911 GT2 RS - most powerful street-legal Porsche to date

We provided a sneak preview a few weeks ago, and now Porsche has come clean with official details and pics of its stonking 911 GT2 RS, which sets a new performance benchmark for its road-going models.

Any supercar's Nürburgring-Nordschleife lap time seems to be the unofficial yardstick of its overall abilities these days, and the 911 GT2 RS delivers on this front with a claimed 7min 18sec tour of the 'Ring -- quicker than the Dodge Viper ACR, Corvette ZR1 and Nissan GT-R.

In fact, the only cars quicker are barebones (and highly impractical) offerings such as the Donkervoort D8 270 RS, Gumpert Apollo Speed, Radical SR8 and Ferrari 599XX.

The key to the GT2 RS's ballistic performance is more power and less weight. The 3.6-litre twin-turbo six has been tweaked to thrash out 456kW (up 66kW on the donor car), while weight has been pared to a waiflike 1370kg with all fluids on board (a reduction of 70kg).

As such, the 911 GT2 RS has a power-to-weight ratio of just 3.0kg/kW, which Porsche claims is "by far the best power/weight ratio in its class".

Keeping the eco-friendly brigade at bay, the GT2 RS is also claimed to burn through five per cent less fuel and reduce CO2 emissions by the same amount vis-à-vis the previous 911 GT2.

As per the outgoing GT2, drive from the 3.6-litre six -- with two variable-turbine-geometry huffers -- is channelled to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

The GT2 RS scores new rubber -- measuring 245/35 ZR 19 at the front and 325/30 ZR 19 at the rear -- that Porsche says was developed specially for the car. Meanwhile, stopping power comes from Porsche Composite Ceramic Brakes (PCCB).

Other standard kit includes Porsche Adaptive Suspension Management (PASM), unique anti-roll bars and recalibrated Porsche Stability Management (PSM) that enables stability and traction control functions to be switched off individually.

Visually, the 911 GT2 RS stands apart from other 911 models through the lavish use of carbonfibre-reinforced (CFR) components with a matte-black finish, flared wheel arches at the front, new light-alloy wheels with central locking and "GT2 RS" model designations on the doors and rear lid.

Matte-finish carbon also graces the redesigned front spoiler lip and the 10mm taller rear spoiler lip, which is claimed to enhance aerodynamics and provide extra downforce.

Inside, there are lightweight two-piece bucket seats made of carbonfibre-reinforced plastic, and the door panels are also fabricated from the same substance.

The basic interior colour is black, which contrasts with red elements, such as the seat centre sections, the roof lining and segments of the steering wheel rim. The gearshift and handbrake lever are also finished in red alcantara.

The GT2 RS stands to be a future collectable, as just 500 examples will be sold worldwide. It makes its world debut at the Moscow motor show on August 25.

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