Showpiece of the Week: 911 GT2 RS (997)
The 997 GT2 RS was the last to do its scaring with hydraulic power steering. And that's for starters...
Not that they needed a helping hand, but it seems the arrival of the latest Porsche 911 GT2 RS has served to nudge the value of its predecessors even higher. The last model, the 997, is not undeserving of the attention. It was the last GT series car to use hydraulic steering, and only the third (not including the GT1) to exceed 200mph. Better still, the RS version was reputedly a skunk works project developed under the code number 727 - which referred directly to a Nissan GT-R lap time at the Nordschliefe. And if that's not cool, nothing in the world ever is or can be.
Its use of hydraulic steering is not to be sniffed at either. Porsche's mastery of an electric-powered rack may have diluted memory of its previous handiwork, but any purist will savour the oil-based resistance offered by the 997 - not least because it's arguably as good and as feelsome as the technology ever got.
Take any mention of the famous 'widowmaker' label with a pinch of salt, too. While some drivers may have fallen victim to unexpected surges of torque (and resultant oversteer) in formal generations, the 997 was more in the mould of the current car - less hell-bent on firing you into a hedge than it is at smearing the horizon across your eyeballs.
This is does exceedingly well even by the most modern standard. Back in 2010, 620hp from a twin-turbocharged 3.6-litre flat six was a lot, and in 2018 it's, um, still a lot. 0-62mph in 3.5sec and a top speed of 205mph was also rather good in its day, as it now. It's worth remembering too that the 997 was a smaller car than the 991, and is therefore slightly easier to thread down a winding country road.
Naturally it made the definitive country road its own in short order. Conceived to set a new lap record at the Nurburgring, it duly did: snapping a heady 9secs off the GT-R's time. Porsche celebrated by building no more than 500 cars, which were expensive right out of the box - and then made phenomenally more so by what seems like each passing year.
Today, a barely used 997 Porsche 911 GT2 RS up for sale on the PH classifieds for - tissues at the ready - £649,950. If you're keeping score, that's the best part of half a million quid more than when it was new. Car number 399, does have a highly desirable optional equipment list, however, with the original owner clearly valuing (or understanding the appreciation value of) the lightweight parts offered by Porsche.
Along with the Club Sport Package and carbonfibre front wings and engine cover, there's a lightweight battery and Alcantara trimmed bucket seats complete with harnesses. And that's before we even get to the set of gold satin 19in centre lock wheels. The 10-spoke rims are pure motorsport, and, backed by those yellow calipers, are almost enough for the assembled PH staffers to begin a whip round.
Skim further down the car's service history and you'll also see it's exclusively had main dealer services and there was even a full brake fluid change that took place just 120 miles after the last one. The words 'meticulously maintained' spring to mind.
If the idea of such limited use leaves you reeling, they do at least mean you are getting the most perfectly preserved example of what was unarguably one of Porsche's most most driver-focused machines of all time. Will the used value bubble burst before you can sell it again? It surely can't get much bigger...
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