Weissach engineers developed a new front suspension for the 996. The MacPherson strut configuration incorporated “disconnected” longitudinal and transverse links joined by elastic rubber bushings.
2002 Ruf Turbo Coupe
Alois Ruf gave customers the choice of their Turbo on the all-wheel-drive platform or strictly a rear-drive version. They also could select a narrow body or the standard wide configuration.
The rear wing with electric adjustments was Ruf’s design, as were the outside mirrors. The company quoted a top speed of 330 kilometers (205 miles) per hour. The R Turbo sold for 219,588DM, roughly $198,000.
Ruf’s engineers coaxed 520 horsepower at 6,000 rpm out of his 3,600cc (219.6-cubic-inch) water-cooled engine. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour took just 3.7 seconds.
Ruf’s instruments used green markings. The sport steering wheel and slim racing-type seats were standard equipment. A six-speed manual transmission was standard or buyers could order the next generation five-speed Tiptronic S.
YEAR
1998-2001
DESIGNATION
911 Carrera 4 introduced in 1999
SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL AVAILABILITY
Coupe, Cabriolet
WHEELBASE
2350mm/92.5 inches
LENGTH
4430mm/174.4 inches
WIDTH
1765mm/69.5 inches
HEIGHT
1305mm/51.3 inches
WEIGHT
1320kg/2904 pounds
BASE PRICE
$65,030 Carrera Coupe
$74,460 Carrera Cabriolet
$70,480 Carrera 4 Coupe
$79,920 Carrera 4 Cabriolet
TRACK FRONT
1455mm/57.3 inches
TRACK REAR
1500mm/59.1 inches
WHEELS FRONT
7.0Jx17
WHEELS REAR
9.0Jx17
TIRES FRONT
205/50ZR17
TIRES REAR
255/40ZR17
CONSTRUCTION
Unitized welded steel
SUSPENSION FRONT
Independent, light-alloy wishbones, MacPherson struts w/coil springs, gas-filled double-tube shock absorbers, anti roll bar
SUSPENSION REAR
Independent, multi-wishbone, progressive coil springs, gas-filled single-tube shock absorbers, anti roll bar
BRAKES
Ventilated, drilled discs, 4-piston aluminum monobloc calipers
ENGINE TYPE
Horizontally opposed water-cooled DOHC six-cylinder Typ M96/01
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT
3387cc/206.7CID
BORE AND STROKE
96x78mm/3.78x3.07 inches
HORSEPOWER
300@6800rpm
TORQUE
258lb-ft@4600rpm
COMPRESSION
11.3:1
FUEL DELIVERY
Bosch DME with sequential injection
FINAL DRIVE AXLE RATIO
3.44:1
TOP SPEED
174mph
PRODUCTION
31,135 Carrera coupes; 25,598 cabriolets;
12,643 Carrera 4 coupes; 9,411 Carrera 4 cabriolets;
from 1998 through 2001
1999-2005 911 GT3RS
Porsche debuted its 996 Carrera Cup racers late in the 1998 season, launching the cars in April as part of the Pirelli Supercup series. For the German Carrera Cup series, cars ran the full 1999 season. These were pure race cars, whose ride height Porsche Motorsports had lowered by 60mm (2.36 inches) from standard road-going Carreras. Suspensions were fully tunable, from height-adjustable shock absorbers to variable stiffness front and rear anti-roll bars to wide ranges of camber and toe-in settings. Porsche mounted Pirelli racing slicks—245/645x8 front and 305/645x18 rear—on center-lock wheels, inside which Motorsports fitted massive 330mm brake rotors with four-piston fixed calipers and a modified ABS. The 3.6-liter Mezger motors initially developed 360 DIN horsepower at 7,250 rpm, providing startling performance to the 1,140 kilogram (2,513 pound) Cup coupes. Engineers improved engine output to 370 DIN horsepower at 7,200 rpm for 1999. For 2000 Cup cars went to 305/660x18 rear tires. Porsche produced 81 of the cars in 1999 and 137 in 2000.
To qualify for other FIA competitions, the company introduced a 996 GT3 coupe in May 1999 as a 2000 model year offering. Porsche limited sales to mainland Europe and the United Kingdom. Unlike the standard 996, the GT3 used a water-cooled derivative of the earlier Hans Mezger–designed 3,600cc (219.6-cubic-inch) flat six with dry sump lubrication, accomplished by merging the multivalve, water-cooled heads of the 3.4-liter 996 production series with the bottom end of the engine from the Typ 964 and the 1998 Le Mans–winning GT1. With appropriate tweaks to the VarioRam and the engine management computers, this engine developed 360 DIN horsepower at 7,200 rpm. It coupled to the road with the latest version of the GT2 transmission.
To improve handling for those buyers who really intended to race, Weissach engineers lowered the GT3 suspension by 30mm (1.2 inches). Brake rotors grew to 330mm all around (instead of 318 fronts and 299 rears). Weissach engineers kept the ABS but deleted PSM as well as rear seats, door speakers, and more than half the sound insulation. To offer the car to most of the world, Porsche retained front and side air bags and included electric seat adjustment and electric windows (they weighed less than mechanical lifts and would have required modification to replace them). Porsche offered a radio and air conditioning as no extra cost options.
