Nearly a decade after it first detonated onto the supercar scene, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS is still humiliating newer machinery—and now it has another lap record to prove it.
At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, a Manthey-equipped GT2 RS clocked a blistering 1:22.649 lap, edging the previous production-car benchmark by two-tenths of a second. That may sound like a margin small enough to lose in pit lane chatter, but around Road Atlanta—a circuit known for its fast elevation changes and commitment-testing corners—it’s a meaningful statement. Especially considering the car in question traces its roots back to 2017.
The weapon of choice was no ordinary GT2 RS. Fitted with the factory-approved Manthey Performance Kit and riding on road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R N0 tires, the twin-turbocharged rear-engine monster found an entirely new level of capability. Compared with the standard GT2 RS that lapped the same circuit in 2019 on identical-spec rubber, the upgraded car carved a staggering 2.2 seconds from its previous effort.
Behind the wheel for all three record attempts was Porsche ambassador and former factory ace Jörg Bergmeister, who knows a fast 911 better than most people know their own driveway. According to Bergmeister, the GT2 RS still delivers an experience that feels anything but dated.
“Even almost 10 years after its introduction, the power delivery of the twin-turbo flat-six engine is still thrilling,” he said. And while the engine remains the headline act, the real magic appears to come from the Manthey-developed chassis and aero package. Increased downforce and suspension revisions allowed Bergmeister to brake deeper into corners and get back on throttle earlier, transforming an already ferocious 911 into something even sharper.
But Porsche didn’t stop there.
The newer Porsche 911 GT3 RS with Manthey Kit also turned Road Atlanta into its personal playground, posting a 1:23.932 lap time and claiming the title of fastest naturally aspirated production car ever to circle the circuit. That’s remarkable not because the GT3 RS is quick—we already knew that—but because it managed the feat without turbochargers, hybrid assistance, or electrification. Just a screaming flat-six, a massive rear wing, and enough aerodynamic grip to embarrass race cars.
Bergmeister described the car’s aero performance in almost disbelieving terms. With up to 1,000 kilograms of downforce available, the GT3 RS corners with the kind of violence normally reserved for GT-class competition machinery. The suspension, meanwhile, absorbs curbing without upsetting the chassis, helping drivers exploit every ounce of performance.
And then there’s the newest arrival: the Porsche 911 GT3 fitted with the Manthey Kit. While it may sit lower in the 911 hierarchy, it still managed to stop the clock at 1:24.639—an eye-opening 1.8 seconds quicker than the previous-generation GT3’s earlier benchmark.
What these laps ultimately demonstrate is that Porsche’s obsession with incremental engineering remains unmatched. The Manthey packages don’t reinvent these cars; they refine them with surgical precision. More grip here, more aero stability there, and suddenly already legendary track weapons become even more devastating.
In an era increasingly dominated by electrified hypercars chasing headline power figures, Porsche is proving there’s still immense performance left to unlock from a rear-engined sports car with a flat-six engine and a stopwatch.
Source: Porsche