2017 Porsche 911 GTS Does 7:23.77 Nurburgring Blitz in Amazing Sport Auto Test

The German mag, which has built a reputation for delivering such lap times, recently put the 2017 GTS through its paces on the Green Hell. And we're not sure what is more enjoyable - the result or the process.

Watching Christian Gebhardt wrestling the rear-engined coupe when the track (literally) gets bumpy, or, for instance, seeing him positioning the Zuffenhausen delight into the Mini Carousel as if throwing a strike-achieving bowling ball. There are just two of the reasons that will keep you in front of the screen throughout the 7:23.77 Ring flight.

So, what does the time tell us?

For one thing, the Nordschleife number sits reasonably close to the chronograph performance achieved by the carmaker itself. Back in January, Porsche announced the first turbocharged GTS in history needs 7:22 to go round the infamous German track.

As we mentioned back then, the chronograph stunt placed the civilian, if we may call it so, GTS just two seconds behind the track-frenzy GT3 RS.

Note that we're dealing with the same all-wheel-drive Coupe GTS trim, while the badge is also offered in RWD Coupe, AWD and RWD Cabriolet, as well as AWD Targa form.

And we're assuming the GTS seen in the video below used the Pirelli P-Zero Corsa N0 tires, which are offered as the super-sticky option for 991.1 and 991.2 Neunelfers riding on 20-inch wheels (the rubber brings a four-second lap time improvement).

Meanwhile, Porsche has delivered a power kit for the Carrera S (previously a 7:30 car), which brings the model from 430 to a GTS-rivaling 450 hp, albeit without the other tech updates introduced by the latter.

The performance also means the Porscha is just two seconds behind the Sport Auto-delivered Ferrari 488 GTB lap time.

All this Neunelfer Ring talk has only wet our appetite for rear-engined track day performance even further. As such, we can't wait for the 2018 911 GT3 RS to show you. Since the 2018 GT3 has managed to fly across the Green Hell in 7:12.7, our expectations for the revised Rennsport model are high (read: Mercedes-AMG GT R-beating high). And we won't even get into the details of the potential sub-7.05 time of the new GT2.