You may remember back in November that a Manthey Racing-tuned Porsche 911 GT2 RS broke the lap record of the Nurburgring with a jaw-dropping 6:40.3, beating cars like the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ and the McLaren P1 LM by nearly five and over three seconds respectively.
Well, this is the very same car and Chris Harris had the chance to drive it at the Portimao circuit, the same track where he set lap times with the McLaren P1, the LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder a few years ago.
The MR Performance kit for the 911 GT2 RS leaves the 700hp turbocharged engine and transmission untouched and instead focuses on aero, suspension, wheels and tires. Manthey Racing, which is mostly owned by Porsche, has installed a KW coilover suspension that’s basically the same as the GT3 R racer, the brakes feature better pads and new lines and a set of lightweight magnesium wheels.
The 911 GT2 RS MR also has a lot more aero compared to the standard car. Manthey Racing added new endplates on the rear wing along with a different splitter, underbody panels and rear diffuser. Combined, these elements make a big difference compared to the standard GT2 RS on the track, and that shows on the insane lap times the MR can pull.
Harris was able to lap Portimao with the 911 GT2 RS MR 2.5 seconds quicker than his personal best in a McLaren P1 on Trofeo R tires, 4.5 seconds quicker than a Porsche 918 Spyder and 4.7 seconds over a LaFerrari when he tested them back in 2015.
That’s pretty stunning performance levels coming from a 911 GT2 RS – which is no slouch to begin with. Just goes to show that horsepower isn’t, after all, everything…