PORSCHE INDEX 997 GT2

A 200mph top speed made all the motoring headlines, but the 997 GT2 was also a properly developed, eminently driveable sports car. Here’s your complete dossier on buying one

- Kieron Fennelly

HISTORY & TECH

In the early 1990s, sports car racing was in the doldrums. Partly at the instigation of Jürgen Barth, a new series – the BPR Championship – was created to bring together various onemake competitions. Initially, Porsche’s entry was the 3.8 964 RSR, but once the 993 Turbo was in production, Weissach entered the GT2 category with a lightened, rear drive-only Turbo 911: the 993 GT2. While never achieving the dominance of the 935 20 years earlier, the 993 GT2 upheld Porsche’s honour through five seasons.

With the advent of the 996, Porsche chose to move down to GT3. This far less-costly class opened the field to many more teams and private owners, and potentially more business for Porsche – a strategy that the 20-year success of GT3 racing has borne out. Nevertheless, a road-going 996 GT2 was produced in limited quantities, like the previous GT2 – a rear-driven and lighter 911 Turbo – and was the halo model of the 996 range. However, its tendency to understeer, configured by Porsche to offset potential oversteer in a 911 that famously had no electronic catch fencing, didn’t endear it to Porsche journalists. The 996 GT2 was that rare modern 911 not to earn five-star acclaim.