The 2018 Porsche GT2 RS is officially the fastest road car ever

The Nürburgring is a track that just keeps on giving, and just last week, it gave us the fastest road car you could possibly buy — for now. This car isn’t a menacing sharp-edged Lamborghini, nor is it a fire-spitting crimson Ferrari. It’s an affable-looking 911 that’s the Porsche GT2 RS. Who would’ve seen that one coming?

Well you wouldn’t see it coming in real life either, because it is extremely quick. Though the Stuttgart manufacturer was gunning for a time of less than 7 minutes and 5 seconds at the notorious 20.6km Nordschleife circuit, its two drivers — Lars Kern and Nicky Tandy — each broke the previous 6-minute 52.01-second lap record for road-approved sports cars by nearly 5 seconds.

The Porsche 911 GT2 RS now sits smugly at the top with a time of 6 minutes 47.3 seconds, ousting the Raging Bull’s Huracán Performante after it barely warmed the hot seat for six months. Consider it revenge for dethroning the 918 Spyder.

Astounding for a rear-wheel drive, rear-engined car, we know. Launched at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last June amongst a panoply of fast Porsche machines, the GT2 RS is filled with 700 horses raring to go, courtesy of a 3.8-litre flat-six. Not coincidentally, it’s also Porsche’s most powerful, most expensive, and most insane-sounding 911 to roll out of the production line.

The hallowed GT2 suffix last surfaced in a 2011 GT2 RS, which took over the 997 model generation with a hair-raising 620hp and 700Nm of power from a 3.6-litre turbocharged flat-six mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Its top speed clocked in at 336kph and it’d do the century sprint in 3.3 seconds. Seven years on and Porsche has somehow managed to redefine “terror” by digging deeper into the 991 Turbo S’ larger turbos to hit 100kph in 2.8 seconds and 339kph flat-out.

The track star is also now fitted with a customised 7-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission that Stuttgart claims will “enable power to be transferred with uninterrupted traction.” Mass reduction measures have also paid off — the GT2 RS is 136kg lighter than the current Turbo S coupe, despite looking like fiendishly extreme rendition of the 911.

While the GT2 RS doesn’t rely on any active aero, it does generate a lot of downforce to help it overcome the ‘Ring’s unforgiving corners. A big lip spoiler at the front and an air extraction vent on the trunk lid works with the manually adjustable wing at the back to keep it planted to the ground. For the record run, Porsche had adjusted the rear ring to maximum. Despite the increase in drag as side effect, the GT2 RS still managed to hit 310kph on the final straight. The Huracán Performante only managed 302.

Obviously, this isn’t a family car, and you’ll only get two carbon-fibre-backed chairs. Fortunately, Porsche will wrap them up in an exclusive red-and-black leather and microsuede upholstery. The rest of the car’s confines are awash in carbon fibre. Not that you’d need another distraction as you plummet down the road, but Porsche attempted to make this a somewhat-friendly car with a PCM infotainment system with navigation. The Track Precision app installed will supply you with performance data on your smartphone seamlessly too. Opt for the Chrono package and you’ll get a clock on the dash, a performance display function for the PCM system and a lap trigger that pairs with an external track recording device.

Unlike its limited-run predecessor, this Nürburgring hotshot has no stated production cap, so you’ll be able to get your hands on one rather effortlessly, only you’ll have part with a good amount of cash — from S$1,211,688 to be precise.

www.porsche.com