Video: Ride onboard as Porsche 911 GT3 RS sets third-fastest Nürburgring lap time
Can it beat the Lamborghini Huracán Performante?
WHEN IT comes to bragging rights and sports cars, it’s no longer enough for drivers to simply name drop the make and model of car they own. Now many will casually-on-purpose mention-boast that their sports car is one of the fastest flying machines around the infamous Nürburgring race track, in Germany.
Which means we can expect owners of the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS to be quoting lap times to anyone who’ll listen. As you can see in the video, above, the lean, mean and (in this instance) bright-green machine has lapped the 13 mile circuit in just 6m 54seconds, making it the third-fastest production sports car to tackle the twist and turns of the world’s most demanding track.
It means that the German car maker now holds the fastest lap time, with the 911 GT2 RS (6m 47s), and the third step on the podium, with arch rival Lamborghini separating the pair of Porsches.
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Lamborghini’s Huracán Performante has achieved a time of 6m 52s.
Porsche dispatched Kévin Estre to see if he could get close to the four-wheel drive Lamborghini. But the French racing driver, who competes for the company in the FIA World Endurance Championship, fell four seconds short.
With fire-proof overalls on, the target in his sights and the bit between his teeth, Estre managed a time of 6m 56s.
However, this is nothing to be ashamed of. The Lamborghini has four-wheel drive, and as Porsche points out the GT3 RS is 24 seconds faster than the previous generation model.
“This lap was a sensational experience for me,” said the 29-year old racing driver. “Through the fast corners and on the brakes in particular, the GT3 RS is unbelievably close to our racing car GT3 R. This is also thanks to the new generation of tyres for road going sports cars. I like the engine of the GT3 RS a lot. Up to 9,000 revs per minute from a six-cylinder engine just feels fantastic. The sound is a dream.”
The 513bhp Porsche was using road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres, which owners can choose to have fitted, and was otherwise standard, says Porsche.
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