Mark Riccioni’s Porsche 911 GT3 RS gets Advan GT wheels

Acclaimed photographer Mark Riccioni has worked with TG for a great many years. When he is not behind a camera, he is buying unsuitable cars. Here, he lays bare his addiction.

Opening a Top Gear Garage report by grumbling about the expense of a seriously costly car really ought to come with a miniature violin soundtrack. All the more so when the problems were entirely foreseeable and nobody but me is responsible for them.

Roughly four years ago, I traded a 991 GT3 for a 991 GT3 RS. I then proudly declared that I had doubled its overall mileage within only a few months, trotting out the usual line that cars are meant to be driven and wondering why anyone would save the miles solely for a future owner to enjoy.

Since 2024, however, I have managed barely 1,000 miles per year. I could reel off a long list of excuses, naturally, but the reality is that I have been hopeless at finding reasons to use it. Now that our family includes two young children, a two-seat sports car with a roll cage is not especially practical either. The particularly cruel part of leaving a GT3 RS unused is that it has continued costing exactly as much as it would have done had I been driving it.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS: the price of standing still

When I considered driving to Germany for our recent greatest-ever 911 shoot, I found that both rear tyres had become unusable. This was not a tread-depth issue: after sitting stationary for extended spells, they had begun cracking and discolouring. The passenger-side rear tyre was also shedding one to two psi every few weeks.

The final flourish arrived last week, in the form of an ‘interim service’ warning. Although the car is not due one for another 8,000 miles, Porsche also activates this requirement by elapsed time rather than mileage alone, and has recommended having it done for £1,916.30. In other words, every mile since the previous service has cost me almost £1.

Rather than let the faint violin accompaniment swell into a miniature orchestra, I chose to turn this negative into a positive in the only manner I understand: fitting wholly unnecessary modifications that introduce yet more expense and inconvenience.

Advan GT wheels and Michelin Cup 2 tyres

Behold: a suitably jazzy set of JDM-spec Advan GT wheels, which had in fact arrived back in September 2025. The Mark Riccioni of years past would have been pestering tyre shops for £25 part-worns the instant new wheels appeared, such was my impatience. Thankfully, I am marginally more mature these days. Not by much, admittedly, but sufficiently to recognise that part-worn Ling Corp Ditchfinder 3000s are not what Porsche had in mind for a GT3 RS.

Settling on the right replacement tyres did, though, send me deep into Porsche forums and 911 owners’ groups. The experience left me feeling as if I should abandon Porsche ownership immediately. Yet because the Advan GTs use the OE 20x9.5in and 21x12.5in dimensions, retaining the OE tyre sizes seemed completely obvious. Crucially, it would also avoid smashing the arches to pieces and turning an already expensive upgrade into an even pricier one.

On this occasion, the sensible choice was also the right one: a fresh set of Michelin Cup 2 tyres, sized 265/35/20 at the front and 325/30/21 at the rear. They are the latest N2 compound, which has replaced the N0 and N1 compounds; the latter had previously been fitted to the RS. Protyre.co.uk made matters still simpler, as its team not only holds Cup 2 tyres in RS sizes in stock but also has the equipment required to fit them on site. RS wheels are enormous, and their low-profile, XL-rated sidewalls leave very little room or clearance, which can make installation difficult - particularly once the TPMS sensors are taken into account.

Fitting the GT3 RS wheels at home

In retrospect, I should probably have asked Protyre to install them too. For some inexplicable reason, though, I decided it would be more enjoyable to tackle the job alone on my driveway. It proved slightly complicated by the requirement for a torque wrench capable of 600Nm and, once I had sourced one, by the need for a second person to hold the brakes while loosening and tightening the nuts. The necessary force will rotate the front wheels even when the car is not jacked up.

Still, after nearly eight months of excuses, they are finally installed, looking suitably honourable and even jazzier. Sadly, I cannot drive the car just yet: I need my wife to return from work before the wheels can be fully torqued. Balls.