Its no secret that I am a huge fan of Porsche as a car company. I might not be interested in all their products but I have a great respect and a strong sense of endearment to the brand. A few years ago Porsche launched the very limited but highly successful 997.2 generation GT2 RS. It was more than just a GT3 with more power and torque. It stood out as a motoring icon on its own right. It might not have the same status among Porsche enthusiasts as the GT3 but it attained legendary status quite quickly for a nameplate that had only been used once. It was to the GT3, in my opinion, what the Golf R is to the GTI.
The formula for the GT2 RS hasn’t changed. It has its underpinnings in the current generation 911 Turbo S but has been lightened extensively and given even more power. The four wheel drive system has been stripped away in favour of a rear wheel drive only set up. Strangely enough, the last generation GT2 RS had a forbear, the GT2. This time round Porsche has chosen to dive headlong into the RS moniker without the necessary introductions or gestation period.
The new 911 GT2 RS builds on from where the last car left off. The old GT2 RS was Porsche’s most powerful car when it was launched. Even more powerful than the fabled Porsche Carrera GT. But that was before the dawn of hyper cars. This time round the GT2 RS isn’t Porsche’s most powerful car thanks to the 918 Spyder which will reign supreme as Porsche’s flagship for quite possibly the remainder of this decade. The car is powered by the same power plant found in the 911 Turbo S: a 3.8 litre flat six generating 515 kw(700hp)of power which eclipses the 447 kw of power in the Turbo S. The torque figure however remains the same at 750 Nm. The last iteration of the GT2 RS was powered by a twin turbo charged 3.6 litre engine which developed around 456 kw of power and 700 Nm of torque. The extra power has been achieved by using larger turbos compared to the ones in the 911 Turbo S.
Power is sent to the rear wheels through Porsche’s PDK dual clutch transmission. The gearbox has had to be specially adapted to cope with the output of the engine. Unlike the last generation 911 GT2 RS Porsche will not be offering a manual gearbox. The sprint time from a stand still to 100 kph has dropped from 3.5 seconds to 2.8 seconds while the top speed has increased from 330 kph to 340 kph.
While the GT2 RS weighs in at 1470 kg with all fluids on board it is heavier than its forbear which tipped the scales at 1370 kg. Perhaps the extra weight is a result of choosing a PDK gearbox over the manual transmission. There is however extensive use of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic on several components such as the side mirrors and air intakes. As an option customers will be able to spec the car with the Weissach package which further adds additional light weight components to help bring the weight down by 30 kg. Unlike the last generation car the new 911 GT2 RS features creature comforts such as Porsche’s infotainment system. The previous car had to make do with a hole where the satnav was meant to go.
In terms of competition, the 911 GT2 RS’ playing field isn’t crowded. Few car companies compete in this segment and for each generation of cars usually the same car companies try to best each other: Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren and more recently Ford? The first three have standard road going cars in the form of the McLaren 720S and the Ferrari 812 Superfast. Even though these cars probably have the performance to match the GT2 RS they aren’t stripped out versions of themselves. Perhaps the new Ford GT will be a better match?
The 911 GT2 RS is available to order locally(South Africa)and has an asking price of R4,411,000.00.
