Porsche has pulled the last strips of disguise from its lightweight 911 ST prototype, which must mean were only days away from an official launch of what could be for most people the coolest 911 in the 992 line. We’ve known for a while that it featured the doors from the 2023 GT3 RS with their carbon-reinforced plastic skins, pronounced horizontal crease, and lightweight, old-fashioned exterior pull handle. But only now can we see how that door matches up with the trailing edge of the front fender.
In all previous spy shots, the bottom of
the front fender between the wheel and the door was covered with a disguise,
but we knew what was hiding under that disguise must be shaped something like
the fender on the GT3 RS, which features a vertical fin at the base of the
fender. It turns out that the ST is slightly different though because the fin
is shorter, doesn’t come out as far from the body, connects to the fender in
two places, and leaves less gap at the top.
The ST’s fender also misses out on the GT3
RS’s saw-tooth vents above the wheel arch, and it’s interesting to note that
Porsche hasn’t bothered to replicate the front fender cutout in the rear bumper
behind the rear wheel, something it did with the GT3 RS. In fact, it would be
easy at first glance to mistake the ST for a GT3 Touring, which has the same
hood vents, rear diffuser, and a spoiler-free tail.
Well, almost spoiler-free. Unlike the
Touring, the ST gets a tiny lip spoiler to improve downforce along with the
double-bubble roof from the Sport Classic, a different style of mesh cover for
the engine lid, and the circular ‘Heritage’ badge on the left-hand side. As for
what’s under that engine cover, we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out.
The smart money is on the GT3 RS’s 518 hp 4.0-liter flat six, and
we’re pretty confident that Porsche will offer that motor with a manual
transmission, something not available on the RS. We expect production to be
extremely limited, potentially to less than 1,000 units, and the price to be
north of US$ 270k.
