Most people would think that a sports car with a starting price of nearly $150,000 would fulfill all of its owner’s dreams and desires from the get-go, but the truth is, that’s hardly ever the case. This 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 modified by Graham Rahal Performance is the perfect example.
The Drive recently had the opportunity to meet up with popular IndyCar driver and huge gearhead Graham Rahal at his new performance shop located on the outskirts of Indianapolis, Indiana. The bulk of our lengthy conversation is reserved for a special feature that we’ll release later in May, but when it comes to this Porsche, it can’t wait. It’s simply too delicious.
The GT3 variant of the 911 lineup is a thoroughbred sports car that excels at blurring the line between street car and track car. It may not be as lit as its pricier sibling, the GT3 RS, but there’s nothing basic about a 500-horsepower, lightweight, rear-wheel-drive Porsche. Especially in Lichtgrun, which translates to light-green in, you guessed it, German.
With only 300 or so miles on the odometer, the brand-spanking-new GT3 has hardly seen any action on the road or the track, but that didn’t stop its owner from wanting to enhance its capabilities—more specifically its track performance. Rahal was kind enough to share with us some of the highlights of this beautiful Porsche, as well as explain the upgrades that its owner commisioned.
“This one right here is pretty rare. The color is called Lichtgrun and it’s a manual-transmission car,” said Rahal. “As far as upgrades, we’ve installed HRE R101 lightweight wheels and wrapped them in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, which is just a great tire. It also has our own GRP (Graham Rahal Performance) exhaust, which actually retains the side valving and makes it sound really mean. It’s by far one of my favorite parts, the sound.”
“The owner of this car requested a specific alignment based on his own track experience, so we’ve also gone ahead and given it a full track alignment tailored specifically to the customer’s demands,” he added. “Inside, we’ve also installed racing harnesses in black, which required us to modify the center pad, take the covers out, etc. The custom rollbar was also painted to match in custom Lichtgrun.”
When asked about the level of customization applied to this Porsche in comparison to his other customers, Rahal replied: “In a nutshell, this is what a typical GRP package looks like. It’s something that a customer can take to the track and drive the hell out of it, but then drive it home on the streets and never have a problem with it.”
You might be wondering about the price, and well, you know what they say—if you have to ask. “For something like this you’re looking at around $15,000,” said Rahal. “The custom cage is about $2,495, maybe a little more with the custom paint, wheels alone are about $10K. But when you’re talking about a $200,000 911 that folks want to enjoy on the track and on the streets, it’s not bad at all.”