PORSCHE 993 GT2
The PORSCHE 993 GT2
Two issues ago I raved about the new 911 Turbo, because it is arguably the most important sub-£l0,000 sports car ever made. In sheer speed and all round capability, you would have to pay much, much more to drive away in less practical supercars like the Bugatti EB11OGT or even Porsche's own coveted 959, both of which have a slender performance edge over the Turbo that is irrelevant in the real world. Nor could you use either of these cars as daily transport in the way that any production 911 readily takes to.
Homologation specials are another kettle of fish altogether though. Built in limited numbers to meet FIA rules which allow a car to take part in international motorsport, they don't need to be as practical as the pure road cars from which they are derived. But when I drove Porsche's Turbo-derived £130,000 GT2 recently, I found it to be an even more involving and enjoyable experience than the Turbo. Purer in purpose than its high-tech 4WD brother, the GT2 is more of a traditional racing 911 in its heart and soul. While it is the ultimate challenge for a skilled owner on a fast drive across country or on a racing track, as a road car it retains the docility that helps to make the heavier and less powerful Turbo such an awesome all-rounder.
As Porsche are in the business of making money, it quite obviously pays for them to make more than the ten-or-so cars required to qualify a sportscar for the increasingly popular GT championships such as the German Karcher BPR Cup or our own BRDC GT Cup. In this instance, 50 GT2s have been made to road specification and another 50 or so for racing, all of which have already been sold.
The GT2 was essentially born out of need. In the 1993-4 period, as the Group C World Sports Prototype Championship slowly receded into history, Porsche's competition department created two cars to keep up with the fast changing rules in the revived GT category. The 911 RSR 3.8 and 968 Turbo RS were to race in the GT2 category leaving the Group C 962 to contest GTl in 1994, which it did in a roundabout way through the Dauer Racing 962 Le Mans winner last year. But Porsche also knew that they needed a much more potent road car on which to base their future efforts if they were to repeat the pattern of success they enjoyed in the 1970s and early 1980s. Turbocharging a 911 was the only obvious way to go and so the 911 GT2 was born.
The prototype GT2 made its public debut at the Essen Motor Show last November and the first customer cars began to trickle through in the New Year. 200kg lighter than the Turbo whose basic engine it shares, the rear-wheel-drive GT2 is instantly distinguishable by its curved, bolt-on GRP arch flares and huge front and rear spoilers. Further lightening comes from alloy doors and bonnet and a stripped-out interior. The lightweight racing Recaro seats alone save 25kg each! As with lightweight Porsches in the past, the side and rear glass is thinner and there is no heated rear window.
The uprated suspension is 20mm lower with new alloy uprights, solid top mounts and strut brace in front. The steering arms and lower suspension arms are also modified to improve the toe and camber kinematics. At the rear, a mix of harder and solid bushes are used for the suspension arms and subframe. The angle of the rear axle is changed - where the Turbo has between 70 and 80 per cent anti-squat effect under braking, the GT2 has 130 per cent. Wheel bearings are to Cup specifications. The front and rear anti-roll bars are fully adjustable. The massively powerful brakes are identical to the Turbo's from the pedal to the linings that clamp the 322mm vented discs, as is the power steering system.
Compared to the 408bhp at 5750rpm and 398 lb ft of torque at 4500rpm of the 1507kg Turbo, the GT2's big numbers are 430bhp at 5750rpm and 3981b ft of torque at 4500rpm as well. This gives a specific output of 119bhp/litre and a power-to weight ratio of 354bhp/ton.
According to Porsche Competition Department engineer and test driver Roland Kussmaul, the extra horses have been found by raising the boost slightly from 0.8 to 0.9 bar and remapping the ignition and fuelling curves. "Basically, we run the GT2 engine closer to the knock limit," he explained. "Boost peaks at 0.9 bar at 4,000rpm and drops off from there. But it is hard o say what the boost is at any given rpm because it follows the knocking line downwards and so is dependent upon external factors like air temperature and pressure." Three sensors on each bank of cylinders detect the onset of knocking and feed information back to the ECU to retard the ignition. There are also two oil coolers up front instead of one.
This is the road car. The competition version of the GT2 gains another 50bhp through a rigorous programme of modifications. High-lift cams are used along with stronger valves and solid tappets to take higher rpm for long periods. The same turbocharger housing is used, but a bigger impeller lives inside it and the charge-cooled air is delivered by a 20 per cent larger intercooler.
And if 480bhp is not enough for you, Porsche have developed a GTl version of the car which runs 550bhp out of the box and can be tweeked to as much as 620bhp. That is just 30bhp short of an endurance spec 962C!
