If you’ve spent any time at the Los Santos International Airport drag strip, you’ve seen it. That strange, rounded silhouette that looks like a Porsche 918 Spyder got into a fight with a vacuum cleaner. Most players just scroll past it on the Legendary Motorsport website because it isn't a shiny new DLC car with missile lock-on jammers or a rocket booster. Honestly, that's a mistake. The Pfister 811 is one of the most mechanically fascinating, frustrating, and oddly broken vehicles Rockstar Games ever released into GTA Online.
It’s fast. Like, "shouldn't be this fast" fast.
Back when it dropped in the Further Adventures in Finance and Felony update, everyone was obsessed with the T20 and the Osiris. Then this thing arrived with a price tag of $1,135,000—which, in today's inflated GTA economy, is basically pocket change—and started demolishing top speed records. But there's a catch. There is always a catch with Pfister. It isn't just a car; it’s a math problem on wheels.
The Frame Rate Glitch That Made the Pfister 811 a Legend
Let’s talk about why the Pfister 811 actually goes as fast as it does. It’s not just the engine stats. In GTA Online, certain cars have a strange interaction with the game's physics engine, specifically regarding the suspension. The 811 is the poster child for a phenomenon players call "curb boosting," but on steroids.
Basically, the faster your frame rate, the more the game's physics engine struggles to calculate the suspension compression. Because the 811 has a very specific suspension setup, it trickles into a physics bug where the car gains a massive speed boost whenever the suspension moves up and down. If you are playing on a high-end PC or a PS5/Xbox Series X in Performance Mode, you’re likely pushing this car way past its intended top speed of 132.5 mph. It can easily hit 140+ mph just by driving over slightly uneven pavement.
It's weirdly inconsistent. On a perfectly flat road, a Pariah might catch you. But the second there's a bump? The 811 teleports. It’s the only car that feels like it’s actually fighting the game world to go faster.
Handling the "Soap Bar" Physics
You can't talk about this car without mentioning the understeer. It’s bad. Like, really bad. If you try to take a sharp corner in a Pfister 811 at full tilt, you’re going to end up in the Pacific Ocean or wrapped around a palm tree in Vespucci.
The car is a mid-engine beast, and it carries its weight in a way that makes the front tires feel like they're made of greased plastic. You have to brake way earlier than you think. Most people hate it for this reason. They want the "on rails" feeling of an Entity MT or a Krieger. The 811 doesn't give you that. It demands that you actually drive it. You have to feather the throttle. You have to respect the weight transfer.
- The Launch: Hilariously good thanks to the AWD system.
- The Mid-Range: This is where the hybrid engine kicks in.
- The High End: Unbeatable in a straight line if the road isn't smooth.
Is it a "good" race car? For a technical track like Down the Drain or Procession, absolutely not. You’ll be fighting the car the whole time. But for a long-distance sprint across the Senora Freeway? Nothing touches it. It is the king of the highway.
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Customization and the Porsche 918 Heritage
Visually, we all know what Rockstar was doing here. It’s a 918 Spyder. The roof options are actually pretty cool—you can go with a hardtop or a roofless "topless" variant. If you’re a car culture nerd, you probably appreciate the exhaust placement. Having the pipes exit right behind the headrests is a direct nod to the real-world Porsche's "top pipe" cooling and exhaust system.
The liveries are... okay. They’re a bit dated compared to the high-res stuff we get in the newer Tuners or Mercenaries updates. But the Pfister 811 doesn't really need a flashy wrap to look expensive. A clean metallic paint job with a pearlescent finish usually does the trick. I’ve found that the "Carbon Wing" spoiler is almost mandatory—not just for the downforce (which the game’s code desperately needs to keep this thing on the ground) but because the back end looks a little "naked" without it.
Why You Should Still Own One in 2026
You might be thinking, "Why buy an 8-year-old car?"
Because of the price-to-performance ratio. Look at the newer supercars. The Vigilante is nearly 4 million. The Weaponized Ignus is over 3 million. Even the basic newer supercars are all hovering around that 2.5 to 3 million mark. The Pfister 811 is a million bucks. It is arguably the best "budget" supercar for any player who has moved past the beginner stage but isn't a billionaire yet.
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It also serves a very specific niche: the "freemode speed trap." If you're doing those Freemode Challenges where you have to hit the highest top speed, the 811 is your best friend. Because of that frame-rate-suspension bug I mentioned earlier, you can hit speeds that the game doesn't even think are possible.
The Downside: No HSW Upgrades
One of the biggest bummers for current-gen players is that the Pfister 811 hasn't received the Hao’s Special Works (HSW) treatment. If Rockstar ever decided to give this thing HSW upgrades, it would probably break the game. Imagine taking a car that already glitches its way to 145 mph and giving it a Stage 3 Turbo and HSW Suspension. It would be uncontrollable.
Right now, it sits in this weird limbo. It’s faster than most HSW cars in a straight line if the road is bumpy enough, but it lacks the acceleration and "modern" feel of the newer additions. It feels raw. It feels like a relic from an era when Rockstar wasn't afraid to let cars be a little bit "broken."
Real-World Comparisons and Niche Details
Broughy1322, the legendary GTA vehicle tester, has clocked the 811 at the top of the Supercar class for top speed for years. It only recently got dethroned in certain categories, but even then, it’s usually by cars that cost triple the price.
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- Engine Sound: It has that high-pitched, electric-whine-meets-V8-growl.
- Braking: Average. Don't rely on it to save you from a late-turn decision.
- Weight: It’s light, which contributes to that "flying" feeling over bumps.
One detail most people miss is how the active spoiler used to work—or rather, how the lack of one affects the car's drag. Unlike the Nero or the T20, the 811 relies on its physical mods for downforce. If you lose the spoiler in a crash, the car becomes noticeably more erratic at high speeds. It’s not just a visual change; the loss of that "spoiler" flag in the game's code significantly nerfs your traction.
Final Verdict on the 811
Is it the best car in the game? No. Is it the most "fun" car? That depends on if you like wrestling with a machine that wants to fly.
The Pfister 811 is for the driver who wants to win highway races and look good doing it without spending 4 million GTA dollars. It’s a specialist tool. It’s a drag racer that happens to be street-legal. If you can master the understeer and learn how to use the bumps in the road to your advantage, you’ll be faster than almost anyone else in Los Santos.
Actionable Insights for Pfister 811 Owners:
- Always Install a Spoiler: You need the "Traction" bar boost that the game provides for spoiler modifications. It's not just cosmetic; it changes the cornering radius.
- Abuse the Bumps: If you’re racing someone on a highway, don’t stay in the flat lane. Drive over the slightly uneven shoulder or the lane dividers. The suspension compression will trigger the speed boost.
- Brake Before the Turn: Never trail-brake with the 811. Get all your braking done in a straight line, then coast or lightly throttle through the apex to avoid the dreaded understeer.
- Use Performance Mode: If you’re on a console, ensure you’re in 60FPS mode. The car literally performs better because the physics are tied to the frame rate.
- Skip the Off-Road Tires: While some players swear by off-road tires to "smooth out" the bumps, keep the high-end or sport tires on the 811 to maintain its unique high-speed glitch characteristics.
The 811 isn't about being the most expensive car in the garage. It’s about being the one that makes everyone else wonder why they spent three times as much on a car that can't keep up on the long stretches. Keep it in your garage, learn its quirks, and stop trying to take corners at 130 mph. It won't work. Trust me.