The GT3, like the 993 GT2 before it, looked very much like a standard production 911 except for the elevated fixed wing on the rear deck. As with previous RS models, Porsche offered both a standard “Comfort” version, as described, and a “Clubsport” option, which replaced leather seats with race bucket seats and provided a six-point harness for the driver, a roll cage, and a fire system mounted in the passenger footwell. Production figures indicate that Porsche assembled 1,868 of the Comfort and Clubsport editions, both of which it sold at the factory for DM 179,500 ($86,298 at the time). The GT3 accelerated from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds and went on to a top speed of 302 kilometers (188 miles) per hour.
Many parts were plastic: doors, front fenders, rear deck lid and wing, and the nose. With the gutted interior and ruthless lightening efforts, the competition RS weighed 1,110 kilograms (2,447 pounds).
2002 996 GT3 RS Coupe
The 3.6-liter water-cooled M96/77 engine developed 435 horsepower at 8,250 rpm. Porsche manufactured 48 of these coupes.
Racing engineer and driver Roland Kussmaul developed these new cars over an intense year of effort. The nosepieces allowed extra cooling inlets for brakes and the engine.
2004 996 GT3 Coupe
American buyers got their hands on the GT3 model starting in 2004. The 3,600cc 219.6-cubic-inch water-cooled M96/79 engine developed 381 horsepower at 7,400 rpm.
Essentially this was the road-going version of Porsche’s popular and successful Porsche Carrera Cup race cars. Unlike the Cup cars, leather covered sport seats, air conditioning, and a CD player were standard equipment.
The fixed rear wing was well suited to track-days participants. Weissach engineers designed the spoiler to offer three different angle settings.
The GT3 accelerated from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.5 seconds. Porsche quoted a top speed of 306 kilometers (190 miles) per hour. Cars sold for €102,112 in Germany and $99,000 in the United States.
Porsche chose not to export its 1999 and 2000 GT3 models to the United States, due to Weissach decisions to remove driver airbags from the cars to save weight. By 2004, when the next generation cars appeared, America buyers were anxious and enthusiastic customers. Photograph © 2011 Dave Wendt
2004 996 GT3 RS “Street” Coupe
The company needed to assemble at least two hundred of these coupes. Through judicious use of carbon fiber and some plastic in windows, Weissach engineers trimmed 50 kilograms from the already lig
htened Club Sport models, to achieve 1,360 kilograms, 2,998 pounds.
Racing fans among Porsche’s customers benefited from the company’s participation in GT events and the need to produce minimum numbers of roadworthy examples to qualify a racer for a series. This GT3 RS was one of many such vehicles.
The 3,600cc (219.6-cubic-inch) M96/79 engine developed 381 horsepower at 7,300 rpm. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers took 4.4 seconds, and Porsche quoted its top speed at 306 kilometers (190 miles) per hour.
Porsche offered the RS only in Carrera White with red or blue script on the doors and rear valence as well as wheels. The company did not export these cars to the United States or Canada.
Other than the obvious roll cage, racing seats with six-point harnesses, and on-board fire system, the interior was hard to differentiate from the base Carrera model with radio, climate control, and electric windows.
With the GT3 unavailable to U.S. customers, Alois Ruf stepped into the hole in the market with his RGT based on the 996. Using the Mezger 3.6-liter engine, Ruf’s staff retuned the engine control computers, modified all four camshafts, and fitted a low restriction air intake filter and a high-performance exhaust. They derived 385 DIN horsepower from the engine and had the automobile certified by EPA and DOT regulators, as well as those in the rest of the world. Inside the car, Ruf trimmed the interior in leather and integrated a roll cage into the A-, B-, and C-pillars. Acceleration took 4.6 seconds from 0 to 62 miles per hour, and Ruf’s testers reached 307 kilometers (191 miles) per hour in the car. He sold them for $135,000 in the United States.
YEAR
1999-2005
DESIGNATION
911 GT3/GT3RS
SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL AVAILABILITY
Coupe
WHEELBASE
2350mm/92.5 inches
LENGTH
4430mm/174.4 inches
WIDTH
1765mm/69.5 inches
HEIGHT
1305mm/51.3 inches
WEIGHT
1350kg/2970 pounds
BASE PRICE
$345,000
TRACK FRONT
1471mm/57.3 inches
TRACK REAR
1490mm/59.1 inches
WHEELS FRONT
10.0Jx18
WHEELS REAR
11.0Jx18
TIRES FRONT
295/40-18
TIRES REAR
335/30-18
CONSTRUCTION
Unitized welded steel
SUSPENSION FRONT
Independent, light-alloy wishbones, MacPherson struts w/coil springs, adjustable gas-filled double-tube shock absorbers, anti roll bar
SUSPENSION REAR
Independent, multi-wishbone, progressive coil springs, adjustable gas-filled single-tube shock absorbers, anti roll bar
BRAKES
Ventilated, drilled discs, 4-piston aluminum monobloc calipers
ENGINE TYPE
Horizontally opposed water-cooled DOHC six-cylinder Typ M96/77
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT
3598cc/206.7CID
BORE AND STROKE
100x76.4mm/3.78x3.07 inches
HORSEPOWER
420@8200rpm
TORQUE
288lb-ft@7000rpm
COMPRESSION
11.7:1
FUEL DELIVERY
Bosch DME with sequential injection
FINAL DRIVE AXLE RATIO
Varies
TOP SPEED
189mph
PRODUCTION
51
2002-2004 911 CARRERA AND TURBO
Porsche commemorated Y2K and model year 2000 with a Millennium Edition Carrera 4. The company limited production to 911 units and sold them worldwide; they cost DM 185,000 in Germany and $89,000 in the United States. E-Gas electronic throttles introduced on European C4 models spread to the entire range worldwide, as did PSM. Slight improvements in exhaust flow increased engine output from 296 to 300 DIN horsepower. Weissach engineers added steering wheel rocker switches for Tiptronic gear shift.
