Photo: Porsche
Porsche has been playing games with other manufacturers at the Nurburgring for years, continually upping the ante within months of competitors “beating” them. It all started back in November of 2017 when Porsche set a scarcely believable time of 6:47.30 in a then-new 991 GT2 RS. That next summer Lamborghini took to the ‘Ring with its incredibly angular Huracan Performante, ripping the track in just 6:44.97. Porsche being Porsche, it couldn’t stand for such shenanigans and put the street-legal Manthey Racing kit on the GT2 RS giving it more hard core aero, bigger brakes, lighter wheels, and a bigger tank for the turbocharged flat six water injection. Boom, the MR kitted 911 managed to cut another four seconds from Lambo’s time, running a time of 6:40.3. It’s impossible to beat that, right? Well, while Porsche published the full video of that lap, it wasn’t ever certified.
Then comes crosstown rival Mercedes-Benz with what it thinks is the slam dunk. Back in November of last year Merc took its front-engine AMG GT Black Series monster to the track and clicked off a 6:43.61 with an official on hand to certify the record. Totally ignoring the GT2 RS MR, Mercedes claimed itself king of the ring, and went on a victory lap. Well, Porsche isn’t going to stand for that, obviously, so it sent test driver Lars Kern back to Nurburg with a fresh GT2 RS MR and a fresh set of Michelins. Kern managed to go even faster this time! Besting Mercedes by nearly five seconds, the GT2 RS MR clocked a 6:38.835 lap. Are you as fed up with numbers as I am? Boy howdy that was a lot of math.
Photo: Porsche
“Our GT customers often use their cars on circuit, such as on track days,” says Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Model Lines 911/718. “The engineers at Manthey and Porsche have together developed a perfectly tuned package that allows the 911 GT2 RS to deliver even higher performance.”
“The 911 GT2 RS sticks to the track like glue with the Manthey Performance Kit — you feel as if you’re in a racing car, especially on faster corners. It is truly breathtaking how the car puts its 700 PS down, and how incredibly well it brakes while always remaining easy to control,” says Kern.