Porsche has created a special edition 911 to celebrate 25 years of Manthey Racing and why should you care? Who even is Manthey Racing?
Seven-times Nurburgring champs
Trust us - you should care. And Manthey Racing is awesome. Formed in 1996 by racing driver Olaf Manthey, the team has had close connections with Porsche ever since. And by close connections, we mean Manthey has won the incredible Nurburgring 24hrs (which should TOTALLY be on your must-visit list once Covid is done with) seven times with Porsche. That's remarkable.
So too is the car. Only 30 Manthey 911s will be built, and all will be based on the 911 GT2 RS. The official name for the car is the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25 and it's for track-use only. More's the pity.
Power, and there's a lot of it, comes from a 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine. How much power? 700hp. Yup. That's a lot. It's also rear-wheel drive only, and comes with the seven-speed PDK automatic dual clutch gearbox as standard.
Mellow Grello
The colour scheme - a mix of grey and acid yellow - is inspired by Manthey's racing colours, which Nurburgring fans fondly dubbed "Grello" because of its distinctive green and yellow livery. Grant Larson, from Porsche's design department, has worked on the car - he also designed the 911 RSR, 911 GT3 R as well as the modern 935 and many more - and has, of course, taken inspiration from Manthey's racing exploits.
"The design of the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25 expresses the long-standing collaboration between Porsche Motorsport and Manthey," said Larson. "It amalgamates the respective strengths of each partner into one racing car, and at the same time bridges the gap between the 991 and 992 model generations of the 911. Manthey contributed the basic concept and the technical ideas, with Porsche providing the final design. We used the characteristic colour scheme of Manthey's 'Grello' to specifically highlight certain functional areas of the vehicle."
Up front, there's the distinctive big, low-set, centrally-mounted main radiator, through which Porsche says the "optimal airflow keeps the engine temperature stable over a wide speed range." It's also supposed to be better protected from collision damage. There's a whole new front splitter and bumper arrangement, with double flicks on the outside increase to downforce on the front axle.
Underneath, the body is completely flat-bottomed and enclosed, while the carbon-fibre bonnet gets two massive air channels. There's also a big NACA duct, just behind the Porsche badge.
Trick aero
Thanks to the big rad up front, there's no need for radiators in the wheelarches, so the airflow to the front brakes can be improved. The flared arches also have big vents at the back to let hot air escape. At the leading edge of the rear arches is a big two-part air intake. The rear wing features new side plates and swan-neck support brackets, which ensure uninterrupted flow. The particularly wide rear spoiler forms a unit with the body and, like on the modern 935, serves as a wrap-around separation edge - an element lifted from Manthey's first racing 911, which was still based on the 996 generation of the Porsche 911.
There are also new air vents in the rear deck and a big rear diffuser that was actually designed for the car by the racing team. Porsche even says that the rear exhaust setup is 'a visual delight.' As a final touch, up front, the headlights get the distinctive four-stripe design from the Le Mans 911 RSR and have integrated indicators as a weight-and-space-saving trick. The interior gets a welded-in safety cage, and has been lifted from the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport and complies with FIA standards. There's also the inevitable plaque showing the number of your limited edition.
"With the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25 special edition, which we designed and developed in conjunction with Porsche Motorsport, we've reached another milestone in the 25-year history of Manthey. It's a perfect example of our guiding principle 'Closer to Perfection,'" states Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director of Manthey-Racing GmbH. "With every modification, technological function always takes priority. That's why the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25 has its very own character, which also reflects our brand values: straightforward and meticulous, flexible and uncompromising."