If you want to buy a Porsche 911 variant just for the racetrack, the Stuttgart-based automaker gives you three options, all of which continue to be based on the outgoing Porsche 997 platform.

On the “entry-level” side (if such a description can be used for a 450-horsepower, lightweight 911 variant) is the 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

In the middle of Porsche’s 911 factory race car range comes the 2012 911 GT3 R, which gets a 4.0-liter, six-cylinder boxer engine good for an estimated 500 horsepower, and a price tag starting at $434,000.

Topping the range is the newly announced 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, which is the Porsche you’ll need to order if you want to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the FIA World Endurance Championships or the American LeMans Series.

For 2012, the 911 GT3 RSR gets the same 4.0-liter boxer-six found in the 911 GT3 R, but it’s detuned to “only” 460 horsepower via a competition-mandated air restrictor.

Like the GT3 R, the GT3 RSR comes with any transmission you’d like, as long as that’s Porsche’s paddle-shifted, sequential six-speed.

The 911 GT3 RSR has a much more aggressive stance than the other racing 911s, thanks to flared front and rear fenders and enhanced aerodynamics.

As on 911 Turbo variants, the 911 GT3 RSR uses air intakes mounted in front of the rear fenders to enhance cooling.

If you’re serious about going racing at the highest levels of the sport, buying a turnkey racer from Porsche gives you a certain peace of mind.

In the case of the 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, that peace of mind starts at €498,000 ($689,580) excluding taxes and delivery from the factory.