I have to be honest. The first few times I watched Matt Prior’s reviews, I felt a little underwhelmed. Here was a middle-aged man with a gift for language, seated behind the alcantara-wrapped wheel of an exciting sports car, and somehow he made this divine piece of machinery seem clinical, bland, and practical. Yet, the more I listen to him, the more his approach speaks to me. Simply put, his enthusiasm is just thinly veiled by a little English reticence, but his appreciation for the mundane points, and the way he sheds light on the duller (yet valuable) aspects of a six-figure sports car implies decades of experience.
So, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the first of the big-name publications’ reviews of the GT2 RS is not full of fireworks. Instead, Prior, mumbling over the uncharacteristically loud rumble of the flat-six behind him, describes the everyday experience offered by Porsche’s fastest production car to date.
But Prior also acknowledges the usability offered by the latest iteration of a Porsche that has always been spoken of in hushed tones. The GT2 — especially the 997-generation RS — has always been considered an uncompromising weapon with sharp edges and little cushioning—”unhinged” is the word Prior chooses.
The outrageous figures and the Nurburgring lap time of the GT2 RS speak for themselves. The 991-generation RS is something that not only smokes tires and greys hairs, it’s also the first of the GT2 lineage with a hint of civility—and perhaps there’s nobody better than Prior to point that out.
Photo credit: Autocar