Unless you’ve been stuck in the wilderness with zero connection to the civilised world for the last few days, you’ll know that Porsche recently announced a jaw-dropping track-only special called the GT3 R rennsport. It’s essentially an uncorked version of the company’s 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’s latest 4.2-litre flat-six on exclusive track days. Cars like these aren’t to everyone’s taste, but it’d doubtlessly be a fun way to spend a million quid – or two.
There’s clearly a business case in it, too, because this isn’t the first track-only special to come out of Stuttgart in recent years. The GT3 R rennsport’s predecessor, the GT2 RS Clubsport-based 935 homage, arrived back in 2018 and it didn’t take long for all 77 examples to find owners. Hard to imagine Porsche will struggle to fill the rennsport’s order books, either, so if you’ve not had an invitation come in the post yet – or you’re waiting for next month’s pay cheque to get you over the line – your chances of getting one are as thin as the carbon winglets that adorn it. But don’t worry, I’ve got something that’s a lot rarer and even more powerful than the rennsport. It’s this: the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25.
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’d take the already manic GT2 RS Clubsport and turn it up to 11.
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’ll 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.
That’s probably why the 3.8-litre, twin-turbo flat-six was left largely unchanged from the base GT2. So 700hp that’s 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’s comfortably the most extreme offering to come from Manthey to date – and that’s saying something from a company that has seven N24 wins, four Le Mans victories and a Nurburgring lap record under its belt – all of which have been in Porsches.
Now there’s 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’s founder) and Porsche racing legend Kevin Estre on the bonnet and steering wheel, plus there’s an extra set of wheels and tyres for when you’re ready to hit the track. Quite how much you’ll need for the car itself isn’t publicly available, but they were €525,000 when new back in 2021. So it’ll surely be heading towards the million-pound mark now, if not beyond it - which is obviously a lot for a car that’ll cover more miles on the back of a trailer than on track. But as the road-legal CLK LM that’s for sale alongside it shows, anything is possible.
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