What Are The Porsche GT3 RS Production Numbers?
Production numbers are a common question when it comes to car collecting. It is a very objective way to begin to understand a specific car. There are many other ways we consider scarcity and value, however the “number produced” is often a great starting point in the conversation. Limited production alone does not make a car collectible, nor necessarily valuable, but it is a great indicator of future desirability when you are looking at a car that enthusiasts already crave today.
What is the measurement of limited production, or rare? “Rare” is a term we save for things that truly are - a championship winning works WRC rally car, or a Ferrari 250 GTO. In our opinion on production numbers, ~1500 is the cut-off where we might consider something “limited production” or not. Cars under this threshold include the Ferrari F40, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, or in our case study here, the 997 Porsche GT3 RS.
Layered in rich history the “RS” moniker is reserved for Porsche’s best offerings. The RS lineage began with the 1973 Carrera RS and has evolved through the years bringing us tremendous driver focused cars. In the water-cooled Porsche era, the 996 GT3 RS was a track focused machine that was not sold in the USA. The 997 GT3 RS cars continued the use of lightweight materials and brilliant engineering in the search of lower lap times and was heralded as an exceptional driver’s car. The 991 cars continued to raise that bar, in the traditional ethos of the Porsche GT car engineering.
The GT3 RS production number data is interesting, and we will present it as a chassis breakdown here:
996 GT3 RS (~2004 model year)
Worldwide Production – 682
997.1 GT3 RS (~2007-2008 model year)
Worldwide Production – 1,168
USA Delivery – 410
Canada Delivery – 42
997.2 GT3 RS (~2010-2011 Model Year)
Worldwide Production – 1,500
USA Delivery – 541
Canada Delivery – 71
997.2 GT3 RS 4.0L (~2011 Model Year)
Worldwide Production – 600
USA Delivery – 141
Canada Delivery - 16
991.1 GT3 RS (~2016 Model Year)
Worldwide Production – 4596
US Delivery – 1318
Canada Delivery – 211
991.2 GT3 RS (~2019 Model Year)
Worldwide Production – 4750
US Delivery – 1462
Canada Delivery – 294
In looking at that data, what does it all mean, and how should I consider it?
Making the assumption that you are considering a purchase of an RS Porsche, and you are researching production numbers, one could conclude you are trying to understand the overall collectible elements of these GT3 RS cars. Generally speaking, the data above shows that GT3 RS production numbers are relatively small when you consider the global automobile production peaked around 80 million units per year last decade, and we see roughly 5 million new units sold each year in the USA alone.
That being said, we see a distinct cutoff in “limited production” GT3 RS cars — The 997 chassis were the end of the truly limited numbers when we look at Porsche production historically. The 991 chassis (and up) cars were produced more to meet market demand, and thusly we have a lot more of them. Not to say finding the 991 car you want, in your desired spec, in your market becomes easy, but the volume numbers are higher and more towards a “production car” as opposed to the viewpoint of a “long term collectible" RS.
So does that make the 997.1 and 997.2 GT3 RS cars collectible with a long term view?
In our strong opinion - yes. We are far from alone in the view that the 997 chassis GT3 RS was the last of the true “analog” Porsches. The 997 chassis is smaller and lighter than the later 991/992 cars, and are much more a look back at the historical package dimensions of the Porsche 911, where as the 991 cars, as fantastic as they are dynamically, are significantly larger cars in every dimension.
With the limited total worldwide production numbers of either the 9971. or 997.2 GT3 RS, it is hard to go wrong with either. It is a matter of personal perspective which one is the better driving car - we have an opinion, and others do as well, but the end result - both are some of the best driving cars ever produced.
If you want to look for a 997 GT3 RS, and are considering the future value of one, we will always advise you to seek out the best. An example with low mileage, original paint, and a wonderful document file. With those pieces of the puzzle in place, you should be able to drive and enjoy the car in reasonable moderation for many years, and likely see market value stay flat to up over your ownership period. Never a guarantee of course, but all the components are there when we consider modern collectibles.
I’d like to learn more…
Stay tuned, we will do some more in depth articles in the future, as well as check out our current inventory, these GT3 RS cars are an area of focus and passion here at Northwest European.