2011 Porsche GT2 RS

That’s not a typo – Porsche is said to be readying an RS version of the GT2 to join the GT3 RS we know and love. Outlets are reporting that Porsche has just shown the 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS, depicted above in this borrowed spy shot, to German dealers yesterday.

Official press info is going to be released on 14th May. The only bit of news we have so far is the price of this new Porsche 997 GT2 RS. When it debuts this September, the price is expected to be 240.000 euro. Oh, and it’s said to be faster than a Carrera GT. Yikes.

Williams Formula 1 pilot, Nico Hülkenberg, was the lucky winner in the “Who gets first crack at the Nürburgring with the new Porsche GT3 R Hybrid?” sweepstakes. Nico took the orange-and-white racer out to get it ready for the Nürburgring 24-hour race scheduled for next month. Nico got the nod because of the Williams-Porsche connection. What connection you ask? Williams makes the flywheel generator used on the race car. No lap times were released, so there’s a possibility it didn’t best the Ferrari 599XX production-car-based record time posted last week, but then again, we’re not sure if this falls into the same category.

As a refresher, the GT3 R Hybrid uses two electric motors at the front axle, each boosting the power level by 82 hp when active. That’s on top of the 480 horsepower generated by the four-liter flat-six out back. No batteries are used, the car relying on a flywheel generator instead. After each charge period, the driver can tap that power for six-to-eight seconds. In principle it’s closer to the Formula 1 KERS system than to a typical hybrid, like that in the Prius. We’ll get you that lap time when we track it down.

Porsche hasn’t offered an “S” version of the 911 since 2006. Sure there have been slightly hotter “S” versions of the Boxster and Cayman all along, but when it comes to the 911, that “S” is usually reserved for something really special. The 2011 911 Turbo S you see here definitely sounds like it deserves to wear that “S” proudly. This will be the first 997 S, and Porsche has waited just long enough to take advantage of the 2010 upgrades to the standard Turbo.

The car’s direct-injected twin-turbo flat-six gains 30 horsepower over the “base” Turbo with output now measuring a GT2-matching 530 hp. The extra power comes with no penalty in fuel consumption either. How does Porsche do that! The 3.8-liter turbo-six splits 516 pound-feet of torque between those four 19-inch, center-lug wheels, routed through Porsche’s seven-speed PDK dual clutch gearbox. Porsche’s torque vectoring system helps keep it pointed where the driver wants it.

The 0-62 miles per hour dash should clock in at just 3.3 seconds while top speed is quoted at 195 mph. That compares favorably to the 911 GT2’s 3.7 seconds and 204-mph terminal velocity, with the same amount of power. The European price has already been announced and it looks like the Turbo S will rival the GT2 there as well. The coupe will cost €173,241 including 19 percent VAT (the actual base price is €145,400), while the Cabriolet stickers for €184,546, also including the 19 percent VAT (base price €154,900). It should go on sale in Europe this May, following its official unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The U.S. market should get theirs soon after. Full press release from Porsche below.

Read the rest of this entry »