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2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) Spied Showing Red Hot Exhaust

The Nurburgring is a brilliant place to hone the skills of a driver and fine-tune the driving dynamics of a car. Besides, its 12.93 miles (20.81 km) and 154 turns are nirvana for automakers searching to squeeze more performance from their soon-to-debut production cars. The long-awaited 2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) makes no exception to the rule.
2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype 12 photos
Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) prototype
What you’re looking at, dear readers, it not just the most extreme take on the current generation of the Neunelfer, but it also smells like a new Nurburgring lap time record. Considering that the 997-gen GT2 blitzed the Green Hell in 7 minutes and 32 seconds with Walter Rohrl behind the wheel, the new kid on the 911 block shows a lot of promise.

Underneath the four-point taillights, gigantic rear spoiler, flared wheel arches, and red hot exhaust pipes lurks a twin-turbocharged monster, as in the 3.8-liter six-cylinder boxer of the 911 Turbo and 911 Turbo S. It’s anybody’s guess how many more ponies Porsche has managed to extract from it, which is why the most unassuming estimate is at least 600 PS (592 horsepower). Even though it doesn’t have the all-wheel-drive system of its more civilian half-brothers, the 991.2-gen Porsche 911 GT2 is expected to be unholy fast (and scary) in a straight line.

In the twisties, the wacky aerodynamics will help the 911 GT2 stick to the asphalt like roadkill and change direction like an ice skater. Be that as it may, bear in mind that this thing is a tail happy monster with mountains of torque driving the rear axle.

Thankfully, though, the center-lock alloy wheels appear to be shod in super-sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber, a.k.a. semi slicks which meet the legal requirements for use on public roads. To make things even more interesting, the 911 GT2 is expected to get the rear-wheel steering.

The front fascia may look as if Porsche borrowed it from the 911 GT3 RS, but there are a lot of new things going on there, including two little carbon fiber winglets affixed at each side of the front bumper and a gargantuan splitter. As for the side air intakes, well, they’re massive, aren’t they? 600+ PS from a displacement of 3.8-liters requires lots of cool, fresh air to complete the “suck-squeeze-bang-blow” sequence.

If everything goes according to plan, this early prototype of the 2017 Porsche 911 GT2 (991.2) should arrive in production-ready form at the Paris Motor Show in October. The question is, will Porsche follow up this effort with a loonier and scarier GT2 RS? Fingers crossed it will.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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