The Porsche 991 GT2RS has set new production car light records at pretty much every circuit that it's been to.
It has proved itself beyond all doubt a supremely fast and fun track day toy.
Which is precisely why I am not going to drive it at a track.
I mean, fun though that would be, what more could I really hope to tell you.
Instead, what I really want to know is what is this road car actually like on the road?
So we've come to a road, a wonderful Testing piece of road, far, far away from anyone else.
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That is extraordinary.
It's like weighs absolutely nothing.
It just seems to pick you up and take you down the road.
[LAUGH] The way the power can [UNKNOWN] is so So linear, it's totally different from the previous GT2 RS.
And the sound of it.
[SOUND] It's a really cool sound.
I hadn't expected that.
It sounds a bit like a sort of, almost like a [UNKNOWN] Naturally aspirated 911 somehow totally different to 3RS but really, really cool.
It reminds me a little bit of a GT1.
Amazingly, this serious production car actually has 25% more power and torque.
The [UNKNOWN] special of the late 90s.
With the GT2 RS's 3.8 liter flat six putting out 690 brake horsepower at 7000 RPM and 553 pounds foot of torque from 2500 RPM.
Although it's worth mentioning that the modern car is nearly 400 kilos heavier.
[UNKNOWN] at 62 miles an hour.
2.8 seconds.
Top speed, 211 miles an hour, or 6 miles an hour more than the GT1 race cars ever achieved on the [UNKNOWN] stretch.
In terms of set up, it is basically the same as a GT3 RS, but with slightly firmer suspension to cope with the extra 40 kilos of weight.
Same rose jointing at the back, same rear wheel steer, same size wheels and tires, yet for all their similarities, the two cars are somehow more different in character than I imagined they would be.
One of the first things you notice about this car is just [INAUDIBLE] a host of details.
Things like this paddle here, this sort of carbon paddle, which definitely has a different throw to it compared to the ones I'm used to [INAUDIBLE] boxes.
And then you get things like the sounds.
So.
[UNKNOWN] that sound down there in the rear there.
You can hear the rear brakes [UNKNOWN] much more, but other things as well.
If I put the hand brake on, so much lighter.
Even better things is sports exhaust.
Oftentimes we press the [UNKNOWN]
It's really making a huge amount of difference.
At least not straight away.
This [NOISE] amazing all the resonances that come through the car.
Very different.
Actually when you're going along Instead of retry low speed somehow get a I'm not gonna lie it is pretty vegetative its one of those cars like this place its like a get better the far you go it just today frequently.
[SOUND] This road is so [UNKNOWN] deal with this.
It could deal with anything.
And the GT2 RS certainly had to deal with all conditions.
The very idea of driving this car in the rain might seem enough to give you sleepless nights and cold sweats But while [UNKNOWN] rubber, let alone the new optional [UNKNOWN], means standing water has to be treated with more than a little respect.
It shouldn't be left in the garage just because it's a big soggy underfoot.
[INAUDIBLE] garages.
I thought I'd park up here, partly because it says, NO PARKING and I'm just a rebel.
And partly to catch my breath and partly to look at some of the details.
On this GT2 RS, principally the Weissach pack, which will cost you an extra 10% or 21,000 pounds on top of a standard GT2 RS.
Now, the big thing I suppose is the aesthetics initially.
Or at least that's what you noticed straight away, because the carbon parts, which come as part of a GT2 RS, are now exposed like this rear wing.
Intakes here, the roof, the bonnet.
But, more pertinently you also get these lovely magnesium alloy wheels.
Now, they save 11 kilos over the standard ones.
I just want to take a moment there for the clearance, because it still blows my mind.
I know it was there on the first generation of GT3RS with these 21-inch wheels, but how they cram those into the arches and still make it right, I The mind boggles, frankly.
Moving forwards, the other big part is in here.
It's this beautiful titanium roll cage, which saves around 12 kilos of [UNKNOWN] 30 kilos.
