Porsche 911 GT2
The 911 GT2 Is
Porsche Philosophy In The Metal - A Le Mans Winner Tamed For The Road. You May Never Own One But In Every 911, You Can Enjoy All That This Car Stands For. Jonathan Crouch Reports
A racecar for the road - or a roadcar for the racetrack? Porsche's awesome 911 GT2 could be either of these but either way, it's the ultimate expression of the ultimate sportscar.
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It's hard to imagine a standard 420bhp 911 Turbo being insufficient for anyone's needs. Unless of course, like Sixties racers Stirling Moss and Jim Clark, you want to drive to work and race at weekends in the same car. In exchange for around £126,480, the GT2 will enable you to do just that - if you can find one. Only a handful of examples are allocated for the UK this year and most have been sold.
Weve had a 911 GT2 before (based on the old shape 911 model) but that car wasnt really much use as road transport, so compromised was it to suit the needs of track work. Dont get confused either, with the GT3, which is based on the normally aspirated 911 engine rather than the Turbo version featured here. Given the tiny production run, the importance of this latest GT2 for
Porsche lies not in the number it will sell but in the link it provides between the company's race and roadcar programmes. Some manufacturers go racing just for something to talk about in their advertising. Here, it's very different: each event is just another aspect of roadcar development. With the result you see here. So while the GT2 is clearly based on 911 fundamentals, all of the bits that matter are borrowed from the pitlane. There's the 483bhp engine for a start, essentially the same unit used in the companys Le Mans-winning 911 GT1.
"Youve more power to control than they had a few decades ago in F1...''
This twin turbo flat-six 3.6-litre unit is truly state-of-the-art, using exotic materials like titanium to enable the engineers to create the fastest 911 ever built. Sixty is 4.0 seconds away en route to a maximum of close to 196mph.
Though to be fair, the 'ordinary' £87,250 911 Turbo isn't far behind (4.2s and 189mph), the faster you go, the greater the difference becomes. Rest to 100mph takes 8.5s and should you have a racetrack to hand, you can accelerate from rest to 186mph and back again to rest before the 911 Turbo driver has even applied the brakes.
Even if you do settle for a standard Turbo, youll have got yourself a car thats faster in its basic form than many of the race-prepared 911RS models that provided the inspiration for the GT2. Which of course was the purpose of developing them in the first place: to enable the creation of a sportscar that anyone could enjoy - to the ultimate. Which is why future 911s will also benefit from the GT2's advanced six-speed manual gearbox, lifted directly from the original turbocharged competition GT2 Carrera, a car with over one million miles of racing development to its credit. Add this to stiffer suspension, competition spring rates and dampers and you've a machine capable of phenomenal cross-country speeds. Just as well then, that it decelerates equally quickly in fact more abruptly than any Porsche yet made - which arguably makes it one of the safest cars in the world as well as one of the very fastest. In the Clubsport version (likely to be specified by customers keen on track days), theres an interior package that includes a half rollcage, racing harnesses, a fire extinguisher system and flame-retardent upholstery for the seats. Despite the relatively comparable performance, differences between the standard Turbo and the GT2 are actually quite fundemental.
Most significantly, GT2 buyers loose the Turbos four-wheel drive system, which ought to be a bit worrying for the faint-hearted, given that youve more power to control than they had a few decades ago in F1. There are also subtle visual alterations, necessary, says Porsche, to satisfying the extra aerodynamic and cooling requirements of the bigger engine. For a start, the car sits 30mm lower on the road and has a restyled front apron. A very slim grille has been added just above it, below the leading edge of the boot lid (which like all rear-engined 911s, is at the front).
At the back, you also lose the rear spoiler which, in the Turbo, flips up and down like a performing seal depending upon your speed: the GT2s replacement is a larged fixed affair, with extra air intakes tucked into the wing supports to feed the turbochargers. Inside, carbon fibre trim has been liberally applied around the cabin to give that race car feeling. There are huge race-style seats with leather trim and enourmous hold wings on each side. Dont bother thinking about taking the kids: the standard Turbos rear seats have been removed, so there are just deep, carpeted wells behind you. In fact, this is a rather good idea: the standard rear seats are useless anyway for anyone other than children and dwarfs. Removing them frees up a remarkable amount of luggage space. Would we want to own a 911 GT2? Probably not. Its too much money and wed rather not do without the standard Turbos creature comforts and four-wheel drive.
Still, that it's a certain classic goes without saying. This car says everything that needs to be said about Porsche - and then some.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Porsche 911 GT2
PRICE: £126,480 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: 309g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 4.1s / Max Speed 196mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 14.9mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height 4430/1765/1270mm
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