Scouting Report: Porsche 911 GT2 RS

We know from recent spy photos that the Corvette Team is benchmarking the C8 Corvette Z06 model against both the Porsche 911 GT2 RS and a Ferrari 458 Italia. These two sportscars were confirmed by Corvette Chief Engineer Ed Piatek as purchased by General Motors for benchmarking in the C8 Corvette review from our friends at The Fast Lane Car (TFL).

Well, intrepid readers, we are here once again to lend a helping hand by investigating our favorite car’s intended performance and driving quality targets in depth. Next up is our scouting report on the Porsche 911 GTS RS! If you missed the 458 Italia article, you can view it here.

Part II: 2018-19 Porsche 991 911 GT2 RS

The Basics:

Technical Achievements and Facts:

Most powerful 911 in history, holds/held production car lap records at the Nürburgring, Laguna Seca, and Road Atlanta, and it introduced the world to the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R as detailed here.

The first of these two posts put a real emphasis on the “feeling” and “soul” brought to the table by the Ferrari 458, the monster GT2 RS is mostly concerned with setting blisteringly fast lap times while inspiring supreme confidence in its driver. The latter characteristic being no easy feat with 700 twin-turbocharged horses being pushed solely to the rear wheels. This is the beauty of the GT2 RS, when compared to the other two main headline-grabbing cars of the past three or so years; it tends to fall behind the otherworldly McLaren 720S in a straight line and gets mauled in handling and braking by the C7 ZR1. When it meets either of these foes on track though, the 2RS is all but guaranteed to show the other two bruisers its taillights.

During the two big group tests that saw all three cars competing at the same track on the same day, Car and Driver’s Lightning Lap and MotorTrend’s Best Driver’s Car, it was the Porsche that stopped the clock first both times. At Virginia International Raceway, the GT2 RS ran the best time that C&D had ever seen in the 12 years of the event. Its time of 2:37.8 was nearly two full seconds ahead of the second-place ZR1 and nearly identical McLaren (2:39.5 and 2:39.7, respectively).

A similar result unfolded at Laguna Seca with Randy Pobst behind the wheel. After setting a production car record of 1:28.3 with the GT2 RS, Randy had this to say about the rapid Rennsport, “It’s balanced, working all the way through the corner, right on the edge of the maximum grip.”

Conclusion

While both of those marks were bested the following year by the million-dollar Senna and its ‘Ring record was surpassed by the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, we think Randy’s quote is exactly what the Corvette team is trying to engineer into the upcoming Z06, confidence and balance to ensure as fast and consistent laps as possible. If they are able to do that while also capturing the pure joy of the 458 Italia, the C8Z is a shoo-in for the list of greatest cars of all-time, regardless of price. It is a lofty goal but if they are able to pull it off and are able to continue the ‘Vette’s tradition of attainable pricing, it just might make it to the very top of that list for most car enthusiasts.

Related:
Scouting Report: Ferrari 458 Italia
Scouting Report: 2020 Shelby GT500
[SPIED] Two C8 Corvette Z06 Prototypes Were Caught with a Ferrari Merging onto I5 in Valencia