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Porsche 911 GT2 RS picks up lap record at Road America

The GT3 RS was just a couple of seconds behind it.

Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
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Andrew Krok
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Road America isn't the most picturesque track before the trees bloom, but the pavement still does its job, and that's all Porsche needed.

 Porsche

First, the GT2 RS set the production-car lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife (before stole it back). Earlier this year, Porsche went on to set a production-car lap record at Road Atlanta with the same model. Now, it's time to add another lap-record notch to the hopped-up Neunelfer's belt.

Porsche announced on Tuesday that it has set the production-car lap record at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The GT2 RS in question shoved its way to a 2:15.17 lap time, thanks in part to the skill of its driver, Le Mans and Daytona class winner David Donohue. The lap record was validated using Vbox telemetry equipment.

While Road Atlanta had a production-car lap record to beat -- the Chevy ZR1, specifically -- Road America is a little different. Porsche told me via email that not many production car lap records have been set at this track. Instead, Porsche set its benchmark based on a 2:17.04 lap that a private GT2 RS owner ran last year. Wielding the same Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R N0 tires that it used at the Nürburgring, which are available as an optional upgrade for RS-model owners, Porsche was able to knock about two seconds off that time.

The GT2 RS might be pretty damn close to a race car, but one look at the times actual race cars post around Road America, and it's clear why there's a delineation between overall records and production-car records. In 2008, an Audi R10 TDI Le Mans prototype managed to lap Road America in 1:46.935. Even near-production GTC-class race cars can still lap in the 2:14 range, which means it's commendable how close Porsche came to meeting a race car's lap time in a production car.

Then again, even a quick glance at the GT2 RS is all you need to realize it's no slouch. Out back lies a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-six gas engine, putting out 690 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. It'll reach 60 miles per hour in 2.7 seconds, and with enough flat ground in front of it, the GT2 RS will top out at 211 mph.

Porsche heads to Road America to capture another lap record

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