If you’ve ever wanted to race at top speeds around one of the most iconic racetracks in the world, then now is your chance. A new Porsche 911 GT3 just set a record for the fastest time around the Nürburgring in a road car with a manual transmission, knocking almost 10 seconds off the previous best time. And Porsche has released a video of the run filmed from the cockpit, so you can experience the thrills for yourself.
The record was set by legendary driver and Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister at the wheel of a 911 GT3 with the Weissach package, setting a time of 6:56.294. That’s 9.5 seconds ahead of the previous record set by the Dodge Viper ACR in 2017 — though there’s some math involved in these time calculations as the track was reconfigured in 2019.
The 911 GT3 used to set the record is an updated version of the car with the Weissach package, a set of upgrades over the regular production car which takes inspiration from the world of racing to slim down the weight through the use of lightweight components like carbon fiber shift paddles, carbon fiber trim on the steering wheel, and thinner carpet.
The upgrades made for the new GT3 gave the car not only a speed boost, but also a sense of fun thanks to the manual transmission, according to the driver. It was even 3.6 seconds quicker around the track than the 992.1-gen GT3 with a PDK gearbox.
“The new 911 GT3 inspires even more confidence at the limit than the previous model. I was faster in almost every corner,” said Bergmeister. “We learned a lot from the 911 GT3 RS, especially with the chassis. The car is much more stable on bumps and over the curbs. And thanks to the eight-per-cent-shorter gear ratio, there is noticeably more drive from 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 it was therefore even more fun.”
