Currently reading: Porsche takes back Nurburgring lap record title
The Porsche 911 GT2 RS has reclaimed the title of fastest road-legal car around the Nordschleife

The Porsche 911 GT2 RS has posted a lap time of 6:40:30 at the Nürburgring, Porsche claims, beating the previous road-legal lap record of 6:44:97 set by the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ earlier this year. 

The GT2 RS’s chassis and suspension were modified specifically for the 12.9-mile Nordschleife circuit by a team of engineers from Porsche and the US-based Manthey-Racing, which fields 911 RSR race variants in the World Endurance Championship and manufactures aftermarket parts for Porsches in the US.

Porsche said that, despite the modifications, “the technicians focused on suitability for on-road driving at all times”. The GT2 RS's 700bhp 3.8-litre engine remained untouched from that in customer cars. 

Porsche affirmed that the only modification between the record-breaking car and the track day-prepped GT2 RS MR sold by Manthey-Racing in the US is the installation of a racing bucket seat. The German manufacturer pointed out that this was carried out in line with Nürburgring safety recommendations and offered no weight benefits. 

Despite the modifications, the GT2 RS remains suitable for off-track use in Europe, rendering it eligible for the road-legal lap time record. 

At the wheel for the record-breaking lap was Lars Kern, whose 6:47:25 lap time in an unmodified GT2 RS last year beat the previous best of the Lamborghini Lamborghini Huracán LP640-4 Performante. 

The overall Nürburgring lap record is also held by Porsche; its 919 Hybrid Evo race car went around in 5:19:55 earlier this year. 

Read more

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Porsche 911 GT2 RS review

Fastest ever Nürburgring lap times - the definitive rundown

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: News and features editor

Felix is Autocar's news editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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Tuatara 6 December 2018

VAG beats VAG

An incestuous obessession .

Conte Candoli 4 November 2018

Very impressive but........

still not as good to drive as a McLaren 720 S.

Peter Cavellini 3 November 2018

Road tests and all that....

 If we didn’t have Road tests or Cars makers finding out what happens in all the parameters involved in making cars safe, how would we know what was safe to do with our Cars?, so, yes, there’s a bit of Chest beating when it comes to whose Car is better than theirs there’s going to be pointless so what records on Tracks recognised as tough on Cars and so on, most of us by a Car on reputation, what it’ll do, our Egos often drive the purchase of a Car we don’t have the ability or the Man veggies to drive anywhere near it’s limits,so, I think we have to shoulder some responsibility here along with the Car makers, besides, I’ll trot out the mantra again...your money , your choice.....