With a host of bespoke bits, as well as racing hardware, this is one of the best modified street-legal 911 GT3 RS cars yet.
With outputs of 381bhp and 390Nm, the ability to complete the benchmark century sprint in 4.3 seconds, and a top speed of 306km/h, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS (996) is not for the faint-hearted.
Arjunan Kulasegaram’s (his friends call him Arj) green-liveried machine you see here makes a dyno-tested 464bhp and 472Nm of torque – an increase of 22 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.
If you understand engine performance, you’d know how hard (and costly) it is to modify a car’s engine to improve power and torque by just 10 per cent, let alone double that amount (and I’m not including the forced induction route).
Needless to say, Arj’s GT3 RS has been extensively modified. Although he confesses to losing track of the exact amount he has spent, he estimates the costs to be around $200,000, or a third of the car’s asking price.
Arj’s affinity with Porsches is expected. He owns Clearwater Racing with David Lai, who has raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and the Aston Martin Asia Cup. Their company is the authorised distributor for Cargraphic – a German tuner famous for modifying Porsches for road and race applications.
Andy Tan of Espace Service, a local tuner noted for producing some of our country’s fastest racecars, collaborated with them to transform Arj’s car into one of the most outstanding road-legal 911 GT3 RS vehicles in the world.
The GT3 RSC car by Cargraphic, which won the famous Tuner GP, served as an inspiration for Arj. In many respects, his car is even more done-up than the Tuner GP winner, with many of its components created in Singapore.
Take the centre radiator kit mounted in front. It features a bespoke mount that tilts it at a 30-degree angle. This was done to optimise high-speed airflow while ensuring proper cooling.
Arj’s team decided to do this to avoid the slight lightening of the front axle, which happens at speed. This knowledge comes from a mechanic who works with Team Porsche Club Singapore (PCS) Racing, where Arj and Andy are directors.
Team PCS Racing has been actively involved in endurance and circuit racing for the last three years. They have competed in the 2008 24H of Dubai, as well as the Malaysia Supercar Series and the Merdeka Millennium Endurance 2008 – winning both races last year.
And at all the races, the obvious cars of choice were the Porsche 911 GT3s – the Cup, the Cup S and the RSR.
Another unique component is the oil cooler, which benefits from more efficient cooling as a result of a bespoke vent, built into the long, horizontal vent found just ahead of the GT wing.
With this, the oil temperature is adjusted to be consistently in the 90s – even after numerous hard laps at Sepang. In the past, the oil temperature gauge for the car always had a reading of 105 degrees or more.
Other bespoke components include carbon fibre items such as the front aerodynamic canards, rear undertray and rear mini diffusers with cooling vents for the driveshafts.
Arj said that they went through numerous designs and testing sessions before coming up with the final look. And although there are similar components sold by specialist Porsche tuners, the team felt they were not suitable.
Summing up the effort, time and money spent on this 911 GT3 RS, Arj said it is not about slapping on the most expensive parts and components that money can buy, nor is it about following what others do.
For Arj, Andy and the people involved in Clearwater, Espace and Team PCS Racing, it is about applying the knowledge they have gained from the three years of extensive racing into this superb car.
+ Exterior
996 GT3 RS front bumper
997 GT3 RS front bumper air vent
Cargraphic carbon fibre front lower spoiler lip
RSC wide-body fender kit
Nurburgring Edition carbon fibre front fender vents
996 GT3 Cup carbon fibre rear wing and engine cover
996 GT3 RS carbon fibre wing mirror housing
Porsche 1973 2.7 RS Viper Green paint finish
Espace Service carbon fibre rear exhaust valances and mini-diffusers
Front wheel inner panels with air ducting fins
Front bumper mesh grille
Rear diffuser tray with gearbox cooling ducts
+ Interior
Porsche sports seat (lowered 10mm)
Tequipment full carbon fibre interior kit
Tequipment yellow seat belts
997 GT3 RS DSMB legal half roll cage
Cargraphic 340mm sports steering wheel with airbag
Espace Service engineered 997 GT3 RSR nylon gear knob
Engineered carbon fibre meter pods stack
Oil pressure and oil temperature gauges
Three-stage remote mounted shift light
+ Engine/Electronics
Cargraphic built and blueprinted M96 GT3 Mk 2 dry sump engine
Tuner GP high-lift camshafts
Two-stage variable length inlet manifold with remote air pump
Endurance sodium-filled valves, valve springs and titanium valve retainers
R-Type Tuner GP exhaust system with tri-metallic sports catalytic converters
Tuner GP RSR rear mufflers with Espace Service engineered
RSR-style exhaust tips
Forged pistons with plasmanitride piston rings and plasma-coated cylinders
Titanium connecting rods
BMC panel air filter
ELF HTX racing grade engine oil
GT3 RS big-valve cylinder heads
Bosch MODAS 3.0 engine management system with RS-Tuning Tuner GP engine map
996 GT3 RSR centre radiator with Espace Service engineered 30-degree canter kit and air guide surround plates and custom-made radiator piping flywheel
Espace Service engineered engine oil cooler with relocated RSR oil filter and Aeroquip Motorsports fittings with fireproof sleeves
+ Drivetrain
996 GT3 Mk 2 gearbox casing with integrated oil cooler
RS-Tuning ZF-Sachs 810Nm pressure plate
Cargraphic single-mass flywheel clutch kit with RSR clutch disc
ELF HTX racing grade gearbox and LSD oil
996 GT3 Cup LSD and 8/32 Final Drive
Main input shaft with 1st to 4th gear ratios
Steel synchromesh rings for 1st to 6th gears
Gearshift cable, shift cage and shift lever
+ Brakes
Espace Service engineered 997 GT3 Cup brake discs 380mm (front), 350mm (rear)
Pagid RS-29 brake pads
Cargraphic steel-braided brake hoses
+ Handling
Cargraphic Tuner GP spec Bilstein four-way adjustable dampers
Cargraphic Tuner GP spec H&R springs
Michelin Pilot Sport 2 N-Spec 19-inch tyres – 235/35 R19 (front), 305/30 R19 (rear)
12-position adjustable carbon fibre rear wing
Dymag 19-inch carbon-Kevlar magnesium wheels