[UNKNOWN] some stitching just to remind you, you spent that 21,000 pounds.
We pop the car bonnet.
In the front, taking a bit of the luggage space, is a tank, a bit like a BMW M4 GTS, for distilled water for the water injection system.
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I love the overall stance and track refugee vibe of the GT2 RS.
Like its naturally aspirated brother, I reckon you could slap a livery on it.
And no one would bat an eyelid if you parked it up on a granite Silverstone during a race weekend.
There are actually some prominent stylistic differences between the three and the two, with this car having a much bluffer front, and a less fussy rear.
Overall, it looks, well, slightly more cohesive, actually.
Slightly better to my eyes.
This color if you're interested is Miami Blue, paint code M5C.
I love a Larry colored GT car but I think I'd got for black if it were mine, to blend in with the exposed carbon.
I would say to give it a subtle, stealthy look.
But a bit like a ninja with an unfurled umbrella and a megaphone, I'm not sure that wing and those exhausts could ever be stealthy.
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But as much as the [UNKNOWN] shags on this Miami blue with [UNKNOWN] stripes, where it really makes a difference.
Eyes on the road like this, particularly with those magnesium wheels saving him 11 kilos in unsprung weight.
It makes a huge difference.
Yes, this road probably really is a bit too bumpy, but [UNKNOWN] I love the fact that it just tethers off all account of the bump so well and yet although it's firm it does seem to deal with them.
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It rides much better than I'd expected to be honest.
This is just such an exciting car.
It demands all of your Your concentration.
But it's so with you, even when it picks [INAUDIBLE] or takes off over the bigger bumps.
It's still with you, so you know where it is.
Just [INAUDIBLE] at slow speeds.
This direct steering is brilliant front end.
Means you can really, really drive it hard, wow.
And then out of the corners, having 700HP at your disposal, seemingly no lag at all.
Just You can feel the power, there's so much acceleration.
[SOUND] You can see the middle traction control right from where your tires have been before, just because it's over the bumps and because of any deficiency in actual traction.
One thing you might find yourself wondering in a way, cuz I kinda did too is, do you really need seven 300 horse power.
Well, kinda no, but that it's a bit like having a big [UNKNOWN], where fair enough, you might spend 90% of your time living in the kitchen.
But when you do throw a massive house party, and get everyone in, open the whole thing up, yeah That is quite nice.
Even when the turbos are too much for the rear axle, the GG2RS doesn't hang you out to dry.
It somehow leaves you feeling in contact and in control when it's sliding.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a cuddly cat of a companion.
But concentrate.
Listen to what it's telling you.
Dial your reactions all the way up to caffeine level 11, and it'll probably only scare you occasionally.
So the big question is this or GT3 RS?
[INAUDIBLE] for me, for the first time.
I think I'd pick this.
[UNKNOWN] is definitely firmer than [UNKNOWN] because it weighs a bit more.
The part that resonated with me is that sound, because that's perhaps the biggest reason you think for choosing the [UNKNOWN] is that naturally I suppose [UNKNOWN].
But this [SOUND] sounds so good, but so different as well.
And the having all that torque of power is just addictive.
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I love this car.
[LAUGH] Way more than I thought I would.
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Certainly in the UK it is on the cusp of what is acceptable as a road car in terms of stiffness.
But to me, that is part of the challenge, and the thrill.
It's part of the hardcore character that makes the 2RS different to other 911s.
To be honest, it might be too much out here.
Were it not for the fact that this engine is so stunningly linear, that it makes 700 boosted break horse power more usable than it has any right to be.
It's not as though Porsche has reduced the heart-thumping height of the tightrope you're walking, it's just made the rope a little bit wider.
On my own personal Porsche GT car wish list, the three-pedal GT3 still sits at the top, but this GT2 RS slots in just behind it.
If you want the the biggest 911 adrenaline hit out there This is it.
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