New Blood on the Asphalt
Road Atlanta has a new king. Well. A new queen? Porsche doesn’t do gender binaries. The point stands. The 2019 19-inch wide, 700-horsepower Porsche 911 GT² RS, sporting the Manthey Racing Upgrade Kit, just shattered the track record. The clock stopped at 1:22.649.
Two point two seconds.
That is the gap between “very fast” and “physically impossible feeling.” The previous record was set by the stock GT² RS. Same chassis. Same engine output. Different attitude.
Porsche brought the whole family. A trio of 911 GT cars. Each one wearing Manthey livery. Each one faster than the factory baseline.
It works like magic. Or engineering. Whichever you prefer. Manthey Racing isn’t just a nameplate. It’s a partially Porsche-owned operation that knows exactly where to poke a track-focused 911 to make it bite harder. No extra horsepower. No stripped interior to save ounces.
Instead, they tuned the suspension. They added aero.
They turned a already mean sports car into a surgical instrument.
“The downforce of this car is purely incredible.”
That’s Joerg Bergmeister. He was in the driver’s seat. He didn’t sound excited. He sounded impressed.
Chasing Seconds
Cornering speeds rival actual GT-class race cars. That is not a minor tweak. That is a paradigm shift in handling dynamics. Bergmeister said the suspension eats curbs. The brakes feel like they’re from the future.
It sounds like marketing speak until you look at the stopwatch.
But it didn’t stop with the GT² RS. They threw the 2025 11 GT3 RS at the circuit too. Same treatment. Manthey kit applied.
The result? 1:23.032.
Fastest naturally aspirated production car ever to run that course. The standard GT³ RS took a hit. Literally.
And the 911 GT3? Same story. Upgraded version leaves the stock car in the dust. It validates the entire Manthey strategy. You don’t need more power. You need better control. You need grip. You need to trust the rear tires when everyone else is letting off the gas.
The Cost of Glory
There is a catch. Money. Lots of it.
The Manthey Upgrade Kit costs between $70,000 and $150.000. Depends on the car. Depends on how much you want to spend. It is an expensive way to make an expensive car slightly better.
Or significantly better. Depending on your view on track records.
Who is this for? People with too much cash and not enough hobbies. Maybe a CFO who needs to justify a tax write-off by calling it “competitive benchmarking.”
Does it matter if the gain is marginal? Or is it everything if it puts your name in the record books?
You tell me. The check engine light is on in your wallet anyway. 🏁
