Cult Cars 7: Porsche 911 GT2

12:07 pm, September 16, 2008

Motorsport is a Porsche obsession. We’re not talking Formula 1 here, either. No, what keeps the Stuttgart engineers busy is racing their beloved 911 road cars by turning them into race-track world-beaters. And the very pinnacle of their engineering nous is this – the mighty 911 GT2.

To fans of the pure, delightful GT3 RS, it seems like overkill. Taking the fastest, most powerful 911 – the Turbo – and ramping it up further still. Giving it 200mph ability. Throwing in an eye-watering £131k list price in the process. I have absolutely no problem with that, but strangely some do. Why is hard to fathom, because the result is something quite extraordinary – and very, very special.

Look at it. It’s pure, snarling evil. Aerodynamics dominate, with massive air intakes at the front, more at the side and even more outlets at the rear. The GT2 badge is fitted to a glassfibre engine cover that sits beneath a gigantic fixed wing, and there’s even a motorsport aero feature at the front: an air outlet has been cut into the front bumper.

Why? For excess air to escape, which has the effect of nailing the nose to the ground. The faster you go, the more this thing is pinned to the floor.

Power to the 19-inch 325/30-section rear tyres is a gob-smacking 530bhp at a delirious-sounding 6,500rpm. That’s more even than the mighty Turbo – and good for, ready for it, 62mph in 3.7 seconds. The car even helps you achieve such stunning go with a launch assist system.

And that’s even with a regular six-speed manual, rather than a fancy auto. You do get a helping hand though – clutch down, wind on some revs and when 0.9bar is showing on the dash, simply bang out the pedal as fast as you can.

The GT2’s ECU modifies the fuel injection, throws more fuel in to ensure boost pressure doesn’t drop and, simultaneously, it alters the traction control profile, so you get every last ounce of forward motion possible. Who needs the Turbo’s four-wheel-drive? Not the GT2 that’s for sure.

Squeezing more power from the 3.6-litre flat-six wasn’t easy, mind. Porsche did so by exploiting, it says, ‘unexplored avenues’. Quite what that means is beyond us, but it sure worked.

The GT2 has adaptive suspension and stability control as standard, but the latter can be turned off, in two levels. Do so, and it’s 530bhp, your right foot and two rear wheels that dominate proceedings.

It’s rare that you’re afforded such leniency in a car as uber-powerful as this, but if anything’s going to make it safe, it’s the tuning of that chassis. This car has all the 911 hallmarks of traction, agile front end and ballistic turn-in – but ramped up to a level that ensures both you and it can cope with two turbos’ worth of power.

It’s not for everyone. It takes talent to master. But possess this, and it’s pure genius. That’s why the GT2 is worthy of obsession equal to those who created it.

by Richard Aucock