Porsche 911 GT3 RS MR 2020 UK first drive

A car for drivers who already have a Porsche 911 GT3 RS but want it to be even quicker, more agile and dynamic.

Hard to imagine, I know, but bear with me. Because that ‘MR’ in the title refers to Manthey Racing, surely the most famous and successful of all Porsche racing teams, so much so that, today, the company is 51% owned by Porsche itself.

For years, Manthey has be providing upgrades for all manner of 911s, but what we have here is an entire suite of modifications available through a Manthey-approved UK dealer for the first time. That dealer is ace Porsche restorer and tuner RPM Technik, which let me loose on road and track in a kind and trusting owner’s MR. Of which more in a minute.

For now, though, let’s just have a look at what the pack (which can be bought as individual components) comprises.

The suspension is treated to fully adjustable Manthey coil-over spring and damper units, the brakes to MR pads and braided brake lines. Magnesium wheels reduce unsprung mass by 12.6kg. But it’s really the car's aerodynamic modifications that set it apart. It comes with a carbonfibre rear wing and end plates, not to mention reinforced mounting brackets to withstand the extra load. There’s a reshaped carbonfibre engine cover with a lightweight Gurney flap incorporated into its design, front dive planes, and even aerodynamic wheel covers to reduce drag and increase downforce. The price, inclusive of VAT and fitted by RPM Techni,k is £69,000. Plus a GT3 RS…

Probably quite sensibly, the 513bhp, 4.0-litre normally aspirated engine and its seven-speed PDK gearbox are left entirely untouched.

Reading everything above, you’d be forgiven for thinking the MR was a GT3 RS turned up to 11, but that is not only to sell the car woefully short, but it is also to misunderstand entirely what it is trying to achieve.

Manthey doesn’t provide comparative downforce data but there is an indication in the Nürburgring lap time of two GT2 RSs, one with the Manthey mods, one without, both official Porsche tests using the same driver. And in 2018, the Manthey car lapped in 6min 40.3sec, fully seven seconds quicker than the standard machine had gone the year before and, to this day, still the fastest ’Ring lap by a road-legal car. So it would be fair to expect a similar lap time improvement for the Manthey GT3 RS.

Which, of course, means it's bloody rapid – rapid enough on the very high-end track day I attended to make obstacles out of many modern Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other quick 911s. And that’s all very impressive, but it still doesn’t strike to the heart of this car.