2001 Porsche 911 GT2

Porsche produced the 911 GT2 from 1993 to 2009, and then as the GT2 RS. It was based on the 911 Turbo and was fitted with a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but with several upgrades to the engine, stiffer suspension, and larger brakes. It used rear-wheel-drive instead of all-wheel-drive and was devoid of driver aids, and quickly gained a reputation as the ultimate driver's car. It was without stability control, traction control, no rear seats, thing glass and a 30mm lowered ride height. In the back was a larger fixed wing with extra air intakes tucked into the supports to feed the turbochargers. On the inside was carbon trim, and race-style leather seats. The 483 horsepower was derived directly from the company's LeMans winning 911 Gt1 with a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter configuration featuring magnesium alloy and titanium in abundance. The advanced 6-speed gearbox is derived from the GT2 race cars. Zero-to-sixty mph was accomplished in 4 seconds.

The Porsche 993 GT2 was initially built to homologate the GT2 racing class. Since they were built to meet the GT2 class regulations, the road cars were named accordingly. In 1999, the 993 was replaced with the new 996 model. The new GT2 required two years of development and during that time, Porsche abandoned the GT2 for motorsport use, instead focusing on GT3 competition with the new naturally aspirated 911 GT3.

In contrast to its predecessor, the new GT2 was developed primarily as a road-going car and was powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the GT3's 3.6-liter flat-six engine. The 456 horsepower was later increased to 476 horsepower.

After a brief hiatus, the 997 GT2 appeared in dealerships in November of 2007 after an official launch at the 62nd Frankfurt Motor Show. The engine was based on the 3.6-liter flat-6 used on the Turbo, but with two variable geometry turbochargers. Horsepower was rated at 523 bhp and could accelerate from zero-to-sixty mph in 3.6 seconds. The top speed was over 200 mph, making it the third Porsche production road car to exceed the magical 200 mph barrier (not including the 20 examples of the 1998 911 GT1).

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2020