Porsche hasn’t taken to Ford’s challenge around the Nürburgring Nordschleife laying down, with its kitted-out 911 GT3 undercutting the Mustang GTD.
The 911 GT3 Manthey Kit was revealed late last year as the latest add-on kit for Porsche’s perennial race car for the road, with its aggressive aerodynamic upgrades capable of generating up to 540kg of downforce at 285km/h.
Consisting of a special sculpted floor, a larger front lip, rear diffuser and larger rear wing, other enhancements included adjustable suspension and lighter-weight 20- and 21-inch forged wheels, shod in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres.
While it achieved a rapid time of six minutes and 52.981 seconds around the 20.832km Nordschleife shortly after its unveiling, reigning DTM champion and 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour winner Ayhancan Güven further lowered the bar in more optimal conditions.
Recording a time of six minutes and 50.863 seconds, the latest 911 GT3 Manthey Kit is almost five seconds faster than the pre-update 992.1-generation model.
Importantly, it was also just over 1.2 seconds quicker than the road-going Ford Mustang GTD, which has almost double the 911’s power, and is more closely linked to its GT3-racing counterpart than the Porsche.
While the 911 GT3 Manthey-Racing wasn’t faster than the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X – which recorded a six minute and 49.275 second time – the latter technically is classed in the Prototype/Pre-Production category, as it isn’t sold in Europe.
“I’m really happy that we were finally able to demonstrate the true potential of the 911 GT3 with Manthey Kit on the Nordschleife,” Guven said.
“I really enjoyed the lap – it’s such a great car to drive on this track! Since I usually do most of my laps here with the Grello, I have a high reference point.
“But in some sections of the track, the speed actually feels very similar, which is impressive and demonstrates how well the road cars and the Manthey Kits are developed.”
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