2017 Porsche 911 GT2 RS revealed

The new Porsche 911 GT2 RS was previewed early at the launch event for the Forza Motorsport 7 video game. Based on the second-generation 911 chassis, and built with hardware from the GT3 RS, Porsche is scheduled to officially launch the 911 GT2 RS later this year. Though yet to be confirmed by the carmaker, it is expected that the new Porsche will comfortably trump both the GT3 RS and the four-wheel-drive Turbo S in terms of performance, with a top speed of 330kph and a 0-100kph time of a little more than 2.5sec. The rear-wheel-drive GT2 RS will get rear-axle steering with Porsche Torque Vectoring, as well as a fully variable locking rear differential.

The car has been spotted several times at Nürburgring, undergoing high-speed testing. It is powered by a flat-six turbocharged engine that's related to the 911 Turbo S' unit but produces almost as much as 710hp. It’s also expected to generate more downforce from its track-spec bodywork than any other 911 on sale, with a fixed rear wing, larger front intakes and GT3 RS-mimicking arch vents. Earlier prototypes suggest that the bumper in the final design of the model will generate additional downforce.

Though Andreas Preuninger, the GT high-performance models boss, confirmed that a GT2 RS was on its way last year, Porsche has so far been strictly tight-lipped on the photographs of its latest model still in development. However, the fact that the car was exhibited at the Forza Motorsport 7 game event suggests that it is only months away from its launch.

The new 911 GT2 RS will be the first to wear the moniker since the 997-based model that went to sale seven years back. It was considered to be the most powerful and extreme 911 to have gone on sale to date; it offered 619hp from its flat-six, twin-turbo engine and weighed just 1,370kg.