Porsche 911 GT2 RS Claims New Nurburgring record

Porsche has conquered the ‘Green Hell’ once again to reclaim the record of fastest production car around the 20.6km German circuit.

The German brand’s latest-generation and most powerful and fastest 911 variant, the GT2 RS road racer, usurped its previous record setter the 918 Spyder Hybrid, and nudged the Lamborghini Huracan Performante back to second position with a scorching 6min 47.3 second lap.

The record lap was set by Porsche test driver and part-time racer, Lars Kern, however, it was more than just a one-lap crack. Porsche says that between Kern and Le Mans winner, Nick Tandy, more than five laps fell under 6:50min.

The end result was even a surprise for Porsche: “at the start of the development process, we set ourselves a lap time target for the GT2 RS of less than 7 minutes and 5 seconds," said Porsche's vice president in charge of motorsport and GT cars, Frank-Steffen Walliser.

"The credit for beating this target by 17.7 seconds goes to our development engineers, mechanics and drivers, who demonstrated an exceptionally strong team performance. This result makes it official: The GT2 RS is not only the most powerful, but also the fastest 911 ever built”.

Unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June, the 911 GT2 RS is a race car for the road. It’s powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-litre six cylinder engine that produces 515kW and 750Nm and, despite sending all of that grunt to the rear-wheels, will rocket 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds.

The Nurburgring has proved a popular and gruelling circuit for manufacturers to prove a car’s ability, but the details of what happened are usually kept secret. Unlike other car makers, Porsche has detailed its data including the date, time of day and the fact it was completed using Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tyres and a full tank of fuel.

Only a handful of 911 GTR RS vehicles are earmarked to arrive in Australia, each priced at $645,700 (plus on-road costs).

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