By Cam Tait \/ Tuesday, 3 October 2023 \/ Loading comments<\/p>\n
Unless you\u2019ve been stuck in the wilderness with zero connection to the civilised world for the last few days, you\u2019ll know that Porsche recently announced a jaw-dropping track-only special called the GT3 R rennsport. It\u2019s essentially an uncorked version of the company\u2019s GT3 R racer, free from the shackles of balance of performance rules so that affluent Porsche lovers can experience the full potential of the firm\u2019s latest 4.2-litre flat-six on exclusive track days. Cars like these aren\u2019t to everyone\u2019s taste, but it\u2019d doubtlessly be a fun way to spend a million quid \u2013 or two.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s clearly a business case in it, too, because this isn\u2019t the first track-only special to come out of Stuttgart in recent years. The GT3 R rennsport\u2019s predecessor, the GT2 RS Clubsport-based 935 homage, arrived back in 2018 and it didn\u2019t take long for all 77 examples to find owners. Hard to imagine Porsche will struggle to fill the rennsport\u2019s order books, either, so if you\u2019ve not had an invitation come in the post yet \u2013 or you\u2019re waiting for next month\u2019s pay cheque to get you over the line \u2013 your chances of getting one are as thin as the carbon winglets that adorn it. But don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ve got something that\u2019s a lot rarer and even more powerful than the rennsport. It\u2019s this: the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25.<\/p>\n
Strictly speaking, the Clubsport 25 sits adjacent to the aforementioned track specials as it was developed by Manthey Racing, a firm that knows its 911s so well that Porsche acquired a majority stake in the outfit back in 2013. So when Manthey turned 25 a couple of years ago, the two decided that the best way to mark the occasion was to launch an ultra-limited track toy that\u2019d take the already manic GT2 RS Clubsport and turn it up to 11.<\/p>\n
The most striking difference was an overhaul to the aero package. The front end was completely redesigned with a deeper splitter, more intricate carbon winglets and headlights taken straight from the 911 RSR Le Mans winner. Larger vents were installed at the back to feed air into the repositioned radiators, while the back end featured a gargantuan diffuser and swan-neck-style rear wing. Manthey never revealed how much downforce this all produced, but it\u2019ll probably be a decent step-on from the regular Clubsport. After all, the racing squad would never bolt bits on unless it resulted in lap time gain.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s probably why the 3.8-litre, twin-turbo flat-six was left largely unchanged from the base GT2. So 700hp that\u2019s sent through a seven-speed PDK to the rear wheels, and transferred to the tarmac via some very sticky Michelin racing slicks. It was never intended to go racing, and nobody has tried entering one in the any sort of GT2 series yet, but it\u2019s comfortably the most extreme offering to come from Manthey to date \u2013 and that\u2019s saying something from a company that has seven N24 wins, four Le Mans victories and a Nurburgring lap record under its belt \u2013 all of which have been in Porsches.<\/p>\n
Now there\u2019s an opportunity to get your hands on one, as chassis number 19 of 30 is up for sale at Joe Macari. This particular car features the signatures of Olaf Manthey (the team\u2019s founder) and Porsche racing legend Kevin Estre on the bonnet and steering wheel, plus there\u2019s an extra set of wheels and tyres for when you\u2019re ready to hit the track. Quite how much you\u2019ll need for the car itself isn\u2019t publicly available, but they were \u20ac525,000 when new back in 2021. So it\u2019ll surely be heading towards the million-pound mark now, if not beyond it – which is obviously a lot for a car that\u2019ll cover more miles on the back of a trailer than on track. But as the road-legal CLK LM that\u2019s for sale alongside it shows, anything is possible.<\/p>\n