with the theme of its legendary predecessor, the new 2016 Porsche 911 R is made of lightweight construction, weighing in at a svelte 3,021 pounds.  This makes it the lightest 911 built to date — even 110 pounds lighter than the 911 GT3 RS.  The Weissach engineers reduced the 911 R’s weight and lowered its center of gravity by utilizing the following:

  • Carbon-fiber front fenders and front luggage-compartment lid
  • Magnesium roof
  • Less interior insulation
  • Air-conditioning and audio-system delete (although either one or both can be ordered at no extra charge)
New 2016 Porsche 911 R: 2016 911 R, left-rear, on road. Credit: Porsche AG
Credit: Porsche AG

So, what’s powering this slim-and-trim 911 R?  It’s the 500-hp, 4-liter, naturally aspirated high-performance flat-six engine found in the 911 GT3 RS, of course.  The engineering guys and gals in the Racing Department in Flacht seem to have done a fine job in creating this undercover beast in plain Carrera cladding.  Their results just in:

  • 500 hp at 8,250 rpm
  • 338 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,250 rpm
  • 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds
  • Top track speed of 200 miles per hour

Did I mention that six-speed manual transmission?  And no PDK?  The stick boasts short, performance-oriented gear ratios, as well as quick and crisp short-shifting.  An optional single-mass flywheel is available for those who desire one.

Cornering and handling are addressed by employing Porsche’s state-of-the-art GT racing technology as practiced by the Racing Department.  In addition to the Weissach-developed Porsche Stability Management (PSM) that has been uniquely calibrated for the 911 R, direct turn-in response and precise handling lead to a purported rock-solid stability.  This comes as a result of specially tuned standard rear-axle steering.  Maximum traction is promised via the mechanical rear differential lock of the new 2016 Porsche 911 R.

New 2016 Porsche 911 R: 2016 911 R, left-front, at rest. Credit: Porsche AG
Credit: Porsche AG

What Porsche calls “Ultra-High Performance Tires” measure 245 millimeters in width at the front and 305 millimeters at the rear, ostensibly conjuring up significant levels of grip.  These bad boys are mounted on forged, matte-aluminum-finished, lightweight 20-inch wheels with center locking hubs.  Let’s hope, though, that those pesky gremlins plaguing center locks in iterations past have been exorcised once and for all.

So what’s up with the downforce?  Well, in place of the fixed wing of the 911 GT3 and 911 GT3 RS, the 911 R has the automatically deployed rear spoiler borrowed from the Carrera models.  Further downforce is provided by a rear underbody diffuser peculiar to the new 2016 Porsche 911 R.  There’s also a newly designed spoiler lip in place at the front of the car.

This beautiful beast’s stopping power comes courtesy of standard Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB).  The front rotors measure 16.1 inches, while the rear rotors are 15.4 inches in diameter.

New 2016 Porsche 911 R: 2016 911 R, left-rear, at rest. Credit: Porsche AG
Credit: Porsche AG

The front and rear fascias and rear end come directly from the 911 GT3 — one of the few giveaways that this is a track-ready fire-breather in Carrera street clothes.  One other likely giveaway is the glorious guttural soundtrack bellowing out of the lightweight-titanium Sport Exhaust System from the 911 GT3 RS.

As an option, a front-axle lift system can be fitted to deal with those steep, spoiler lip-shredding driveways.  Just by touching a button, the front axle’s ground clearance is thus increased by about 1.2 inches.

New 2016 Porsche 911 R: 2016 911 R, overhead view. Credit: Porsche AG
Credit: Porsche AG

The only other giveaway of this wolf in sheep’s clothing are the optional Porsche logos along the lower doors and the styling cues of twin color stripes in green or red along the top of the car, giving a tip of the hat to the first-of-its-kind 1967 911 R.

New 2016 Porsche 911 R: 2016 911 R, driver interior. Credit: Porsche AG
Credit: Porsche AG

As for the car’s interior, full bucket seats consist of carbon fiber, their fabric center panels appointed nostalgically with the Pepita tartan hound’s-tooth design of the first 1960s 911 icons.  The driver can effortlessly carve the corners by way of an “R-specific” GT sport steering wheel of 14.1 inches in diameter.  A shortened, R-specific gear lever connects the driver to that endangered manual trannie.

New 2016 Porsche 911 R: 2016-911 R, passenger interior. Credit: Porsche AG
Credit: Porsche AG

On the passenger’s side are carbon-fiber trim strips with an embedded aluminum badge.  It specifies the actual number of each car out of the limited number of 991 units of the new 2016 Porsche 911 R.  Replacing conventional door handles are door-opening loops as featured typically in GT vehicles.

Porsche is taking orders now, but the new Porsche 911 R won’t reach U.S. showrooms until late-summer 2016.  German dealerships, however, will see the 911 R arriving in May 2016.

As mentioned above, MSRP is $185,950.00, including destination charges.

Hmm. . .back-to-basics “purity” evoking much simpler times doesn’t come so cheap nowadays, does it?

 

 

 

Click on the following Porsche AG link to go to:  the 911 R Microsite.

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