Porsche 911 GT2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Porsche 911 GT2
Porsche 911 (996) GT2
Manufacturer Porsche
Production 1993 – current
Class Sports car
Body style(s) RR 2-door 2 seater coupé
Engine(s) 3.6 L twin-turbo flat-6
Transmission(s) 6-speed manual
Curb weight 3175 lb (1440 kg)
Related Porsche 911 GT3
Porsche 911 Turbo
Designer Pinky Lai
Harm Lagaay

The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, but features numerous upgrades, including a more powerful engine, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration. The GT2 is significantly lighter than the Turbo due to the use of rear-wheel drive instead of all-wheel drive, and the lightening or removal of interior components.

The new 997 version of the car recently set one of the fastest laps at the Nurburgring Nordschleife for production street legal vehicles with Walter Rohrl rounding the circuit in 7 minutes 32 seconds.

Contents

[edit] Road car

[edit] 993 generation

1996 Porsche 911 GT2 (993)
1996 Porsche 911 GT2 (993)

The 993-generation GT2 was initially built in order to meet homologation requirements for motorsports. The GT2s were developed as Porsche's customer entry in international grand tourer racing, replacing the 964-generation Carrera RSRs. Because the cars were built to meet the GT2 class regulations, the road cars were named accordingly.[1] It featured widened plastic fenders, and a larger rear wing with air scoops in the struts. The 993 GT2's original 3.6 litre engine developed 430 hp (321 kW); in 1998 it was upgraded to 450 hp (336 kW). 57 road cars were built (seven of which were right-hand drive).[citation needed]

[edit] 996 generation

In 1999, the 993-generation 911 was replaced with the new 996 model. It would be two years before a new GT2 model would arrive, but in that time Porsche had decided to abandon the GT2 for motorsports use, instead concentrating on the new naturally-aspirated 911 GT3.

The new GT2 featured a turbo-charged version of the GT3's 3.6L engine. It featured an output of 462 hp (345 kW), which was later increased to 483 hp (360 kW). Like the 993 GT2, its body differed significantly from those of other 996s; major differences included wider fenders, a more aggressively-shaped nose, and a large rear wing.

[edit] 997 generation

The Porsche 996 911 GT2 was superseded by the 997-generation GT2 in 2007 after a brief hiatus, with cars arriving at dealerships in November[2] after an official launch at the 62nd Frankfurt Motor Show.

The new 997 GT2 remained based on the 3.6 litre flat-6 engine, but now featured twin variable geometry turbochargers, which generated 530 hp (395 kW) at 6500 rpm. The GT2 accelerates in 3.6 seconds to 60 mph (97 km/h) and in 7.4 seconds to 100 mph (161 km/h) and has a maximum top speed of 204 mph (328 km/h) This makes it the first Porsche 911 to exceed the 200 mph (322 km/h) top speed, with the exception of the 1998 Porsche 911 GT1 which is not considered by enthusiasts to be an actual Porsche 911 due to its mid-mounted engine.[citation needed] The Porsche 997 GT2 also has a curb weight of 3175 lb, 505 lb·ft (685 N·m) of torque from 2200 to 4500 rpm, and a 6-speed manual gearbox.

The American auto magazine Motor Trend recently tested a 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 0-60 mph at 3.4 seconds[3], and 11.4 seconds at 127.9 mph (205.8 km/h) for the quarter mile. The GT2 also recorded a braking distance from 60 mph (97 km/h) to 0 of 98 feet (30 m) and recorded 1.10g lateral grip.

The appearance of the 997 GT2 once again differs from its sister-car, the 997 Turbo. It has a revised front lip, also carries a newly designed rear wing with two small air inlets on either side, and it has a different rear bumper now featuring titanium exhaust pipes and shark fin outlets.

German Porsche test driver Walter Rohrl recently lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes 32 seconds in the new 997 GT2, besting supercars like the Bugatti Veyron and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

[edit] Motorsports

In 1993, Porsche had experimented with the use of a turbocharged 911 in international motorsports with the use of the extensively modified turbo 964, named the Turbo S LM-GT. Seeing the potential of the car not only to be fast and reliable, as well as customer demand for a car to replace the 964 generation Carrera RSRs, Porsche chose to develop the turbocharged 993 for customer use.

The 993 GT2 race car would featured a stripped interior, built-in rollcage for safety, minor adjustments to the bodywork and wings in order to decrease weight as well as increase downforce, as well as wider fenders to handle racing slicks. The suspension would be modified to better handle racing use, while the engine would be slightly tweaked for endurance use. Twin KKK turbochargers running mandated air restrictors allowed for 450 hp (336 kW).[1]

At the same time, Porsche would also develop a GT2 Evo, able to run in the GT1 category. This further modified the GT2 by increasing power to 600 hp (447 kW) through the use of larger turbochargers. Other modifications included a new rear wing mounted higher, larger fenders to allow for the wider tires allowed in GT1, and a decrease in weight to 1,100 kg (2,425 lb) .[4] The GT2 Evo would be short-lived however as Porsche decided to replace it with the purpose-built 911 GT1 in 1996.

The GT2 and GT2 Evos were initially campaigned in the BPR Global GT Series as well as several other smaller national series, and earned seven wins in their class out of eleven rounds in their first full BPR season in 1996, as well as a class victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and again in 1997. In the new FIA GT Championship that year, although Porsche faced factory-backed competition from Chrysler, the 911 GT2s managed to win three races. By 1998 however, the capabilities of the GT2 were unable to combat the increased number of Chrysler Viper GTS-Rs in the series, earning only a sole victory.

By 1999 the GT2s were proven to be outdated compared to the Vipers, as well as newcomers Lister. An increase in engine displacement to 3.8 litres in 2000 was unable to help Porsche, and support for the project ended. Porsche chose instead to concentrate on the new N-GT category with the GT3-Rs that same year. GT2s continued to be used by small teams up to 2004.

With the launch of the 996 generation GT2, several privateers attempted to continue on the motorsports history by building their own racing versions. Belgian PSI Motorsports' 911 Bi-Turbo and German A-Level Engineering's 911 GT2-R were used to mix success in national series such as Belcar, but were unable to be successful in international series.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b 1995 Porsche 911 GT2. Porsche Cars North America. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
  2. ^ New 911 GT2 with 530 Horsepower. Porsche AG (16 July 2007).
  3. ^ 2008 Porsche 911 GT2: Exclusive First U.S. Test!. Motor Trend. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  4. ^ 1995 Porsche 911 GT2 Evo. Porsche Cars North America. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG road car timeline, 1960–present
Type 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Entry Level Sportscar 912 924 Boxster (986) Boxster (987)
356 914 944 968 Cayman (987c)
911 Series 911 911 (930) 911 (964) 911 (993) 911 (996) 911 (997)
GT 928
Supercar 959 911 GT1 Carrera GT
SUV Cayenne
Concept cars 356/1 · 114 · 695 · 901 · 989 · Panamericana · Panamera · Roxster
Motorsport Porsche in motorsport · Porsche Supercup · 64 · 360 · 550 · 718 · 787 · 804 · 904 · 906 · 907 · 908 · 909 · 910 · 914-6 GT · 917 · 934 · 935 · 936 · 953 · 956 · 961 · 962 · GT1 · GT2 · GT3 · WSC-95 · LMP · RS Spyder
People Ferdinand Porsche · Ferry Porsche · Ferdinand Alexander Porsche · Ferdinand Piëch · Wendelin Wiedeking
Tractors Junior · Super
Other Official Website · Porsche Design Group · Volkswagen Group · List of Porsche engines · Tiptronic · VarioCam