The Porsche 911 GT2 is a high-performance, track-focused sports car built from 1993 to 2019, and sold as the GT2 RS from 2010. It is based on the 911 Turbo and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but with engine upgrades, larger brakes, stiffer suspension and, crucially, rear-wheel drive instead of four, which makes it significantly lighter.
Porsche 911 GT2 at a glance
| Maker | Porsche, Stuttgart |
|---|---|
| Built | 1993–2019, as the GT2 RS from 2010 |
| Based on | the 911 Turbo |
| 993 GT2 engine | 3.6-litre twin-turbo, 430 PS, 450 PS from 1998 |
| 993 GT2 built | 57 road cars, 13 of them right-hand drive |
| 996 GT2 engine | 3.6-litre twin-turbo from the GT3, 462 PS then 483 PS |
| 997 GT2 engine | 3.6-litre with variable geometry turbos, 530 PS |
| 997 GT2 performance | 0–100 km/h in 3.6 s, 328 km/h |
| 997 GT2 RS | 620 PS, 500 built |
| 991 GT2 RS | 3.8 litres, 700 PS, seven-speed PDK |
History of the Porsche 911 GT2
The 993 GT2 was built at first to satisfy homologation requirements for GT2 class racing, and because the cars were built to those regulations the road versions took the name, although they were badged as the 911 GT. They had widened plastic fenders and a larger rear wing with air scoops in its struts for better engine cooling. The 3.6-litre engine produced 430 PS, raised to 450 PS in 1998, and 57 road cars were built, thirteen of them right-hand drive.
In 1999 the 993 was replaced by the 996, and the new GT2 took two years to develop. During that time Porsche abandoned the GT2 for motorsport and concentrated instead on Le Mans GT racing with the naturally aspirated 911 GT3, so the 996 GT2 was developed primarily as a road car. It used a twin-turbocharged version of the GT3’s 3.6-litre flat-six, initially with 462 PS and later 483 PS, and its body differed sharply from other 996s, with wider fenders, a more aggressive nose and a large rear wing. Car and Driver found hardly any turbo lag; the fixed wing left it with a drag coefficient of 0.34 against the Turbo’s 0.33 despite sitting 10 mm lower.
The 997 GT2 replaced it in 2007, launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show with deliveries from November. Its 3.6-litre engine used two variable geometry turbochargers and produced 530 PS at 6,500 rpm and 680 N·m at 2,200 rpm, reaching 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, 200 km/h in 10.6 seconds and 328 km/h. That made it the third Porsche production road car to pass 322 km/h, after the 1998 911 GT1. Motor Trend measured 3.4 seconds to 60 mph, a quarter mile in 11.4 seconds, 98 feet to stop from 60 mph and 1.10 g of lateral grip. The 997 GT2 had a revised front lip, a new rear wing with two small air inlets on each side, and a rear bumper with titanium exhaust pipes and shark-fin outlets; Walter Röhrl lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes 32 seconds in one. A total of 194 were sold in the United States and 19 in Canada.
On 4 May 2010 an RS version was announced to German dealers in Leipzig. The GT2 RS weighed 70 kg less than the GT2 and its engine produced 620 PS and 700 N·m, for a top speed of 330 km/h and 0–97 km/h in 3.3 seconds; Porsche built 500. According to Andreas Preuninger, then Porsche Motorsports manager, the RS began around 2007 as a skunk-works project whose code number, 727, matched one of the Nissan GT-R’s Nürburgring lap times, and Porsche claimed test driver Timo Kluck beat that target by nine seconds.
The 991 GT2 RS was revealed at the 2017 E3 briefing as the cover car of Forza Motorsport 7 and launched officially at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Its 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six produced 700 PS at 7,000 rpm and 750 N·m, making it the most powerful production 911 yet, and unlike earlier GT2s it used a seven-speed PDK gearbox to handle the torque. Porsche claimed 0–97 km/h in 2.7 seconds and 340 km/h, with a magnesium roof and carbon-fibre front lid, wings and boot lid.
Design and features
- Rear-wheel drive: no four-wheel-drive hardware, so the GT2 is much lighter than the Turbo.
- Twin-turbo flat-six: from 430 PS in the 993 to 700 PS in the 991 GT2 RS.
- Track hardware: larger brakes, stiffer suspension and aerodynamics built for lap times.
- GT2 RS: the fastest and most expensive 911 of its time, from 2010.
Porsche 911 GT2 versions
- 993 GT2 (1993–1998): 430 then 450 PS, 57 road cars.
- 996 GT2 (2001): twin-turbo GT3 engine, 462 then 483 PS.
- 997 GT2 (2007): variable geometry turbos, 530 PS.
- 997 GT2 RS (2010): 620 PS, 500 built.
- 991 GT2 RS (2017): 3.8 litres, 700 PS, PDK gearbox.
The GT2 is the racing-minded version of the Porsche 930 line, and its closest relative in the range is the Porsche 911 GT3. More cars are in the Porsche collection.
Sources
- Porsche 911 GT2, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, performance, production
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