Put one of the most potent Porsche street cars in the hands of a formidable talent like Mike Skeen, and you get a first-rate demonstration of driving brilliance. The Blancpain, World Challenge, and Trans Am ace gets to terms quickly with the turbocharged monster on a truncated version of Virginia International Raceway, where the abundance of slow corners tests any driver with 700 horsepower under their right foot.
Wisely, Skeen takes the first lap cautiously, as the 991 GT2 RS is still a hot-blooded machine, even if it is more civil than the 997-gen car is. “I wouldn’t say it is unmanageable on cold tires at all, but I was surprised by the lift off oversteer around 1:07. I’d say that’s kind of a good sign for track-oriented car, though. It’s not going to rotate well when you want it to and be completely tame all the time,” Skeen adds.
Once tire temps climb slightly, he begins applying the throttle more eagerly, and it’s clear that the forced air 3.8-liter engine never runs out of puff. In fact, the RS has no trouble spinning the rears at the top of third gear at roughly eighty miles an hour (1:58). Skeen’s quick hands wrangle the slithering rear, but it’s safe to say that the car isn’t too fidgety, even for the likes of mere mortals without Skeen’s subtle touch.
“The power delivery definitely has a little bit of lag to it. It’s certainly not excessive, but you have to be on your toes a little bit. In that case exiting T1, you can see how the elevation changes slightly from uphill to flat, which was also a contributing factor. This was also with all of the electric nannies completely off, so you have to have quick hands if you’re going to push it under those conditions.”
Though the tires protest audibly, Skeen remarked on how sweet the car handled. “Pretty neutral. Rotation off-throttle. Slight understeer on power unless you got wheelspin,” he said stoically.
Skeen subtly countersteers after braking hard at ~135 miles an hour.
The stability under braking and incisive front end are noticeable from this energizing footage, which features driving that almost appears too composed for the speeds Skeen reaches. “Like the GT3RS, I was impressed by how well the front end worked, even under power exiting corners. Many older or less performance-oriented 911 models will quickly get light at the front and lose grip, but the front end works quite well here,” he elaborates.
Only hints of opposite lock are visible to the keen eye; the twitch of wheel under braking at 3:21 and 4:02, and under power at 3:32 and 4:08. It’s also noticeably composed under the curbs, and doesn’t seem to have any nasty habits, even at high speeds. Quickly, we see how agreeable this supposedly bloodthirsty monster is in the right hands, and how that accessible performance can translate into lap record after lap record.
