All-new Porsche 911 GT3 blazes through Nürburgring Nordschleife

Porsche has launched the latest iteration of the 911 GT3 performance coupe. The all-new performance model clocked in roughly a minute faster than its predecessor at Nürburgring’s infamous 20.8-kilometer north loop at 6:59.927 minutes.

Behind the wheel was factory driver Lars Kern.

The German carmaker says that motorsport legends Walter Rohrl (who drove the first Porsche 911 GT3 on the same track at 7:56.33 minutes) and Jorg Bergmeister were involved in the development of the high-performance race car.

“A world of difference. We never would have thought that a series production car could lay down a sub-eight-minute lap on the Nordschleife,” Rohrl said.

Under the hood is a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter, six-cylinder boxer engine that produces a maximum power output of 510hp. The powertrain is mated to a standard PDK transmission although Porsche said that a six-speed manual transmission is also available.

This powertrain setup allows the new Porsche 911 GTR to speed up from standstill to 100kph in just 3.4 seconds. It also reaches a top speed of 318kph.

Porsche’s all-new 911 GTR isn’t all beef. The automotive brand packed the high-performance model with racing technology such as the double-wishbone suspension at the front as well as its swan-neck rear wing and diffuser.

According to Porsche, the new 911 GTR also takes some components from the Le Mans-winning Porsche 911 RSR race car.

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic hood, special glass windows, optimized brake rotors, forged alloy wheels, and lightweight sports exhaust system also helped improve the all-new 911 GTR’s performance on the track.

“Over 20 years’ worth of advancements developed for the GT racing cars were adopted in the road car. Balance is the key to driving fast. And I’ve been a weight reduction fanatic all my life. When I learned that the new GT3 — which is much larger and much more capable — essentially weighs just around 70 kilos more than the first GT3, I can only doff my hat to a masterpiece of technology,” said Rohrl.

Photos from Porsche

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