It was only on Monday when news emerged about the latest 911 GT3 RS lapping the demanding Nürburgring in 6 minutes and 56 seconds and now Porsche has confirmed the performance. The exact time was of 6:56.4 and behind the wheel of the track-focused machine was works race driver Kévin Estre who managed to improve the performance of the previous-generation model by an incredible 24 seconds.
The 911 GT3 RS was also driven by Porsche development driver Lars Kern and together with Estre they completed four laps of the 20.6-kilometer (12.8-mile) Green Hell, all of which were under seven minutes and just a few tenths of a second apart. This goes to show the naturally aspirated sports car is seriously (and consistently) fast in the hands of a talented driver and the best lap time was far from being just a fluke.
Porsche mentions the fastest lap kicked off at 11:40 AM in ideal conditions on Monday, April 16, with 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit) track and 14 degrees Celsius (57.2 degrees Fahrenheit) ambient temperatures. 29-year-old Estre was most impressed with the 911 GT3 RS, saying that during braking and in high-speed corners the car felt just about the same as the track-only GT3 R race car.
The weapon of choice was standard as it did not go through any changes that would have improved its chances of being faster around the Nordschleife. That being said, it did have track-oriented Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires not available right now, but you’ll soon be able to get them and they’re fully compliant with the laws in the European Union and United States. These rubbers measure 265/35 ZR 20 front and 325/30 ZR 21 rear and will also be offered for the mighty GT2 RS.
Speaking of which, the range-topping 911 is still significantly faster than the GT3 RS, having lapped the track in 6 minutes and 47.3 seconds last fall. These two 911 models continue a tradition that started back in 2013 when the 918 Spyder completed a lap of the ‘Ring in 6:57. It's utterly amazing how an extremely expensive hybrid hypercar launched roughly five years ago with much more power has already been beaten by an "old-school" naturally aspirated sports car playing in an inferior league. The new performance demonstrates the progress Porsche has been able to make in recent years, and while some would argue that Nürburgring lap times don't really matter, these are relevant when we're dealing with a model primarily built for the track such as the GT3 RS.
Source: Porsche