Another Amazing Nürburgring Lap Record for the 911
Daily Slideshow: After Lamborghini challenged the 911 GT2 RS and its 'Ring record, Porsche had to make amends. And it did. Dramatically.
Porsche's most powerful was destined to do this
The 911 GT2 RS is the pinnacle of Porsche’s rear-engined, rear-wheel drive road car development. With its radical aero cut-outs adorning the bodywork, and a large rear wing, it looks every bit like a racetrack refugee – for the road. Which is what the GT2 RS is, in a manner of speaking: a true road racer, that you could, at a stretch, also commute with. Powered by a 700hp bi-turbo flat-six and equipped with the most aggressive suspension geometry and steering calibration Porsche will dare fit to a 911 road car, the GT2 RS was always destined to go poaching for that most elusive of records: the Nürburgring production car lap time. Back in 2017, a yellow 911 GT2 RS managed to lap the fabled 12.8-mile Nürburgring in only 6:47.
Images courtesy of Porsche GmbH and Manthey-Racing
Enter the Red Barron solution
Porsche’s fierce Italian rival, Lamborghini, dedicated resources to fielding one of its own road cars to break the German brand’s Nürburgring record. After Lamborghini had managed to beat Porsche’s original GT2 RS effort from 2017, by a mere three seconds, in an Aventador SVJ, there was always going to be a counter from the Germans. That counter came in the form of a red 911 GT2 RS, prepared for its Nürburgring record run attempt by experienced circuit specialists, Manthey-Racing. With vast experience from running Porsche 911 RSRs in the world endurance championship, Manthey-Racing were confident that they could set-up a factory 911 GT2 RS to regain the Nürburgring record.
Images courtesy of Porsche GmbH and Manthey-Racing
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Aero is key at the Green Hell
The Nurburgring is famously known by its other nickname, to racing insiders: The Green Hell. Narrow, bumpy, with minimal run-off, many blind entries and even more blind exits. It’s a forbidding place to attempt any lap record and what Porsche knew, was that the 911 GT2 RS didn’t need any more power to regain its production car lap record here… What it needed, was a touch more stability at speed, and grip into corners. To achieve this Manthey-Racing’s technicians and team engineers focused on perfecting the aerodynamic configuration of that impressive rear-wing and deep front-splitter which are options on Porsche’s ultimate road-going 911.
Images courtesy of Porsche GmbH and Manthey-Racing
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Mastering the bumps in the low-riding supercar
Cleverer aero was only one aspect of Manthey-Racing’s upgrades applied to the 911 GT2 RS as it hunted back its honor. A huge issue at the Nurburgring is coping with the many surface changes along a lap, which at nearly 13-miles, is longer than almost anything else you could ever attempt in a car, without having to consider other road users or traffic rules. Parts of the Nurburgring are wonderfully smooth, but other bits are notoriously bumpy. This is especially true of the Karussell, pictured above. It is a radically banked bit of the circuit which is so rough, it can easily bounce a car off-line which has been set-up with too much compression damping. The greatest achievement of the Manthey-Racing team was revisiting the 911 GT2 RS’s suspension settings and finding the perfect tune to run a flying lap.
Images courtesy of Porsche GmbH and Manthey-Racing
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Porsche proves: red cars are always fastest
When all the input from Manthey-Racing was applied to Porsche’s 911 GT2 RS, the result could never have been in doubt.
With its unique rear-engined weight distribution and the awesome power delivery of that 700hp engine, the 911 GT2 RS is as effective a driving platform as Porsche has ever created. For the monumental challenge of a Nürburgring lap record, Manthey-Racing’s modification to the car’s aero and suspension did what was intended: a new record of 06:40, beating Lamborghini by nearly four seconds.
Porsche’s pride as production car lap record holder might have been the project’s aim but the benefit to 911 GT2 RS customers are that those Manthey-Racing modifications are all road-legal, and available as an upgrade.
Images courtesy of Porsche GmbH and Manthey-Racing
>>Join the conversation about the GT2 RS setting another record right here in Rennlist.com.
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