Porsche race car driver Kevin Estre has lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a record time of 6:56.4 minutes in the new 520 hp Porsche 911 GT3 RS. His lap was 24 seconds faster than the best time achieved with the previous generation 911 GT3 RS. Porsche development driver Lars Kern shared driving duties with Estre. The Porsche 918 Spyder, 911 GT2 RS and the new GT3 RS have all lapped the famed ‘Green Hell’ in less than 7 minutes. As is customary for record attempts, the time was measured around the 20.6 kilometre lap.

“No other Porsche model gets as close to racing as the new GT3 RS,” said Frank Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars. “Many innovative ideas from top-level motorsport were transferred; for example, from the 911 GT3 R. This is what our philosophy for GT models is about: Highest technology must be fascinating but tangible. In this regard there is no harder test for our ideas than the Nordschleife.”

“All four lap times of both drivers were below seven minutes and only tenths of a second apart,” said Andreas Preuninger, Director GT Model Line. “This proves not only the outstanding power of the GT3 RS, but also its extraordinary driveability at the limit. A perfectly composed overall system allows for highly dynamic performance even with a relatively modest engine power. For a driver, each of the car’s thousands of parts have to feel like one – that’s an unbeatable strength of the GT3 RS. And what especially delights me is how much fun Lars and Kévin had when driving that car.”

Estre, a 29-year old race car driver from French, began the record lap at 11:40 am in ideal conditions, with 14 degree Celsius ambient temperature and 18 degree Celsius track temperature. Estre has been driving as a factory Porsche driver since 2016 and races a Porsche 911 RSR in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) that includes the Le Mans 24-Hours. In the ADAC GT Masters he races the 911 GT3 R.

“This lap was a sensational experience for me”, said Estre.”Through the fast corners and on the brakes in particular, the GT3 RS is unbelievably close to our racing car GT3 R. This is also thanks to the new generation of tyres for road going sports cars. I like the engine of the GT3 RS a lot. Up to 9,000 revs per minute from a six-cylinder engine just feels fantastic. The sound is a dream and the torque is massive.”