While some automakers are known to overrate their cars’ performance figures (the most notorious of which might be Ferrari, who not only likes to fudge numbers but also to control the environment in which they can be tested), others have a reputation for doing the opposite.
Porsche is probably the most notable of the manufacturers in the latter camp, and another example of its habit of erring toward caution when making performance claims has been put in evidence once more with the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
The high-performance car, which packs a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six rated at 690 horsepower, weighs 3,241 pounds, can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds and rips through the quarter mile in just over 10 seconds. The 911 GT2 RS already holds numerous track records around the world, including at the Nürburgring, and according to Porsche, it has a top speed of 211 mph. Except that it doesn’t.
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During testing by Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds, the car was found to have an actual top speed of 219 mph, which at those speeds is a significant margin. The Florida runway was the perfect place for a test: It’s so flat that across its entire 3.2-mile length, the elevation changes only a quarter of an inch.
Still, at some point the runway does end, and the driver must brake at the 2.7-mile mark to give himself ample room to stop. The GT2 RS was still climbing when he did, so it’s likely JBPG may have been able to register an even faster time on a longer piece of tarmac.
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