It appears reports of the Porsche 911 GT2’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, as a senior executive at the German sports car manufacturer has confirmed that a new one is in fact in the works. The information comes from Andreas Preuninger, the man in charge of development of Porsche’s high-performance models. He recently spoke with British publication Autocar.
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Preuninger said that a GT2 is coming, but not until close to the end of the current 991-series 911’s life cycle, meaning probably around 2018. Note, the whole 911 range is about to undergo a mid-cycle update over the coming year, bringing them to 991.2 spec, and it is this spec that will be basis for the new GT2.
Talk of the GT2 being axed for good emerged early last year. The thinking was that Porsche’s latest 911 Turbo models were already offering better performance than previous GT2s, and topping them, with the traditional rear-wheel-drive layout of the GT2, would only make a car with a fearsome reputation even more frightening.
Well, we’re glad that that isn’t the case. The last GT2, especially in more hardcore RS trim, is one of the purest sports cars on the planet, even to this day. It generated as much as 620 horsepower, yet it only had 3,021 pounds to haul—in full road trim and with all fluids on board.
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Expect any new model to offer similar numbers, though it’s likely the standard manual transmission of the previous GT2 will be replaced by Porsche’s brilliant PDK dual-clutch unit in the new one. The engine, meanwhile, will likely be a twin-turbocharged version of the new 4.0-liter flat-six making its debut in the latest GT3 RS.
Stay tuned for an update.
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