Testing the RECORD-SHATTERING 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS Weissach Edition

Records, like glass in case of emergency, are made to be broken. So says Porsche and the most powerful 911 ever sold to the public, the 2018 911 GT2 RS. Here’s the funny part: Even with 690 blitzing German horses erupting from its 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six, the RWD GT2 RS is not the quickest 911 you can buy—to 60 miles per hour at any rate. A “regular” 580-horse Turbo S will leave the GT2 RS in its wake, hitting 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. The heir to the Widowmaker? 2.6 seconds.

A funny thing happens on the way to the quarter mile. The big-horsepower GT2 RS passes the Turbo S, 10.3 seconds at 139.3 mph versus 10.5 seconds at 131.8 mph. The only rear-wheel driver that beats the GT2 RS is the alien-technology McLaren 720S, which does so in 10.1 seconds at 141.5 mph. (The McLaren is lighter than the GT2 RS, 3,167 pounds versus 3,355 for the Porsche.)

This GT2 RS came equipped with the Weissach package plus the (now optional) magnesium wheels, which together shave close to 40 pounds of flab. I’m not sure what fills in weight-wise for the removal of a driveshaft and a differential up front, but something does. Braking from 60 to 0 occurs in 87 feet and ties the best we’ve ever tested, the Dodge Viper ACR.

The aforementioned McLaren 720S whips around our figure-eight test in 22.3 seconds. That’s actually behind both the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Lamborghini Performante (22.2 seconds each), the two quickest cars around the figure eight we’ve ever tested.

 

Then there’s the lap time at the colloquially called “Big Willow” track at Willow Springs International Raceway. For many years the Porsche 918 Spyder was the bogey. Randy Pobst lapped that nearly 900-horsepower hybrid hypercar around Big Willow’s 2.42 miles in 1:23.54. The new Ford GT came close to beating the 918’s time: 1:23.69. The Performante did beat the Spyder, running a 1:22.53. The McLaren 720S then beat the Lambo, getting it done in 1:21.75. (Note: Dodge set a faster time with a Viper ACR, at 1:21.24, but they had two weeks of prep and a factory driver behind the wheel.)

So how did the GT2 RS do? Meet the new champ in our key performance tests. This British Racing Green Porsche is the first production car to ever break into the 21s in the figure-eight test, posting a 21.9-second lap. Nice work. It tied our shortest 60–0 mph stop (with Viper ACR), and then earned outright second place in the 0–100–0 mph test (trailing the McLaren 720S). The GT2 RS also posted up the second-best skidpad numbers we’ve ever recorded (1.17 g), tying the Corvette Z06/Z07. Then, at Big Willow, with all those key competitors squarely in the GT2 RS’ sights, Randy popped off a 1:21.08 in the GT2 RS—the new fastest-lap record holder. Not bad for a 911, eh?

Now here’s the best part. You can see it all on the latest episode of Ignition, which goes live today on MotorTrendOnDemand.com. It requires a subscription (and we have a special deal running right now), but it’s totally worth it. Check it out.

2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS
BASE PRICE	$294,250
PRICE AS TESTED	$345,300
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Rear-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door coupe
ENGINE	3.8L/690-hp/553-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 24-valve flat-6
TRANSMISSION	7-speed twin-clutch auto
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3,355 lb (37/63%)
WHEELBASE	96.6 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	179.1 x 74.0 x 51.1 in
0-60 MPH	2.6 sec
QUARTER MILE	10.3 sec @ 139.3 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	87 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	1.17 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	21.9 sec @ 1.03 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	15/21/17 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	225/160 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	1.13 lb/mile

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