We re going to nurburgring

[txA&M08]

The Viper is atleast a 6:49 car. We need to send a crew to Germany.

How do you figure? The folks that went over there and the drivers said they thought the car had another 5 seconds in it, which would put it around the 6:57 mark that the 918 ran. All else equal, the Viper's got nothing for this new GT2RS.

[Snakebit10]

I initially thought so too but if two race drivers cant get under 7 minutes its time to face the facts that it cant get anywhere near 6:52 (huracan claimed time) much less a 6:49. I do think it could have beaten or tied the 918's time if it had unlimited budget for the Ring effort though. But anything under a say 6:55 at best I cant see it. Just not enough power to overcome the down force on the straights.

BTW I am eagerly awaiting to see the new best lap at Laguna when Randy gets his hands on one. Seems inevitable after this stellar effort at the Ring.

[SharpMan]

Porsche spent more on the video than the whole budget of the crowd-funded Viper effort! That said, GT2RS is a mental car. Mental! Good for Porsche to raising the bar this much in one go. That said, when the 720LT comes out...look out!

[str5010]

I'm wondering if the tire warmers allowed Porsche to save both tire life and track time by skipping the warm up lap and starting record lap attempts with fresh tires already at operating temperature. Russ had pointed out during the Viper effort that really the Kuhmos had considerable milage on them by the mid point of what would be lap two.

Another consideration - was Porsche able to fit this PDK with unique gear ratios optimized to this engine and aero package relative to the other 911s?

Surely in an ideal world where SRT had more resources available for a car like the ACR, they wouldn't have shared the same final drive as the regular SRT Viper.

[13COBRA]

Surely in an ideal world where SRT had more resources available for a car like the ACR, they wouldn't have shared the same final drive as the regular SRT Viper.

But then it wouldn't be a production car.

[PkB2014]

But then it wouldn't be a production car.

I believe he means SRT the Dodge division, would have been able to R&D more on making an ACR specific gear ratio. So still production car.

[Stealth]

Excellent job Porsche! That car is a beast.

While I am very thankful for the excellent job Russ, Viper-X, etc. did, the design of the ACRE for a long, high-speed course was doomed from the start. I still think a TA2.0 or TA 1.0 might have had more of a chance. In any event, time marches on and we will see if SRT jumps back in for the future!

[str5010]

I believe he means SRT the Dodge division, would have been able to R&D more on making an ACR specific gear ratio. So still production car.

Correct. If they didn't have to share the same setup across the entire Viper model line due to budget constraints and the like. Still a production piece but tailored accordingly for the ACR.

[Scott_in_fl]

The GT2RS is a beast, plain and simple. But, I also find it odd that cars with probably 60% of the downforce of the ACR-E can get around the turns at the Ring about as quickly as the ACR-E.

If all of the cars were run on the same tires, it would be interesting to see how much time the ACR-E can gain in the turns because of its downforce, and how much it loses in the straights. I have no doubt the GT2RS would still beat it with its massive acceleration and top end, but the gap should not be much more than 6-7 seconds.

All of that said, there still is nothing else like driving the ACR-E. We own the last of the breed of incredible enthusiast cars that were built for real drivers (i.e. ones that know how to use 3 pedals very well).

[BrianACR]

Vipers will always be special. Especially the ACR's. You can't go anywhere without turning heads and getting pics taken. Sure the Porsche is faster, but how many Porsches turn heads like a Viper?? Not only that, but how many people out there would actually know a GT2RS for what it actually is and not just think it's another Carrera? Cuz lets face it, all Porsches (Carrera based) look the same....

[Scott_in_fl]

^^^LOL, but so true. I love Porsches, but only because I can appreciate their heritage (and I enjoy driving them).

But you are right. All Carrera based models tend to fade into the past very quickly as soon as the new model comes out. I barely notice the prior GT2 when I see it. And hell, I think I passed a 911R the other day but I looked in my mirror and thought "eh, so what?"

I can't even get excited about the upcoming 991.2 GT3 anymore. It's just too much of the same thing from Porsche, over and over again.

[Pappy]

Here is a small, unscientific comparison of the GT-2 and ACR laps using easy to define visual reference points. The P-car was a little faster everywhere, but interestingly only picked up 2 seconds between the two bridges on the long straight (most of the length of the straight), even starting 13 kph faster at the first bridge. Below are the times (P-car followed by the ACR at the visual points I picked out. There may be minor errors (fractions of a second) based on my ability to stop the tapes at the same point, but you can see the trends. Fast car. Curious to see what the ZR1 does, especially if it has the big horsepower it is rumored to have.

