Porsche has achieved a new milestone for a road-legal production sports car on the 13-mile Nürburgring-Nordschleife with a 911 GT2 RS courtesy of the Manthey performance upgrade. This new record of 6:43:30 surpassed the previous benchmark of 6:43:62 that was set by the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.

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Porsche was at the top of its game back in 2018, when it held the record for the fastest production car around the Nordschleife with the then 991 series GT2 RS. However, since then, Lamborghini and Mercedes Benz have outdone Porsche to claim that top spot, Lambo with its SVJ and Mercedes with its AMG GT Black Series. The AMG Black Series set a time of 6:43.616 back in November 2020

  It was driven by Maro Engel, AMGs GT3 racing driver. Although the adaptive aero, camber, and suspension had been tuned for the track. Mercedes claims that the conditions were far from ideal, owing to lower temperatures and damp sections on track.

Porsche was obviously not happy with this and collaborated yet again with Manthey-Racing, as it did in 2018, to produce another high-performance GT2 RS. Lars Kern along with Porsche are on a roll. The man has helped Porsche break several records at different venues.

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Without the T13 straight, the timing was 6:38.84 minutes. Kern improved his previous best time by 4.747 seconds while riding on road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires. He averaged a speed of 115.5 mph during the session. Kern set the record despite the fact that it was midsummer and the track temperature was 105.8 ℉.

How exactly did he do it? Well, Porsche and Manthey's numerous years of motorsport expertise have made a significant difference to the standard GT2 RS’ performance. The engineers from Weissach worked closely with Manthey to design new performance parts for this particular Porsche. The specially developed components have been tailored-made for the track and can be purchased through Porsche Centers.

At first glance, the aerodynamic characteristics aren’t that obvious. However, look closely at the all-black Porsche and you’ll find that the car now has larger front apron flaps, combined with a flat carbon undercarriage. There are now more air deflectors near the front wheels to boost downforce on the front axle.

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How much downforce do you ask? Well, the aero-upgrades have increased that amount to 154.3 lbs from the standard 108 lbs at 124 mph on the front axle. At the rear, downforce has more than doubled from 205 lbs to 441 lbs at the same speed. This is made feasible by the use of a new and improved rear wing, a heavily reworked diffuser, and those purposeful rear-wheel Aerodiscs.

Improvements were also made to the coil-over suspension, which is now tuned for racing. The shock absorbers on the front axle can be altered three times without tools, while those on the rear axle can be adjusted four times. Also, for PCCB ceramic braking system, special race brake pads minimize fading were fitted. Steel jacketed brake lines provide an even more immediate pedal response.

The term STANDARD can’t necessarily be contested in light of the Porsche-Manthey Performance Kit can it? The kit includes suspension, aerodynamic, and brake components designed specifically for the 911 GT2 RS. Those lightweight magnesium rims that were previously only featured on the Weissach package complete the package. All in the effort for Porsche to get right back to the top.

With this new lap record for a road-legal production car, Porsche has reclaimed the crown once again.