DRIVEN: Hardcore Porsche GT2 RS is an ultimate sports car

This machine has no subtlety and demands respect ... and the best in safety comes standard.

Sure, the biggest part of my job is to drive cars and some days you get good cars, then other days you get not so good cars.

That’s just how it is. But on the odd occasion, the universe aligns perfectly for a day and you get the privilege to drive something as special as Porsche’s 911 GT2 RS.

I say privilege because the current GT2 RS will be produced for only one production year and the stock allocated to South Africa has been spoken for over and over already.

But the folk at Porsche SA offered a tiny, very select and carefully handpicked group of motoring journalists a chance to drive their R5 511 000 beast.

Make no mistake, this hardcore sports car does not pretend to be anything but the ultimate driving machine.

It’s the fastest and most powerful 911 that one can buy off the showroom floor and use on a public road.

It doesn’t do subtle in any way or form. It’s not for going shopping in, it’s not for taking the kids’ cricket team to their next match, it’s not even welcome in polite company.

Backing this statement up, on September 20, 2017, the GT2 RS achieved a time of 6 min and 47.3 sec around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, making it the fastest production sports car in the world around this circuit.

And having sampled this machine on a mix of very dry roads, to rather wet roads, in and around some of the best driving roads the Western Cape has to offer last week, I canatt est to just how fast the GT2 RS is.

The car pumps out 515kW of power and 750Nm of torque from a 3.8l twin turbocharged flat six, running through a lightning fast seven-speed PDK gearbox down to the 325/30 21-inch Michelin pilot sport cup 2 rear wheels only (the fronts run 265/35 20-inch).

So, it demands respect from the driver, and that you pay attention.

The car has the best in safety onboard and massive Porsche ceramic composite brakes (PCCB) as standard, but if you simply choose to ignore the laws of physics, you might as well stick a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger.

Both will result in a very quick and messy end.

That said, I was blown away by the amount of mechanical grip and composure the car showed when I pushed hard on normal and even slightly bumpy tar.

I can honestly say that I didn’t ever feel like I was out of my depth, but one thing I didn’t do is switch the traction control systems off, especially in the odd area where the road was wet.

I kept the gun/mess thought along with the price tag in my mind to make sure I stayed within my own limits.

Obviously, I did not mess around and I can say with absolute certainty, nothing, and I mean nothing, I have driven before in standard trim, has ever been this quick.

Porsche claim a 0-100km/h time of just 2.8 sec, and a 0-200km/h time of a mere 8.3 sec, while the charging
towards the horizon will only stop when you hit 340km/h.

Now add this to its cornering ability, that has already been proved, and you will get some idea of what you are dealing with .

The GT2 RS is supplied with the clubsport package as standard. This package consists of a roll cage bolted
to the body behind the front seats, a six-point seat belt in red for the driver’s side, a fire extinguisher complete with mounting bracket and a preparation for the battery main switch.

The switch is available separately via the motorsport department, as is the front cage bracket for motorsport events.

And as performance can always be increased, even for something as special as the GT2 RS, the Porsche engineers have further developed a Weissach package, which provides a weight saving of around 30kg.

The package, which our test car had fitted, includes additional elements made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic and titanium.

For instance, the roof and the anti-roll bars are made of carbon, as are the coupling rods on both axles. Magnesium wheels reduce the gross weight and the unsprung weight, providing for a chassis that can deliver what is promised on paper.

The interior echoes the serious driving experience of the car where red alcantara, black leather and multiple interior elements in a carbon-weave finish dominate.

You also get a GT2 RS sports steering wheel with gearshift paddles and full bucket seats with a full carbon-weave finish.

As in every 911, the Porsche communication management (PCM) is the central control unit for audio, navigation and communication.

The current generation with mobile phone preparation, audio interfaces and voice control feature a high-resolution seven-inch touch display, via which most functions can easily be controlled.

As an audio system, the 911 GT2 RS is fitted as standard with the sound package plus with eight loudspeakers and 150W of power.