Porsche 911 GT2 RS Review
Ever fancied a spin in a twin-turbo Porsche? 218,900 cheaper and slightly tardier GT3 RS sibling, which despite 125kW less power from a 200cc larger, naturally-aspirated 3.8-litre flat-six, similar two-wheel drivetrain and 1370kg weight, is the more exciting, track-focused drive. Instead the 911 GT2 RS, to use official Porsche-speak, is "the most powerful street-legal Porsche ever", rather than a race car for the road and here lies the important distinction. The ultimate GT3, with its lurid graphics and spine-chilling soundtrack, is the homologation Trojan horse for Porsche's Carrera Cup racers. The GT2 RS, on the other hand, is simply the most focused, two-wheel drive iteration of the awesome second-generation 997 series 911 Turbo. Richards said. And that pretty much sums up the GT2 RS's game plan. Taking the Alcantara-clad sports steering wheel of Richards' new weapon for a first Australian drive is a strangely underwhelming experience. How Porsche makes each successive sporting 911 faster, yet easier to drive remains one of the world's great secrets, alongside the recipes for Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken. For a car with 620hp in the old lingo, the clutch, six-speed manual shift action (there's no PDK double-clutch option), steering and brakes are amazingly light to operate, but all perfectly weighted. With just 3kg for each kilowatt to move, the GT2 RS is a true time machine. I can think of no other vehicle that responds to thought and morphs so instantly from point to point. Yet unlike the GT3 RS, which trumpets its moves so loudly, the GT2 RS simply displaces air with an aggressive whoosh. Raw performance figures don't really tell the story.
Perhaps none have the same presence as the got-lost-on-the-way-to-the-track look of the first version, but none have left one wanting in the performance department. GT2 badge is not to be taken lightly. This time around, they say it is a more comfortable and usable GT2 RS. Okay Porsche, if anyone can render carbon fiber fixed-back seats and 700hp through the rear 325mm tires 鈥渃omfortable,鈥?it鈥檚 probably you guys, but if you鈥檙e driving this chimera and looking for comfort why not just get a Turbo? Oh yeah, because then you can鈥檛 giggle at the fact that you鈥檙e in a GT2, a car that exists again in the modern age of hybrids and safety systems replacing human awareness. I haven鈥檛 driven it, but do you really doubt that this is a car that requires concentration, constantly? It鈥檚 going to be the kind of machine that you get out of soaking wet and shaking and smiling every time. It鈥檚 being released with a watch too, because you鈥檒l surely want to track the timing of how quickly it can rip your face off. It鈥檚 hard to write about the design of a modern Porsche without treading that ground of 鈥渆volution vs revolution,鈥?but the new GT2 RS is kind of both. Stats are usually pretty boring and hard to get anything out of unless you can actually experience them, but in this case I can鈥檛 help listing them out. Porsche is making its own math now it seems. Do you remember not just ten or twenty years ago when 8.3s was an adequate time to 62mph in a sports car? Mutual exclusivity is a myth when it comes to cool cars. And the GT2 RS is a damn cool car.
On automobiles, quarter windows are located either on the front door of the vehicle or in front of the rear window. In either case, the window is usually located on the side of the car, although it may also be set in the corner. However, only some cars have these windows. Older vehicles frequently separated their side windows into two separate pieces. The main window resembles the ones we know today, and could be raised or lowered through a handle on the door. The second piece is triangular in shape, opened outward, and listed in manuals as a "quarter window" or "quarter glass". In regards to the '87 model year, Ford has changed to a much cleaner-looking rear mustang quarter windows assembly for the Mustang hatchbacks and hardtops. Built from vulcanized rubber, along with the actual window glass embedded, the one-piece assembly was very hard for the mustang quarter windows, but its purpose was met being it blended the roof into the rear quarter-panel.
However, with over time and many hours of hot sun baking the side windows, the exterior rubber melted, leaving the perimeter of the window pitted and discolored. It is unfortunate that the "quarter windows" on Mustangs have begun to deteriorate, and are rather expensive to replace properly. Some owners have moved to drastic measures such as paint and patch kits, but these only work for brief periods of time. Having stepped up to the plate with the ultimate solution is the Late model Restoration Supply: 100% new '87-'93 rear quarter windows for mustangs which are made by the original-equipment manufacturer. 599.95 per pair and are available for hatchbacks and hardtops, having identical windows to the original Ford assemblies, all the way down to the Mustang lettering printed on the glass. Replacing the rear mustang quarter windows is a basic R&R procedure. Getting to the nine retaining nuts for each ford mustang windows are the most difficult part; basically, for a hatchback, you have to remove all of the plastic trim in the rear of the interior. But, for the most part, you're dealing with small Phillips head screws, although you'll need the correct socket for unbolting the front seatbelt mechanism on each side of the car.
It won鈥檛 have escaped your attention that Porsche recently set a new Nurburgring Nordschleife record with the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The fastest lap time for a naturally aspirated sports car now belongs to the 991.2 GT3 RS with a solid 6 minutes 56.4 second effort. It is the third Porsche to deliver a sub-7 minute lap time, following in the footsteps of the Porsche 918 Spyder and the GT2 RS. How did Porsche manage to make this new GT3 RS so much faster than the last generation? We went to the Nurburgring to get behind the wheel and find out. Its predecessors, including the first 911 GT3 RS from 2003, were on hand to provide some context. To fully understand the GT3 RS you have to take a look at what the RS badge stands for. Its inception cam about with the 1972 911 Carrera RS 2.7. Porsche were required to build at least 500 road cars to homologate the model for GT racing. It was an instant hit, and Porsche eventually produced over 1,000 cars. Following the tradition of the original RS 2.7, the modern GT3 RS models are born from Porsche鈥檚 racing tradition.