TUNNING

Porsche 911 GT3 RS & Manthey 911 GT3 RS

I may be a Monza newbie, but on my third ever flying lap at ‘The Temple of Speed’ I arrive at the first chicane at about 150mph and bury the brake pedal at the 200m board. The car sheds over 100mph confidently, we snick through the chicane, and the eager flat-six begins building up speed again. 

This morning I wouldn’t have predicted this turn of events, but I’m putting my faith in Porsche track instructor Florin Sutterlin, who’s setting the pace in an identical 992 GT3 RS. In a few laps’ time I’ll swap to the car I’m actually here to sample, the remarkable Manthey Racing 911 GT3 RS MR.

Something of a cult amongst fans of hardcore Porsches, Manthey is based in Meuspath, just a stone’s throw from the Nordschleife’s Döttinger Höhe straight. The team’s record in the N24 is the stuff of legend, its seven victories (all achieved with Porsche 911s) matched only by its arch rival, Audi-supported Phoenix Racing, who scored a seventh victory for the R8 LMS last year.

Established in 1996 by successful Carrera Cup, DTM and VLN racer Olaf Manthey, the team rapidly forged a formidable reputation for winning races and making Porsche’s most focused street cars that bit fiercer. Proudly independent for the best part of two decades, Manthey merged with Raeder Motorsport in 2013, with Porsche subsequently acquiring a 51 per cent stake later that same year.

This began a new era in which the factory would entrust Manthey with its GT race programme, including the World Endurance Championship. Being part of Porsche also changed the way Manthey could work on Porsche’s latest models. Gone were the wild, big-bore engines with capacities from 3.9 to 4.4 litres and power outputs that exceeded 500bhp long before the factory cars managed it. In their place came upgrades for Cayman and 911 GT models that left the powertrain untouched and – crucially – preserved the standard model’s homologation and factory warranty status.

These Manthey ‘Kits’ have been available through Porsche’s Tequipment option catalogue since May 2021. We sampled a 992 GT3 fitted with a full Manthey package last year, when it starred in our 2024 Track Car of the Year test. Surprisingly different from the stock GT3 in character and capability, this hardcore take on a familiar Flacht favourite whetted our appetite for what was then Manthey’s very much in-development GT3 RS prototype – a YouTube sensation after a heavily camouflaged and outrageously bewinged car was spotted undergoing testing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. 

Autonews