Early in calendar year 2000, Europeans took delivery of the first 996 Turbos. Using the same 3.6-liter Hans Mezger engine, Ruf and his colleagues fitted twin turbochargers and intercoolers and an improved version of Porsche’s VarioCam variable camshaft timing unit, named VarioCam Plus. Turbos provided a 1.85-bar boost (27.4 psi) as low as 2,500 rpm. As engine speed increased, boost settled to 1.65 bar (24.4 psi) at 6,000 rpm, where the engine developed 420 DIN horsepower. Torque peaked at 2,700 rpm with 413 lb-ft and held that output to 4,600 rpm.
The six-speed manual transmission was standard and provided the C4S cabriolet with acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 5.3 seconds. The top speed was listed as 280 kilometers (174 miles) per hour.
The Turbo coupe employed all-wheel drive as 993 versions had done. To accommodate new 295/30R18 rear tires, Porsche designers and engineers widened the rear of the car by 65mm (2.6 inches). As with C4 normally aspirated models, Turbo buyers had the option of the Tiptronic S transmission. PSM was standard, as was the front-end styling treatment, which was distinguished most clearly by new Bi-Xenon headlight modules. An automatic rear wing rose from the redesigned rear valence. American customers got Turbos for model year 2001 in the summer of 2000. Oddly, a DOT misunderstanding held up the first shipments while questions of front bumper height worked their way to resolution. Porsche had set Turbo ride height 10mm lower than the C4 to improve handling. The solution that satisfied DOT was for PCNA to add small triangular black “bumperettes” slightly above the front bumper on the earliest 2001 U.S. cars. Turbos sold for DM 234,900 and $111,000 in the United States. Porsche also introduced a race-proven option for the Turbos: cross-drilled and ventilated Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCBs), carbon fiber brake rotors impregnated with silicon carbide. Fitted with bright yellow four-piston calipers, each brake saved 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of weight from the car at its outer corners.
The company introduced the Turbo-body Carrera 4S for model year 2001 in Europe. It followed with the C4S Cabriolet in Europe as a 2003 and in the United States for 2004.
Porsche sold the C4S Cabriolet for €99,792 and $93,200 in the United States. The C4S coupe, with slightly quicker acceleration, went for €89,816 and $83,400.
The M96/03 version of the 3,596cc (219.4-cubic-inch) water-cooled flat six developed 320 horsepower in the 1,565-kilogram (3,443-pound) cabriolet. A new collapsible roof system introduced for 2003 that allowed drivers to raise or lower the top at speeds up to 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour.
YEAR
2003-2005
DESIGNATION
911 Carrera
SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL AVAILABILITY
Coupe, Cabriolet
WHEELBASE
2350mm/92.5 inches
LENGTH
4430mm/174.4 inches
WIDTH
1770mm/69.7 inches
HEIGHT
1305mm/51.3 inches
WEIGHT
1345kg/2959 pounds (coupe)
1425kg/3135 pounds (cabriolet)
BASE PRICE
$78,146 (coupe)
$88,609 (cabriolet)
TRACK FRONT
1465mm/57.7 inches
TRACK REAR
1500mm/59.1 inches
WHEELS FRONT
7.0Jx17
WHEELS REAR
9.0Jx17
TIRES FRONT
205/50ZR17
TIRES REAR
255/40ZR17
CONSTRUCTION
Unitized welded steel
SUSPENSION FRONT
Independent, light-alloy wishbones, MacPherson struts w/coil springs, gas-filled double-tube shock absorbers, anti roll bar
SUSPENSION REAR
Independent, multi-wishbone, progressive coil springs, gas-filled single-tube shock absorbers, anti roll bar
BRAKES
Ventilated, drilled discs, 4-piston aluminum monobloc calipers
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ENGINE TYPE
Horizontally opposed water-cooled DOHC six-cylinder Typ M96/03
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT
3596cc/219.4CID
BORE AND STROKE
96x82.8mm/3.78x3.26 inches
HORSEPOWER
320@6800rpm (345@6800 – 40th Anniversary)
TORQUE
273lb-ft@4800rpm (all)
COMPRESSION
The Complete Book of Porsche 911 Page 21
