Roll-up, roll-up, feast your eyes on the latest limited-edition Porsche for the fan boys to fawn over and the speculators and flippers to feast on. There, have we covered that bit off adequately? Good, because there's a car to talk about here.
2017 the year for bronze and gold wheels!
No lesser car than the most powerful roadgoing 911 Porsche has ever built, the new £207,506
991 GT2 RS
. 700hp through the rear wheels, "civilised but not tamed" according to Porsche boss Oliver Blume and "an absolute beast" according to Mark Webber. Being a factory driver and owner of the
previous GT2 RS
should help him secure one of the cars due to be built, though only if he's been keeping his OPC dealer principal sweet. Obviously.
He has been involved in the development of the car, putting in some development laps at the Nurburgring and describing himself as "stoked to be involved" having apparently pestered Andreas Preuninger and his team as soon as he caught wind of it. Webber, for all his racer credentials, makes an interesting customer case study as it goes, claiming much as he likes the GT2 RS's wildman credentials he appreciates a car with air-con, nav and all the toys. As well as a massive rear wing, titanium exhausts and water injection. And the option to buy a special, £8,250 limited-edition watch by Porsche Design, meaning people can know you're among the lucky handful even if you're not actually in your GT2 RS. Read into that what you will.
Given the traditions of the GT2 the power output had to be unprecedented and 700hp in a factory built rear-wheel drive 911 is suitably ludicrous, the torque a suitably burly 553lb ft. With PDK, rear-wheel steering and all the usual refinements it is, however, another step away from the raw, 'last of the widowmaker' lunacy of previous GT2s. Which isn't to say it'll be dull to drive, of course. The stats are suitably impressive, with 0-62 in 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 211mph. The new supercar benchmark of 0-200km/h (124mph in old money) is perhaps more relevant and comes in at 8.3 seconds - the same as a Ferrari 488 GTB.
How does it do it? The 3.8-litre turbocharged engine has bigger turbos and there's a new charge cooling system with water injection (like the
M4 GTS
) at peak load to help reduce the temperature of the induction air. A new titanium exhaust saves 7kg and offers "an emotional sound without precedent" according to the press pack, the two outboard exhaust outlets within a greyed out section of the rear bumper among the demarcations setting it apart from the GT3 RS it otherwise resembles. Like that car it's PDK or nothing too, the first time a GT2 has been sold without a manual but in keeping with its need for ultimate speed. Or so the official line goes.
Other distinguishing features included bigger intakes in the front bumper, behind which are wire 'ties' to hold the front splitter in position when under load. Preuninger says he'd have loved to have had these exposed, race car style, but, damn those health and safety busy bodies, high-tension cheese wires are apparently not so hot for pedestrian safety. Indeed, he says much of the really cool stuff like the new carbon fibre housings for the bigger intercoolers are all hidden away - even the dome-shaped high-flow air filters look nifty apparently. But you can't see them.
Only just heard? You're probably too late
You will have spotted the NACA ducts on the front deck though, these replacing the standard brake cooling ducts. Want to really flaunt how hardcore you are? You'll be needing to tick the box for the £21,000 Weissach Package, reprising a similarly named option offered for the 918 Spyder and saving a further 30kg through extra carbon fibre. This extends to the roof - magnesium as standard like the GT3 RS - and is given visual validation via the exposed carbon 'stripes' running the length of the car. The package also adds carbon anti-roll bars and drop links saving 5kg on their own and special lightweight magnesium wheels. These wear the widest rear tyres ever fitted to a production 911, the Cup 2s coming up as 325/30 at the rear on 21-inch rims; fronts are 265/35 on 20s.
So some very, very impressive numbers and equally clever engineering geekery. But will it have the raw edge that gave predecessors like the 997 GT2 RS such legendary status? Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to find out.
