Page 129 - Demo

129Professional racing drivers know how to pick a sports car for their personal entertainment - especially sports cars that straddle the line between weekend canyon-carvers and full-tilt race cars. Case in point: this 2019 Porsche 911 GT2 RS offered with No Reserve at the 2024 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, January 20-28. It was previously owned by 2003 Champ Car World Series champion Paul Tracy. In more recent years IndyCar fans know Tracy from his TV commentary role, but long before his broadcast booth days, he was racking up wins at major races such as the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Road America and Surfer’s Paradise in Australia.Obviously, the man knows his way around road courses and street circuits, so it’s only natural he would be drawn to what was the most powerful street-legal 911 Porsche had ever built up to that time. Porsche engineers elevated the 911 platform with both more power and reduced weight for the 911 GT2 RS, with spectacular results. Porsche immediately set out to prove the car’s mettle and set a lap record for a road-approved production sports car at the Nürburgring in Germany. “This result makes it official: The GT2 RS is not only the most powerful, but also the fastest 911 ever built,” said Frank-Steffen Walliser, then Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars at Porsche, following the record-breaking feat.The GT2 RS delivers a visceral driving experience thanks to a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-6, rated from the factory at 700 hp and 553 ft/lbs of torque. The extra output over other 911 models comes via larger turbos pushing more air into the engine. “A new additional cooling system delivers optimum cooling at peak loads and, at very high temperatures, sprays the charge-air cooler with water,” Porsche explained in the car’s press release at launch. Porsche rated the GT2 RS’s top speed at 211 mph.The flat-6 is teamed with a Porsche PDK 7-speed shiftable dual-clutch automatic transmission and a limited-slip differential. Modifications to the powertrain on the car offered at Scottsdale include a Vivid Racing tune and a custom exhaust.This GT2 RS is finished in Chalk White paint with Satin Black painted wheels. The towering rear wing is the dominant exterior feature, but the more subtle air intakes and outlets play key aerodynamic roles as well. This example features the Weissach Package, which added magnesium wheels, carbon-fiber antiroll bars and exposed carbon-fiber components that