Production Years: 2011 | Generation: 997.2 | Units built: 600
Engine: 3.6L twin-turbo flat-6 | Power: 620 hp | 0 – 60 mph: 3.3 s | Top Speed: 209 mph
We struggled a little when adding the 2011 GT2 RS to the list of ultimate 911s because we also have the GT3 RS 4.0 from the same year on the list. To be clear, the GT3 RS is our favorite of the two. So, how can a car that wasn’t as good as the GT3 RS 4.0 still make our list then? Our logic is that the GT2 RS is a better track car than the 4.0 and is a little less exclusive than the GT2. Ultimately Car and Driver put it best when they said that driving the GT2 RS was an “extraordinary event on par with that of nearly any blue-chip exotic. We won’t call it the best 911 ever, but it’s definitely Porsche at its most extreme”. So this is an awesome 911 that was made in the same year as our favorite 911 and is still better than any other exotics made that year.
The GT2 RS was definitely extreme too. While the “standard” GT2 has the same output as a Turbo S at 530 hp, the GT2 RS has 620 hp sent to the rear wheels only and was the fastest 911 ever produced. It weighs 150 pounds less than a “regular” GT2 and adds 90 hp and no PDK gearbox with manual the only option. Thanks to different turbos, intercoolers, pistons, and ECU, the GT2 RS also gets 516 lb-ft of torque. The GT2 RS also differs on the visual front from the regular Porsche 997 GT2 with a more aggressive splitter and rear diffuser plus a bigger wing.
While top speed was 205 mph the real performance kudos came on track. The 911 GT2 RS smashed the Nurburgring lap time, doing a time of 7 minutes 18 seconds making it one of the fastest Nurburgring times even today. Please note that the premium is worth it, more so if you remember that the 997 GT3 RS is the first Porsche to one-up the Carrera GT on the Ring (7 minutes 18 seconds versus 7 minutes 28 seconds).