2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS is new N/A king of the 'Ring

Back in August, Porsche revealed the all-new GT3 RS as their most extreme naturally aspirated 911 model. Featuring substantial upgrades to its engine, cooling system, and aerodynamics with motorsport-derived components, the car was designed for maximum track performance.

Among those were active aero devices which made the car capable of reaching racecar levels of downforce. Numbers are one thing, but it's another to see just how much the GT3 RS' bodywork makes a difference. And with that, Porsche has gone to the Green Hell to prove it.

The 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS completed the 20.832-km race track in 6:49.328. That is the longer configuration. But to compare the car's performance against its rivals, the 20.6-km time tells the story – its 6:44.848 lap time makes it the fastest naturally-aspirated production car at the Nürburgring.

What makes it all the more impressive is this - the 911 GT3 RS only makes 525 PS but lapped the 'Ring only 1.2 seconds shy from the record-setting Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series that has 730 PS, and 0.1 seconds faster than the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ with 770 PS. It's also even faster than the previous-generation GT2 RS by almost three seconds.

In the video of the lap, you can see that Jörg Bergmeister was using the car's drag reduction system or DRS, and there was a graphic overlay that showed the position of the front flaps and the rear wing to highlight the car's active aerodynamics.

The 911 GT3 RS that set the record was fitted with the Weissach package, which made the car lighter with carbon fiber parts as well as a carbon roll cage. More importantly, the GT3 RS was fitted with grippy Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires.

Porsche may have fallen short of taking the production car record with the GT3 RS, but there's good reason to look forward and see what the car can do with turbo power and all-wheel-drive. In case you haven't figured that out, we're talking about the next GT2 RS.