New record: Porsche 911 GT3 masters Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 6:56.294 minutes
'More and more customers of the 911 GT3 are opting for the six-speed manual transmission. And more and more often we are asked by these customers how fast a 911 GT3 with manual transmission would be on the Nordschleife', Andreas Preuninger, Director GT Cars said. 'We have now answered this question and – although we know that the variant with PDK is significantly faster – drove our lap time with a manual six-speed gearbox. Even without the automated, super-fast and precise gearshifts of the PDK and with a mechanical instead of electronically controlled limited-slip differential, the new 911 GT3 takes around 3.6 seconds off its predecessor with PDK.'
In sunny weather, at 54 degrees Fahrenheit ambient and 80 degrees asphalt temperature, Joerg Bergmeister set out on the 12.94 mile (20.832 kilometer) track in the late afternoon in the 502 hp 911 GT3 with optional Weissach Package. As with the official lap of the previous model, he drove using road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires in the dimensions 255/35 R 20 at the front and 315/30 R 21 at the rear.
The goal: fastest lap time of a production vehicle with manual transmission
'When we decided to set the official lap time of the new 911 GT3 with manual transmission, we naturally also looked at who was at the top of the leaderboard' Preuninger said. A competitor needed 7:01,300 minutes for the shorter 12.8 mile (20.6 kilometer) track layout. This corresponds to a time of around 7:05,800 minutes on the full 12.94 mile (20.832 kilometer) lap. Under supervision of an independent notary public, the lap time of the new 911 GT3 was validated at 6:56.294 minutes for the 12.94-mile (20.832-kilometer) lap. With that, Bergmeister improved the previous lap record by more than 9.5 seconds.
Better performance with the same engine power
'The new 911 GT3 inspires even more confidence at the limit than the previous model. I was faster in almost every corner,' Bergmeister said, describing the handling of the sports car. 'We learned a lot from the 911 GT3 RS, especially with the chassis. The car is even more stable on bumps and over the curbs. And thanks to the eight percent shorter gear ratio, there is noticeably more power on the rear axle when accelerating with the same engine power. Even if it would have been a few seconds faster with the seven-speed PDK – with the six-speed manual gearbox I definitely had more to do on the fast lap and thus also a bit more fun.'
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