Porsche is a car manufacturing company founded by Ferdinand Porsche, once a chief engineer at Mercedes-Benz. He later incorporated his personal engineering plant, where he developed numerous designs for the ‘People’s Car’ or popularly known as the ‘Volkswagen’. By 1931, Ferdinand incorporated a company under his own name: ‘Porsche’.
Since he was the engineer for the first Volkswagen, the first Porsche created was manufactured from the machinery of the VW Beetle. In 1938, the first Porsche known as the ‘Porsche 64’ was released by the company. The vehicle gained a lot of popularity and this was the start of a successful time in the history of Porsche.
Currently, Porsche is owned by Volkswagen AG and specializes mainly in producing sedans, SUVs, hyper-cars, supercars, and high-performance sports cars. Additionally, the company has two subsidiaries, namely Porsche Consulting Group and Mieschke Hofmann und Partner.
Ever since Porsche confirmed the development of an all-new 911 GT2, car lovers especially race car lovers have been on the edge of their seats waiting for it to debut. The Porsche 911 GT2 RS will be a high-performance sports car based on 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but would feature numerous upgrades including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration.
The GT2 is significantly lighter than the Turbo due to its use of rear-wheel drive instead of all-wheel drive, and the lightening or removal of interior components. As a result, the GT2 is the most expensive and the highest trim level within the 911 line-up.
Technical Highlights
The base engine is identical to the 997 GT2 (which is no longer being manufactured) but runs different turbochargers, new intercoolers, new pistons and a new engine management system to run 1.6 bars of boost, over the last car’s 1.4 bars. Claimed performance is 0-62mph in 3.5sec, 0-100mph in 6.8sec and a ring lap of 7min 18sec.
The chassis is basically slightly up-rated GT3 RS, which is a pretty solid base. There are a few adjustments to fit this turbo application and for an even better response, the rear axle has more solid linkages than the GT3 RS.
Aerodynamically, it is quite similar to the 997 GT2 but runs a new splitter, new rear diffuser and an extra gurney on the rear wing. Doesn’t sound like much, but it nearly has as much downforce as the GT3 RS. All that carbon, plus plastic rear and side windows shave 70kg over the last GT2.
The Exterior
The GT2 RS will borrow several features from the 991.2 Turbo, including the front facade, beefed-up rear fenders with large air outlets, and most of the rear end. However, reportedly Porsche has made quite a few modifications to the Turbo package, making the GT2 RS a significantly more aggressive machine.
Up front, the bumper is taller and extends closer to the ground, while incorporating larger air vents on each side of the center grill. The daytime running lights appear to be stock, but that’s the only feature that has remained unchanged compared to the standard Turbo. Below, there’s a massive splitter with motorsport-inspired winglets at each corner, suggesting that the new GT2 RS will boast impressive aerodynamics. The carbon trunk lid has two additional vents for improved cooling similar to the cut-outs on the GT3 RS.
Around the back, Porsche has already installed the new taillights of the 991.2-generation 911. There is also a new engine hood, as well as a heavily redesigned bumper with large exhaust outlets toward the corners. The side vents are camouflaged. A massive rear wing is actually a prototype unit because it is surprisingly big. Usually, the GT2’s wing is smaller than the GT3’s, so it is expected from this car to gain a different element closer to production. All told, the new turbocharged, track-ready 911 will be the most menacing, road-legal Porsche built to date!
The Interior
Like the exterior, the interior of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS will focus on improving track comfort and reducing weight. As an example of just how much of a race-ready track car the GT2 RS was, it will be equipped with a factory roll cage and six-point driver’s racing harness, and it could be ordered without air conditioning or audio system components. The previous car even had fabric interior door pulls instead of conventional handles to create even more of a race car interior, while saving more weight.
The interior of the 911 GT2 RS also exudes sporting performance in virtually every detail. Lightweight two-piece bucket seats made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic are standard, as are lightweight door panels with fabric straps instead of traditional door handles. The basic interior color is black, which contrasts with red elements, such as the seat center sections, the roof lining, and segments of the steering wheel rim. The gearshift and handbrake lever are also finished in red Alcantara.
The Drivetrain
There is no official detail yet about the Porsche 911 GT2 RS’s drivetrain, but the previous version produced a whopping 612 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque from its twin-turbo, 3.6-liter flat-six. With a curb weight of just about 3,000 pounds, the previous 911 GT2 RS was able to accelerate from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 205 mph.
With these accomplishments, it will be exciting to see what types of numbers the GT2 RS will be capable of. The previous GT2 RS had rear-wheel drive and was offered with a six-speed manual only, but rumor has it the new track car will ditch the manual in favor of the PDK automatic, which should return better performance.
Of the numerous weight reduction components, the 911 GT2 RS used a single-mass flywheel that cut weight by almost 18 pounds, and a titanium exhaust system with mufflers that weighed half as much as the 911’s conventional mufflers.
Almost similar improvements are expected in the new GT2 RS coupled with a revised version of the current twin-turbo, 3.8-liter flat six. The output should sit close to the 700-horsepower mark, backed by more than 550 pound-feet of twist. Charging to 60 mph should take less than three seconds, while top speed should be at least 205 mph. The final specifications and other details will be officially revealed later this year.