At the end of 2013, Porsche acquired a majority share in Manthey-Racing GmbH to strengthen its relationship with the racing team specialized in developing racing cars. Aside from the plethora of OEM optional items offered by the Zuffenhausen brand, customers can order upgrades engineered by Manthey. Case in point, the latest-generation 911 GT3 can be had with a Performance Kit via Porsche Tequipment.
When the package was introduced in June 2022, the Porsche 911 GT3 managed to shave off about four seconds from the Nürburgring lap time compared to the standard car. It completed the challenging course of the Nordschleife in 6 minutes and 55 seconds with Porsche works driver Kévin Estre behind the wheel. Fast forward to 2023, Sport Auto’s test driver decided to give it a whirl, and while he wasn’t as fast, he still managed to cross the finish line in less than seven minutes.
With a lap time of 6 minutes and 59.42 seconds, Christian Gebhardt virtually matched Porsche’s official lap time for the standard 911 GT3 achieved by Porsche test driver Lars Kern. At the same time, Sport Auto’s journalist was able to shave off precious seconds from his 7:04.74 lap time recorded with the regular sports car.
Needless to say, the GT3 RS remains much quicker after posting a lap time of 6:49.32 with Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister driving the track-focused machine. The old 911 GT2 RS with a Manthey Performance Kit (also a Porsche Tequipment accessory) continues to reign supreme among 911s with a blistering 6:43 lap set by Lars Kern.
Should there be a new GT2 RS, it’ll likely arrive near the end of the 992 generation. Porsche and Manthey have the know-how to develop an even faster 911, but it seems unlikely the Mercedes-AMG One’s record (6:35.18) is in any danger. A better tool to fight Germany’s F1-engined beast and the Aston Martin Valkire would be a new hypercar. However, a 918 Spyder successor is sadly not happening anytime soon.