GT-2 ACR
1:15.15 1.19.4 Yokohama Bridge

2:38.05 2:44.6

3:57.25 4:06.8 AMG sign

5:13.55 5:23.9

6:07.58@259 kph 6:18.8@246 kph Bridge @ start of straight

6:28.65 6:41.8 Bridge near end of straight

6:47.25 7:01.3

Pappy

[str5010]

Details from the Porsche effort:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...t-nurburgring/

[mjorgensen]

Details from the Porsche effort:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...t-nurburgring/

Hard to believe but if true... wow.

"Preuninger paints the GT2 RS's 'Ring-record run as a casual affair. Porsche had two hours a day on September 19th and 20th to set a laptime, with Kern and factory LMP1 driver Nick Tandy on hand to do the driving. Preuninger said that conditions on the 19th were too damp and humid, so it was a wash, but the 20th was ideal. The GT2 RS apparently broke the Huracan's record in its first lap out, and both Tandy and Kern set five laps under 6:50.

The cars didn't need much setup work either, just aero adjustments, per Preuninger. Both were stock too, save for a racing seat for the drivers. "Our cars don’t need to get dialed in a lot," Preuninger said, hence why they were able to set the record within their two-hour time slot.

If it sounds like Preuninger's bragging, that's because he is. See his LinkedIn posting announcing the GT2 RS's record, as captured by Autocar's Matt Prior, for more proof.


But given that his car just shattered the Nurburgring record by five seconds and beat Porsche's own 918 by nearly 10, Preuninger probably has the right to brag."

[Snakebit10]

Truly epic car. Engineering masterpiece.

[str5010]

That statement about setup time is a bit misleading as the car turned numerous laps there during development. It's not as though they showed up for their first ever laps of the Ring and did this.

[Heysie]

And don't forget the amount off data they (Porsche) already have about the Nurburgring.

[13COBRA]

That statement about setup time is a bit misleading as the car turned numerous laps there during development. It's not as though they showed up for their first ever laps of the Ring and did this.

+100!

[str5010]

Interesting to finally see some aero numbers on the car. No mention of anything but downforce and while substantial still quite a bit less than the ACR-E when you consider the numbers are quoted at a much higher speed.

They may have the sweet spot for the Ring combined with a perfectly optimized driveline.

Wonder what the downforce to drag ratios are for both cars and the Lambo too.

[Russ Oasis]

When we were there in August, they were running the GT2RS in the industry pool. They have been getting ready for this attempt for months. That's not to diminish their great accomplishment but to point out factory efforts are months in the making.

[Pappy]

Watching the video, it appears to me that pure acceleration rate played a key factor - jumped out to a 4-second lead in the first 1:15. Lighter car (Euro-spec w/titanium roll cage), 50+ more horsepower, lower drag, optimum gearing w/quick up-shifts....... Hard to beat. Still think it is great that our Viper can play in the same league with the exotics!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh8_2zQZ3xM

Pappy

[AZTVR]

When we were there in August, they were running the GT2RS in the industry pool. They have been getting ready for this attempt for months. That's not to diminish their great accomplishment but to point out factory efforts are months in the making.

This info also points out that one can not take anything that the factory or media reports at face value.

[ViperDC]

^^^LOL, but so true. I love Porsches, but only because I can appreciate their heritage (and I enjoy driving them).

But you are right. All Carrera based models tend to fade into the past very quickly as soon as the new model comes out. I barely notice the prior GT2 when I see it. And hell, I think I passed a 911R the other day but I looked in my mirror and thought "eh, so what?"

I can't even get excited about the upcoming 991.2 GT3 anymore. It's just too much of the same thing from Porsche, over and over again.

Weird then that these limited model Porsches are actually collectible and going up in value hand over fist unlike the pipe dreams of some people on here

I'm with you on the 911 R. You would have to be a complete moron to pay what those are selling for. I'd much rather have a "regular" GT3

[stradman]

When we were there in August, they were running the GT2RS in the industry pool. They have been getting ready for this attempt for months. That's not to diminish their great accomplishment but to point out factory efforts are months in the making.

Totally agree with you Russ. That was the impression that I got when I was there and spoke to a few people. They are now making it sound like "oh yeah we just jumped in the car and presto 6:48...." Again, not to diminish their achievement-as it is staggering, but lets get the facts right.

[Unlimtd]

They have cameras at the Ring that update every 60 seconds that you can access via the net. I "tuned in" in the mornings to see if I could spot Russ, et al. During one of my "tune ins", the Porsche was there. Pretty easy to see with that hideous color scheme.