Porsche pursues 'fastest ever car' title

In 2001, Porsche is in a very comfortable position. As opposed to the likes of other exotic marques, such as Ferrari, Porsche is still an independent auto maker. It has refused to be bullied into submission by the bigger boys, such as Ford, Daimler Chrystler et al.

Apart from this, the company is on the verge of releasing what could well be another world beater. The 2001 911 GT2 is not a car built for taking the kids to school or heading down to the shops for some milk and cheese.

No, the brand new GT2 is all about going fast. And frequently, too. Top speed is rated by Porsche as 315km/h.

Now, many will argue that the McLaren F1 is faster, but such high speeds are heavily affected by conditions, such as cross winds, temperature and what not. As it stands, we'll have to wait until Porsche delivers a GT2 to the Wombat offices.

With stringent emissions restrictions in place in most countries, car makers are having to engineer cars based not on displacement. Sure, a 14-litre car would put plenty of kW to the ground, but it would be street legal in 2 countries.

With this in mind, one would speculate that in future, engines will get smaller and the up-market exotic cars will concentrate on making the most out of turbochargers and supercharger.

Enter the GT2, sporting a 3.6-litre horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine.

This medium-sized boxer engine is capable of creating plenty of torque unassisted, but adding two turbochargers (with intercoolers) ensures a performance hit matched by few.

These two turbos provide pressure of 29psi - this is plenty. The engine is rear mounted, and is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.

Because of the extreme performance of the car, an automatic version just wasn't on the cards. The 3,600cc engine spins the rear wheels to the tune of 620Nm of torque between 3,500 and 4,500 rpm. Peak power is a whopping 340kW (456bhp) at 5,700 rpm.

Using Porsche's patented VarioCam Plus technology, the engine is capable of variable valve timing - like Toyota's VVTL - but also variable valve lift.

This means that the car can be driven like 20 year-old Volvo, without using too much fuel. Alternatively, you could take it to a race track and post some seriously quick times, in which case the GT2 would drink fuel like a thirsty ox drinks water.

Sitting on 18" five-spoke mags, the rear-wheel drive sports car is capable of braking extremely quickly, for this is the first ever production Porsche to make use of four cermaic disc brakes.

These Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (a silicon-carbon mix) can withstand immense heat and are much lighter than standard ventilated disc brakes. With six-pot calipers up front and four-pots at the rear, this car can accelerate, but also decelerate, very quickly indeed.

The GT2 can knock up 0-100km times (from standstill) of about 4.1 seconds. But it's not simply the engine that makes these speeds and times possible.

The aerodynamics play a huge role yet the redesigned chassis still smacks of Porsche pedigree. This is one of the most effective cars at reducing the drag co-efficient and also channeling an effective amount of air into the engine bay.

A new spoiler will distinguish this stunning vehicle from the 1999/2000 GT3. The wing provides negative lift (downforce) but also increases airflow into the engine, upon which the wing sits directly above. Other readily apparent visual changes include the much larger air intake openings in the front spoiler.

The car weighs in at just over 1400kg and hovers a few inches off the ground, courtesy of some Porsche-tuned, fully-adjustable suspension. The word on the street rumours there will even be a club sport version of the GT2, incorporating a heavy-duty roll cage, flameproof upholstery and even a fire extinguisher.

In 2001, production of the 911 GT2 will be very limited, which could be seen a good thing for collectors, racing ethusiasts and car lovers in general. The most powerful Porsche ever built for the open road is here. It goes fast, it looks good, and it costs an arm and a leg. About $300,000 (DM 339,000).