Porsche has set another lap record at the iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife, this time with a facelifted (992.2) 911 GT3 equipped with a manual transmission and the Weissach package.
With Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister at the wheel, the 911 GT3 is now the fastest production car with a manual transmission to lap the 20.832-km track with a time of 6:56.294 minutes.
According to the carmaker, the car was fitted with road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres (255/35 at the front and 315/30 at the rear) and the record attempt took place on a sunny late afternoon where the ambient and track temperatures were 12 and 27 degrees Celsius respectively.
For context, the new 911 GT3 Weissach’s time beats the previous record by more than 9.5 seconds, which is substantial. However, Porsche points out that the previous record was set on a shorter, 20.6-km version of the track before it was reconfigured in 2019 that saw the length increase to the current 20.832 km.
The carmaker says that on the shorter and older version of the track, the previous record set by a “competitor with a significantly more powerful engine” was 7:01.300 minutes. This corresponds to a time of around 7:05.800 minutes on the full 20.832-kilometre lap, which was the time beaten by the new 911 GT3 Weissach.
Compared with its own cars, Porsche says the new 911 GT3 Weissach was 3.633 seconds faster than the predecessor model (992.1) with a PDK dual-clutch transmission. Over 11 years ago, the 918 Spyder managed a time of exactly 6:57 minutes on the shorter 20.6-km track, so the fact that a GT3 with a manual is faster than the brand’s admittedly “old” halo hybrid supercar at ‘The Green Hell’ is impressive and shows just how far Porsche’s sports car development has progressed.
“More and more 911 GT3 customers are opting for the six-speed manual transmission. And more and more often we are asked by these customers how fast a 911 GT3 with manual transmission would be on the Nordschleife,” says Andreas Preuninger, director of Porsche’s GT model line.
“We have now answered this question and – although we know that the variant with PDK is significantly faster – we drove our official lap time with a manual six-speed gearbox. Even without the automated, super-fast and precise gearshifts of the PDK, and with a conventional instead of electronically controlled limited-slip differential, the new 911 GT3 shaved around 3.6 seconds off the time of its predecessor with PDK,” he added.
Introduced in October last year, the 992.2 911 GT3 is powered by a 4.0 litre naturally-aspirated six-cylinder boxer engine making 510 PS (503 hp or 375 kW) and 450 Nm of torque. Buyers have a choice of a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, both with an 8% shorter final drive ratio.
The facelift also brings with it a sharpened design and optimised aerodynamics, while certain components have been lightened to reduce the vehicle’s weight, including the sports bucket seat and use of a new 40-Ah lithium-ion battery. Additionally, the Touring version of the option was offered at launch, and the Weissach package was made available for the first time in the 911 GT3.
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