While the gear ratios are the same as the Turbo's the gearbox has quite a few new parts to cope with the greater power and stress. The electronically controlled ABD (Automatic Brake Differential) now remains active up to 44mph and the limited-slip differential locking ratio increases from 40 to 65 per cent on trailing throttle to restrain lift-off oversteer. While the final drive ratio remains the same as the Turbo's, the GT2 actually ends up with higher gearing because its tyres are larger - 285/35ZR18 rather than 285/30ZR18 at the rear, and 235/40ZR18 in front instead of 225/40ZR18. The approved rubberwear is either Michelin MXX3 or Pirelli P-Zero on three-piece alloy wheels, 9J and 1 1J x 18-inch, made by Speedline in Italy.
I have been fascinated by the reaction different people have to the bolt-on glassfibre arches that cover these gumball tyres. Some have remarked how unfinished or kit car-like these arches are while others have praised the form-follows-function approach. Having seen quite a few hard physical brushes on track in recent rounds of the Touring Car and GT Championships, all I can say is that the faster you can change bent or broken parts in the heat of competition, the better. So, as the GT2 is a homologation special, I tend to concur with the form-follows-function school of thought. In any case, I quite like the purposeful, thuggish look of the car.
You notice the big front and rear spoilers almost before anything else because, compared to any Turbo wing that has gone before, these are big enough to make any Top Gun pilot feel at home. The front spoiler is the same as on the new Carrera RSR and the rear wing incorporates a pair of cooling ducts which supply ram air to the intercoolers. The front spoiler creates a condition of zero lift at the front while the horizontal surface of the eight-position adjustable rear wing gives some downforce in its flattest position which is recommended for road use. At a higher angle of attack, it begins to create too much downforce, and an extended front air splitter is required to rebalance the car aerodynamically.
The interior is familiar 911 but without the bells and whistles you will find on current road-going 911s. Non-adjustable racing Recaro seats, no sound insulation, manual window winders, power-assisted nothing and the same lightweight threespoke steering wheel and gearknob as in the latest Carrera RS/R is the full and complete specification, if you plump for the race version, you get an FIA approved roll cage and fire extinguisher system, external ignition cut-out and quick release locks for the boot and bonnet as well.
Bavaria is usually dry and sunny in May and June, but uncharacteristically it rained for most of these two months this year. Thus I was muttering dark things about the weather as I drove away from Weissach in the banana yellow GT2. It was most definitely not the conditions in which you want to extend a supercar, much less a turbocharged one with 430bhp and just rear-wheel-drive.
As we headed away down some fast country roads towards the airfield test track at Malmsheim, about 20 miles away, I decided to do some tractability testing. Bear in mind that the new 911 Turbo will pull smoothly from 800rpm or so in sixth gear, and I was keen to see if this uprated version of that engine would perform the same party trick.
I selected sixth and dropped down to 7OOrpm before applying gentle pressure on the throttle. The engine responded to this immediately, but instead of the smooth flow of power I had experienced from the Turbo at this speed, the GT2 protested very slightly. But by the time the rev counter read 1,000rpm, the car was pulling happily and strongly again.
Old-style 911 s could be very vicious in the wet by dint of the fact that their pronounced Turbo lag would suddenly be replaced by positive boost in the middle of a corner. The resulting loss of traction required some level of skill to cope with. With its lag-free throttle response, the GT2 has the manners of a sharp, naturally aspirated engine and so it is very easy to drive in difficult weather as you simply drive it normally and do not kick in too many horses. In fact, its terrific spread of torque and good manners mean that you can simply stay in a high gear and let the car do the work through corners. Taking medium speed bends in fourth gear where you might be tempted to change down to third, you are pleasantly surprised to find that the car pulls smoothly and strongly in a manner that lets you balance ii precisely avoiding the loss of traction that can be provoked easily were you to be in a lower gear. In short, this car will cope with wet roads perfectly well so long as the driver is sensible.
By the time we got to Malmsheim, the rain had stopped and it was time to clean the car down. With a bright overcast sky emerging and the track drying rapidly, I decided to try for some acceleration figures. With the digital accelerometer clamped to the windscreen, I lined the car up at one end of the runway and estimated that 4,000rpm would be about right to overcome traction and yet not get the car bogged down with wheelspin.
I was right! With a spectacular squeal of tortured rubber, the GT2 shot forward and, a split second later, spun its wheels as it encountered a small damp patch on the runway. At that point though, I snatched second and the fire and brimstone acceleration resumed instantly. Somewhere in the back of my head I recognised the fact that the car was a bit noisier than the Turbo and then it was time to snatch third. What also registered in my biological computer was that the engine was massively strong up to about 4.500rpm and then it was positively manic right up to the rev limiter. Fourth gear. The power just keeps on coming although it is beginning to wane slightly. We are covering ground at an immense rate and, as I take fifth, I catch sight of the expression on the face of the Porsche PR man out of the corner of my eye. He is obviously enjoying himself. But the end of the runway is also getting rather close and, just before I hit the brakes hard, I snatch a glanceat the speedometer. 260km/h, 162.5mph! This car is claimed to pull 183mph and the way it was still accelerating when I cut short the proceedings, I quite believe it would do that. I just need a longer runway.
