Porsche 911 GT2 nears production, 500kW+ on board

Stuttgart’s most extreme 911 has been spied testing again, with its radical aero looking closer to production-ready than the last time it was spotted in the wild.

Officially, all we know about the 991.2-generation Porsche 911 GT2 is that it’s coming. Porsche boss Oliver Blume confirmed as much at the Geneva motorshow.

Everything else is under wraps until a proper reveal, expected later this year, but multiple sightings at the Nurburgring have given away enough to have Porsche fans worldwide going ape.

These latest images show the sports car without stuck-on arch extensions, as featured on the wheel wells of earlier mules.

The front bumper has also lost the vanes seen previously inside its three huge openings and appears much closer to what the real thing is expected to look like, though its mesh inserts are still partially covered on either side by taped-on carbonfibre canards, added to increase front-end aerodynamics.

Guard vents borrowed from the GT3 RS have been integrated into the GT2’s bodywork above the front wheels. Other aerodynamic aids on the latest GT2 prototype like the rear wing and bumper still carry rough and ready hallmarks of a car slapped together for evaluation purposes, so for now the production car keeps a few secrets up its sleeve.

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Other noteworthy elements include a bigger splitter protruding from the chin of the front bumper and NACA ducts in the ‘frunk’, venting air to key componentry to support its expected output of 500kW.

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A more heavily boosted version of the 911 Turbo’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine will sit in the rear, driving the back axle exclusively. Only a PDK dual clutch transmission will be available, though it will feature more closely stacked gear ratios and even faster shifting than before. Rear-wheel steering is expected, and likely necessary for managing the car’s monstrous torque.

Porsche last released a GT2 with the 997-generation of the 911 back in 2007. A GT2 RS was added in 2010 and it remains the most powerful ever production 911 with outputs of 456kW and 700Nm - but all that will likely change when the ‘widowmaker’ returns in early 2018.