Porsche 997 911 GT2 RS Aces the Performance Test of Time
Most cars built 8-10 years ago are slow by today’s standards. But the Porsche 997 911 GT2 RS can still hang with the best of them.
The world of supercars can be a rather frustrating one. At least if you’re the kind of person who has to have the latest and greatest four-wheeled machine on the market. Virtually every year and with every passing generation, automakers continue to top themselves. Cars just keep getting faster and more powerful, quickly rendering their predecessors obsolete. Often before the you can even rack up any kind of serious mileage on them. That is, unless you own something like the legendary Porsche 997 911 GT2 RS.
We were recently reminded of the 997-gen GT2 RS and its greatness when we saw this immaculate example cross the block at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach. Here is a car that was built and sold nearly a decade ago, yet its statistics still impress today. But that’s what happens when you plant a warmed-over twin-turbo flat-six producing 620 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque into a 3,175 pound car. The result is a still-impressive 3.3-second jaunt to 60 mph and 209 mph top speed.
That performance means that this “old” Porsche is still quite capable of outrunning many hypercars built today. And that’s truly impressive when you think about it. The only problem? Well, nice examples like this 7,542-mile beauty aren’t exactly cheap. This one raked in a stout $363,000 at auction, which can buy you a pretty impressive new ride these days.
But let’s be honest – none of those newfangled machines offer the kind of raw experience this Porsche does. They’ll bore you with quick-shifting dual-clutch transmissions, while this one makes you row your own. They’re also heavy and bloated, while this one’s light on its feet. So it’s no surprise which one we’d choose, even if it is “old” by today’s standards.