Fascinating Porsche Facts from Stuttgart

By Brett Foote - January 10, 2018

Rennlister picks the brains of every Porsche employee he comes across, then shares his findings with us!

For Porsche fanatics, making the trek to Stuttgart is undoubtedly near the top of a long bucket list. After all, who wouldn’t want to visit the very place where our beloved vehicles are born? Plus, Porsche’s home town holds plenty of amazing cars (both new and old) and plenty of history to soak in. And as it turns out, quite a bit of interesting information as well. At least that’s what Rennlister Termsheet discovered on his recent trip abroad.

“I just returned from Germany where I visited Leipzig. Drove a GT3.2 and Sport Turismo on a test track, toured the Leipzig factory, met with Porsche Exclusive Manufactur in Zuffenhausen, had a private museum tour, and attended the Night of Champions Gala in Weissach for Porsche Works racing drivers and those who won a Porsche Cup championship anywhere in the world.

I had lunches and dinners every day with different Porsche Executives. I used every chance I had to ask employees about new models, production numbers, color and option popularity by region, etc.”

Of course, our interest was certainly piqued. And the OP didn’t fail to deliver on his own self-hype, especially in terms of GT cars.

“I was told by a Porsche executive that with previously special GT cars like the GT3 and GT3 RS that demand was estimated to be 2-2.5X production capability. They estimate demand on the GT2 RS to be 5X production capacity, which is astounding given the price point. This person attributed part of this imbalance to the ‘heated economy,’ insinuating that Porsche does not believe the general demand will last forever. To me this explains why they don’t just add factories and increase production. In the event of a downturn, they would have too much production capacity.”

Fascinating, indeed. But there’s more exciting news for those lucky enough to score GT2 RS allocation.

“Most GT2 RS EU deliveries will happen before ROW because of EU engine emissions compliance laws but not necessarily all deliveries. My US allocation is July for the 2019 model year. Porsche is considering a special GT2 RS EU delivery program for a small number of customers. It may involve track time at Leipzig. I of course expressed interest. GT3 RS.2 is likely, but my source said he could not confirm it.”

Also of note is to what the OP was told surrounding the potential for a new Cayman GT4, which goes against what recent rumors might suggest.

“There will not be a ‘new GT4’ or Cayman RS type variant for the street. However, I was told that Porsche is working on a new GT4 race car for 2019 to be more competitive with the new BMW M4 GT4, AMG GT4, and Audi R8 GT4. Porsche feels those cars are legally compliant, but on some level violate the spirit of the GT4 class (race gearboxes, etc). I was told it will use a ‘new platform’ for homologation. I was also told there will be both a ‘Clubsport’ and ‘GT4’ version as in the past.”

And of course, we were also interested in the OP’s impressions gathered from his time behind the wheel.

“I have 5,000 miles on my GT3 RS, over 10,000 miles in the GT4 MR race car, and 60 hours in 991 Cup car. My impression of the GT3.2 was that it had a similar performance level but felt more refined than the GT3 RS.1, which feels more raw and closer to the Cup car to me. The Sport Turismo felt immediately heavy on the track but was very smooth and fast in a straight line. I love the new PCM screen. The center rear seat is very small due to the console, so the Cayenne is still better for 5 adults. The Sport Turismo would be great for 2 Adults and 3 kids. There is not that much additional cargo room with the ST but I love how the wagon looks.”

Even better than all this great info? The OP took tons of great photos throughout his trip. That alone makes this thread worth checking out in its entirety. Add in some insights gathered from various Porsche brass, and you’ve got one can’t miss read!