Porsche's Most Powerful 911 Ever Makes 700 Horsepower, Is Insane

 The Porsche 911 will reach its limit. The world’s favorite sports car has been in production for over half a century, and you can't keep adding horsepower and cutting weight forever. But today is not that day.

Porsche has just unveiled the 2018 911 GT2 RS, the most powerful 911 it has ever made. It also happens to be the most ludicrous, outrageous, extreme, terrifying, and expensive, 911 ever—try roughly $300,000.

Crowds at the UK’s Goodwood Festival of Speed got to check out the rear-wheel drive coupe, which spits out 700 horsepower from a biturbo flat-six engine to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds.¹

Since saving weight is key to making the most of all that power, Porsche's engineers got the 911 down to a spritely 3,241 pounds. They fashioned the exhaust system from titanium to save 15 pounds. They made the roof of magnesium, and slathered carbon fiber over the hood, front wings, wheel housing vents, mirrors, and a chunk of the rear end.

The GT2 RS gets an updated 911 look, including a surfboard-sized spoiler on the back. If that’s not enough, opt for the Weissach package and take home carbon anti-roll bars and magnesium wheels, to cut weight by another 40 pounds.

To squeeze an extra 120 horsepower from the 3.8-liter engine in the 911 Turbo S, Porsche magicians added a pair of massive turbochargers and a clever extra cooling system which uses a spray of water to reduce the temperature of the compressed air as it’s sucked into the combustion cylinders, which helps boost power. A racing chassis with rear-axle steering and a modified stability control system will help keep the car glued to the pavement.

Stick shift fans, sorry, this machine is only coming with a tweaked version of Porsche’s seven-speed dual clutch automatic, with paddles behind the bright red steering wheel.

The new car is a major step up in performance from the previous 911 GT2 RS, from 2011. That had just 620 horsepower, and did a paltry 3.3 second 0-60 mph sprint. At the time, the car world thought that was Porsche at its most extreme, but the 911 is the car that keeps on giving. It’s hard to see how the German automaker can top this $300,000 effort, but don’t rule it out.