A few more runs and I have the relevant numbers. 0-60mph stopped the clock at 4.0 sec dead with two people and a nearly full tank of fuel. Not bad at all. 0-100mph happened in 8.9 sec and we passed 125mph in 12.1 sec. Wow!
On my makeshift handling course, I draw a big circle with the GT2 in third, building up lateral acceleration as we gradually go faster. The nose starts to plough wide as the tyres howl in protest. I can see that Porsche have built in quite a lot of stabilising understeer to prevent owners frightening themselves on fast autobahn sweepers. Lifting off suddenly tucks the nose in and brings the tail round gently if you stay within the ABD's working environment. Go faster than that how the right amount of throttle please.
Another part of the handling test. Approaching a tight left-hand in third. Heel and toe down to second, turn in. Power on and steer through the twists. The GT2's turn-in and the feel through the steering are a noticeable improvement on the Turbo. The car also feels lighter and nimbler on its feet.
Having found its limits on the test track, I feel more confident on the roads now. Fortunately they have dried out and I move at a swifter pace. Even so, I have deduced that it is pointless to use the lower gears too much. As on a race track, it is smoother and neater and ultimately quicker to carry your speed through a bend in a higher gear than having to brake more and engage a lower gear where you risk dislodging the rear end. For while the GT2 has phenomenal traction by any standards, it also has more than enough grunt to break it almost at will in first or second gears.
Back at Weissach, I chat with engineer Roland Kussmaul again before he takes me out on the test track to put the GT2 through its paces. Here is a man who has driven in the Nurburgring 24 Hour race three times, in the Paris-Dakar Rally three times and in the Monte Carlo Rally three times. He has also tested just about every Formula One, Indy and Group C car that Porsche has been involved in for the last 15 years. In short, he knows a bit about driving fast cars.
Roland Kussmaul was describing the configuration of the test track as we drove on to the main straight. The end of his sentence coincided with what is best described as an F-14 being catapulted off the deck of an aircraft carrier. I was pressed hard into my seat by the sudden wave of acceleration in first gear and an aural assault like a half dozen distant hammerdrills behind my head as the twinturbo flat-six shot round to the red line. I caught Kussmaul's change into second out of the corner of my eye before G-force and those hammerdrilis took over again, Then it was third, and I noticed a tight corner looming.
Our dramatic lunge forwards was suddenly checked by the amazing retardation power of the brakes as Kussmaul heel and toed down to second and turned right. We rocketed out of the right hander with a touch of opposite lock on and a short straight flashed by before a drop down to the tight right-hander just past the coned-off 'fast' section used for testing Fl and Group C cars. This bit was taken at full chat in second, riding well over the kerb and again exiting with a touch of opposite lock.A couple of fast bends later taken in third, and we were on the back section.
This tight and undulating circuit is rough in parts, smooth in others and there are enough changes in levels and cambers to really test the handling of a car to the limits. Because it is coned off in parts, you do have to be familiar with the way the corners go to line up a fast car correctly when you are really trying. Get it wrong and there is nowhere to go...
Four no-holds barred laps on the limit and beyond, and I realise Roland Kussmaul has made Porsche's fiercest road car look as docile as a kitten on the limit and beyond. What I also noticed, which concurred with my own less skilled findings at Malmsheim, was that you have to be smooth, quick and decisive with this car on the limit. When that tail goes, you have just one go to get it back.
You can tell when a suspension is not working properly by looking at the tyres after a few laps on a racing track. Strong understeer shows up by chunking on the tyres as they are worked excessively hard and overheat. There were no signs of tyre torture at all after Roland Kussmaul's four on-the-limit laps. Yes, the tyres were hot from those laps, but there was no sign of chunking or melted rubber anywhere. And these were normal road tyres!
In a world where supercars have had to pander to the whims of the rich boulevard cruisers who demand air-conditioning and electric everything, the Porsche 911 GT2 is like a breath of fresh air. It feels so much more like a ballerina than the heavier and less powerful Turbo; its responses are finer, its reflexes swifter. But be warned, this is not a car for the indecisive. Where the Turbo is almost as swift, its four-wheel-drive chassis allows a greater margin of error. By comparison, the GT2 is a bit of a test pilot's special; it is for serious drivers with a lot of experience. It has a lot to give, but it also asks a lot in return. It is those with the right stuff who will enjoy this car the most.
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