Porsche’s works driver Kévin Estre has set a new lap record at the infamous Nüburgring-Nordschleife race circuit in Germany in the recently updated 911 GT3 RS. The record time of 7 minutes 56.4 seconds was set on the 16th of April. This is 24 seconds faster than the first generation 991 GT3 RS. The attempt was undertaken by 2 racing drivers over 4 laps shared between them. The second driver was development driver Lars Kern with only tenths of a second separating each lap.
The GT3 RS joins the stable of two other cars within Porsche’s range to dip under the seven minute lap time mark at the world famous circuit: The GT2 RS and the 918 Spyder. It is also the least powerful car in the trio with only 520 hp(383 kw). The car was shod in fully street legal Michelin Pilot Sport tyres. The GT3 RS develops peak power at 8250 rpm and has a maximum torque figure of 470 Nm at 6000 rpm developed from its 4.0 litre normally aspirated flat six cylinder engine.
Porsche’s endeavours at the Nürburgring highlight the importance of downforce in a car but also the benefits of weight saving. An advantage that may be soon negated if the GT3 RS becomes either turbocharged or even hybridised for the next generation. It also calls into question the never ending power wars between McLaren’s 720 S and Ferrari’s 488 Pista both of which are yet to break the 7 minute barrier.
Here is the video of the lap record attempt:
