Porsche 911 GT3 sets new Nürburgring record for manual cars
Porsche has officially set a new lap record at the Nürburgring's Northern Loop among production cars with manual transmission.
Here's What We Know
The new 911 GT3 for the 2025 model year was driven by Porsche factory driver Jorg Bergmeister. He completed the lap in 6 minutes 56.294 seconds. This is not only a new record for cars with manual transmission, but also better than the lap time of the previous GT3 version with PDK automatic transmission.
The previous record holder in this category was Dodge Viper ACR, which eight years ago showed a result of 7:01.3. And then the lap was measured on a shortened version of the track length of 20.599 kilometres. Since then, the regulations have changed - now the full configuration of 20.832 kilometres is used. However, even when compared to the old format, the Porsche completed the lap in 6:51.764, 10 seconds quicker than the Viper, despite a power gap of around 140bhp.
The new GT3 was 3.7 seconds quicker than its predecessor (992 bodywork before restyling). Porsche attributes the chassis improvement in part to the experience gained in developing the track-ready GT3 RS. According to Bergmeister, the car is more stable over bumps and curbs, while an eight per cent reduction in gear ratios has resulted in better rear axle response during acceleration with the same power level.
Andreas Preuninger, Director of GT Cars. Photo: Porsche AG
Although an automatic gearbox would have made the lap faster, the driver said he had more work to do with the six-speed manual, and therefore more fun.
The car used for the record lap was the Weissach package, which includes lightweight components and carbon fibre trim. The coupe was "shod" in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres.
Source: Porsche
