Geneva Motor Show - It is, above all else, a Porsche for purists: with a high-revving, naturally aspirated flat-six engine, a six-speed manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive and a stripped out, lightweight bodyshell.
The new 911R, unveiled on Tuesday at Palexpo, is named after a road-homologated racing car from 1967. Just enough of the originals were produced to qualify it as a 'production' car and make it eligible for the iconic road races of the period, such as the Tour de France and the Targa Florio - as well as world record runs.
911 GT3 RS: a Racer for the Street
And in the same way, only 991 examples of this 911R - the most purebred iteration of the Porsche Type 991 - will be made. Designed to deliver an unfiltered driving experience, it weighs just 1390kg, making it the lightest 991-series derivative yet.
Add to that a race-shop tuned, GT3 RS-specification four-litre flat-six boxer delivering 368kW at a howling 8250 revs and 460Nm at 6250, and 0-100 is disposed of in 3.7 tyre-shredding seconds, while top speed is quoted at 323km/h.
The bonnet and front wheel-arches are made of carbon-fibre and the roof is magnesium; rear windscreen and rear side windows are plastic, and there's no rear seat and very little sound insulation. Even the aircon and radio are optional extras; without them the car weighs 50kg less than a 911 GT3 RS.
PURE, YES; SIMPLE, NO
Standard kit includes specially rear-axle steering for direct turn-in and precise lines through the twisties, a mechanical limited-slip differential, and humungous 410mm front and 390mm ceramic composite brakes under matt-finished lightweight forged-aluminium centre-locking rims shod with 245mm front and 305mm rear radials.
Porsche's standard electronic stability control system has been remapped for the 911R and optional extras include a single-mass flywheel for quicker top-end response and a double-declutch function for perfect downshifts.
All the lightweight components and the complete chassis come from the 911GT3, as do the nose and the rear body. In place of the GT3's fixed rear wing, however, there's a retractable spoiler borrowed from the Carrera, matched to a specially-developed rear diffuser.
UNDERSTATED STYLING
Front and rear apron also come from the 911 GT3 parts bin, with a re-designed spoiler lip on the front, while the sports exhaust system is a special creation in titanium. Go-fast stripes over the midsection of the car and the evocative' Porsche' script along the sides lend an authentic 1960s visual flavour.
Inside, driver and passenger are cocooned in carbon-fibre bucket seats trimmed with special fabric centre panels in Pepita tartan, a nod to the very first 911, while fabric pull straps on each door remind you that this car was built in the race shop, as do the special 360mm GTsport steering wheel, the stubby gear lever and, of course, the third pedal in the footwell.
The 911R will be released in South Africa but no decisions have yet been confirmed as to when or how much it will cost when it gets here. As an indication, however, it's available to order now in Britain for delivery in June 2016 at £136 901, the equivalent of R3 million as of 1 March.