Tag Archives: prototype

What Is This High-Riding Porsche 911 Prototype Spied In Testing?

Here’s a weird one. Earlier this week the Porsche shown here was spied testing at the Nurburgring. It looks pretty much like a regular 992 Carrera 4S but it’s sitting much higher on its suspension and has weird fender flare wheel arches. In the spy video below from StateSideSuperCars, this oddball 992 is powersliding all over the place, jumping curbs, and generally hauling butt. Judging by the sound of its exhaust the car is turbocharged, though that’s hardly a surprise as all 992 models are currently turbocharged (at least until the next gen GT3 hits the real world). So what is this thing? Is Porsche capitalizing on the Safari market by selling one straight from the factory? Is the company going to try to regain its Dakar championship?

It’s far more likely that this is just Porsche testing some oddball suspension setups to see what its car does under extreme circumstances, but if Porsche does want to introduce an off-road sports car, this would hardly be the first time. Porsche has decades of experience in rally and raid-style off-road racing. Think back to 1968 and Porsche pressed the 911 into rally service with Vic Elford winning the Monte Carlo Rally that year. Not to mention the company’s several Dakar and East Africa Safari Rally successes.

Safari silliness has taken the Porsche world by storm, kicked off by friend of the site Leh Keen’s Safari cars, plus dozens of others built by the likes of Kelly Moss Motorsports, the two LuftAutos, and more. And don’t forget that Gemballa and Ruf have both teased extreme modern off-roading 911s. Would it really be that much of a surprise that Porsche offered a safari 992? I don’t think it would. The only thing that surprises me is that Porsche didn’t do this five years ago.

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Why Does F1 Ace And Le Mans Champ Nico Hulkenberg Drive a Porsche GT2 RS MR?

I mean, why not?

After spending your entire life racing very quick, lightweight, and unbelievably agile vehicles, your standards rise to stratospheric levels. For that reason, it grows harder and harder to enjoy a capable road car—even a very quick one—as it usually feels incredibly lethargic in comparison to that incisive single seater or prototype. For this reason, you often see F1 and Le Man aces driving dull, everyday, practical vehicles to and from the tracks; something reasonably quick like a GT-R can’t always cut the mustard.

Thankfully, there are still a few road-going vehicles that can thrill and challenge the seasoned veteran.

In this case, it’s Nico Hulkenberg’s 991 GT2 RS which gets our attention. When the world’s most desirable free agent driver arrived at this year’s Eifel Grand Prix in his silver RS, Porschephiles took notice. If the quickest production-series Porsche can find its way into Hulkenberg’s stable, it must offer something few street cars do. Well, actually, to meet Hulk’s lofty standards, it needed a little help from a reputable Porsche racing shop: Manthey Racing.

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This “emotional” purchase didn’t remain stock for long. Spurred on by Chris Harris’ Portimao review of the Manthey-tuned GT2 RS MR, Hulk shelled out the $103,000 needed for the following modifications:

  • KW 3-Way Dampers
  • Michelin Cup 2 R tires
  • new brake pads
  • lighter wheels
  • TUV-compliant canards
  • redesigned underbody floor
  • aero curtains in the wheelarches
  • a gurney flap on the engine lid
  • different wing endplates
  • a larger wing at a steeper angle
  • taller wing supports
  • a larger rear diffuser

“When you drive and the car is really at its limits, then you smile and then you know why (you purchased it),” says Hulk. Photo credit: Manthey Racing

It’s Manthey’s motorsports-bred modifications that give the driver the ability to lean on the GT2 RS in a way the standard machine, grippy as it is, simply cannot support. With shorter braking distances, greater aerodynamic grip, a more reassuring balance, and even more turn-in grip, a seasoned veteran used to the immediacy of well-tuned throughbreds can find real reward in pushing this relatively porky and semi-practical Porsche.

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