Host of The Smoking Tire Opens Up this Hardcore Porsche on the Winding Roads of Southern California
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS is a high-performance machine. A track missile. The ultimate naturally aspirated 911. It’s also what you could call a “can’t wait” car.
Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire wasn’t able to get a GT3 RS press car from Porsche in time to film the video below, so instead of waiting on it, he just got a 2016 model from a gentleman who was kind enough to loan it out for Farah’s review.
That anonymous man was also a badass who got his RS covered with the famous blue and red Martini livery, which looks great over the car’s white shell. When it comes to a $200,000 sports car, the “paint to sample” option is a no-brainer. The carbon ceramic brakes and sport exhaust are the perfect mechanical accompaniments to the altered exterior.
But those bits of hardware aren’t what make the GT3 RS a “can’t wait” car. That naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six under the rear hood is. It generates 500 horsepower, 339 lb-ft of torque, and a soundtrack of mechanical porn that fills the cockpit. Even though those numbers don’t make the RS “insanely fast” in a straight line, they are shot through the PDK dual-clutch gearbox, which Farah says is “more perfect than it’s ever been.” Combine that with sharp steering and you have something even beyond a “can’t wait” car. According to Farah, the RS is a scalpel, a surgical tool that “could probably ruin you for other cars.”
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
