What is it?
It’s the latest and certainly the greatest version of Porsche’s wildest road car (not counting the ultra-rare, ultra expensive Carrera GT, of course).
We’ve already driven the new 997 GT2 abroad, and even then we were knocked sideways – literally – by its astonishing blend of power, torque, performance and composure. But this is the first time we’ve been able to let rip in it in the UK. And you know what they say about UK roads being so different from those in mainland Europe…
We needn’t have worried because, if anything, the GT2 is even more impressive over our rough, oddly cambered, and sometimes deliciously inviting A and B roads than it is over a smooth German autobahn. And that’s a real first for the breed because previously the GT2 has not had the best of table manners. In fact, the Mk1 version, based on the 993, was such a scary thing to drive that one of its nicknames was ‘the widowmaker’.
This time the big difference is that the GT2 is an amalgam of both ordinary turbo in the engine department and GT3 in the chassis. The engine is essentially a mildly uprated, more powerful version of the Turbo’s and now has 523bhp at 6500rpm and a constant 502lb ft between 2200-4500rpm.
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Re: Porsche 911 GT2
You don't understand the immense value of the 911 and its format; a "problem" that has been blithely solved in recent times, infinitely, by every other manufacturer apart from Renault - who delightfully created the problem again in the flawed but almost unique (and slightly crap) Alpine GTA.
It is sad that there are people so visionless that they can't see firstly what the configuration offers technically, and secondly how the way in which Porsche has honed this driving machine to exploit all its potential is something approaching sublime. Look how they have made the whole visceral experienced a balanced and beautifully engineered one: the braking power and stability combined with incredible feel, the usability of what was once a terrifying chassis, and the continual advancement of the ergonomics to make it a car that can be used regularly without too much pain.
And then, think about what is lost in the termination of a model devotedly developed over maybe 70 years with the engine rearwards of the rear axle: the most effective way of producing accelerative grip; the delicious quirk of a chassis that bites tenaciously out of corners in a way no other car can. The packaging also allows the car to be kept relatively small and therefore light, so that the performance figures, especially off the line, are astonishing.
You are yearning for a world full of anodyne and yielding solutions to selective questions. You don't appear to appreciate the profound statement of engineering, flair and genius that is made in the relentless 911 project.
If you have not seen it before, you might appreciate this, though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYiJ0ATSM1sI have always thought Clarkson was good (although sometimes an idiotic thug), but this was very good. Almost genius.
Re: Porsche 911 GT2
One of the rules of motoring journalism is that each new generation of 911 is described as tame compared to the last, when said journalist then feels safe to admit that the previous model was still tail happy.
But then, the whole 911 thing is frankly bizarre - 50 years or more of huge industrial engineering talent thrown at solving a problem that could be removed completely by the simple expedient of not hanging the engine out over the rear wheels.
Re: Porsche 911 GT2