Porsche 911 GT3 RS, your 500-hp Nürburgring slayer

How far have sports cars evolved in recent years? Ten years ago, the most capable supercar on the planet was the Porsche Carrera GT, a wondrous and wickedly complex machine that lapped the famed Nürburgring in 7 minutes, 29 seconds. Today, Porsche unveiled the 911 GT3 RS, a car that costs a fraction of what the Carrera does, uses much of the everyday's 911 chassis, and yet can beat it by a handy nine seconds around the Nürburgring.

While Porsche says the 911 GT3 RS is as far as it can push the line between track-only 911 and one that's still possible to use on public roads, there's nothing common about this 911. The body comes mostly from the 911 Turbo, with a wing that could do double duty as a dining-room sideboard on the rear. To save weight, many of those panels are made of carbon fiber; Porsche has even gone so far to construct the roof from magnesium for greater lightness still.

Under the rear hatch lies the most potent non-turbo flat-six Porsche has ever devised — a 4-liter unit good for 500 hp, which through massive tires on the front and rear can move the 911 GT3 RS to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds. All of that power routes through the rear axle using Porsche's torque vectoring and rear-steering controls, meant to make the most of the 911's trademark dynamics.

As for the interior — yes, I suppose you could fetch groceries in it, but the roll cage bolted in as part of the Club Sport package cuts way down on usable space. and the six-point harness would be overkill in the Whole Foods parking lot. The owners of this 911 will likely keep it on the track where it belongs, and at roughly $200,000 — or half what the Carrera GT cost in its era — they will likely consider it far more of a bargain.