Porsche 997 GT2 RS

When Porsche revealed the 997 GT2 RS in 2010 it was their most powerful production car yet which surprisingly included the 2003 Carrera GT! It was described at its launch by the press as, „encouragingly unhinged“, „the maddest Porsche in a good while“ and „Legalised insanity from those wacky folk in Porsche’s Motorsport department“.

To achieve that Porsche married the twin turbo 3.6-litre motor from the outgoing GT2 to a substantially modified version of ultra-hardcore chassis of the then current GT3 RS. Then boost was upped from 1.4 to 1.6bar, liberating another 88bhp to finally gain entry for the 911 to the rather exclusive club of standard production cars with over 600bhp – 611bhp, to be precise. Its power was transferred to the road via a six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive

With 611bhp, 516lb ft of torque, a top speed of 205mph, a 0-62mph figure of just 3.5 secands and a 0-100mph of just 7 seconds the GT2 RS has performance figures of hypercar level of that era.

The GT2 RS’s reason for being wasn’t solely its extra grunt, weight-loss was key too, and 70 kilos had been cut when compared to the then outgoing GT2. Use of lightweight carbonfibre-reinforced plastic for everything from the rear spoiler lip to the bucket seats all added up, while the regular battery was replaced by a lithium-ion item, the rear and side windows were changed for polycarbonate and the rear suspension arms made from aluminium. To finish it off lighter alloy wheels shrouded the as-standard composite ceramic brakes. Not even Ferrari’s 599 GTO could get close to the power-to-weight ratio of this Porsche.