This is the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25, a limited-edition of 30 track-only cars built in collaboration with Manthey-Racing GmbH, in celebration of the longtime Porsche Motorsport partner’s 25th anniversary. The Manthey team runs the Porsche 911 RSR factory effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and its history with the brand also includes seven wins and counting at the 24 Hours of the Nüburgring using Porsche 911 GT cars, including the 2021 edition of the race.
Based on the 991-generation GT2 RS Clubsport, the new Clubsport 25 uses the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six (690hp at 7000rpm, and 553lb-ft of torque at 2500-4500rpm) found in the regular Clubsport and the modern 935, while separating itself from both cars by incorporating elements of the modern 935 along with unique bodywork designed by Style Porsche.
The Clubsport 25 benefits from a wider track than its “regular” Clubsport starting point thanks to the use of the same center-locking wheel hubs found on the modern 935, which it has also borrowed steering equipment, electronic aids, and other suspension components from.
The bodywork of the new car provides a visual evolutionary link between the Clubsport and the modern 935 (both pictured below), and its unique form is not without functional improvements. Namely, the radiator is now centrally located rather than split and pushed out to the sides, protecting it from front-corner love taps while freeing up that space for better brake cooling and downforce on the front axle.
In a nod to Manthey-Racing’s bright green and yellow liveries on its Nürburgring 911s, the new front end includes slashes of the trademark color, a theme that reappears elsewhere, as Grant Larson, lead designer at Style Porsche, describes, “The design of the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25 expresses the long-standing collaboration between Porsche Motorsport and Manthey. It amalgamates the respective strengths of each partner into one racing car, and at the same time bridges the gap between the 991 and 992 model generations of the 911. Manthey contributed the basic concept and the technical ideas, with Porsche providing the final design. We used the characteristic colour scheme of Manthey’s ‘Grello’ to specifically highlight certain functional areas of the vehicle.”
A smooth, aerodynamically optimized underbelly ends at the rear with a new, Manthey-tuned diffuser that incorporates a new exhaust system. The overall rear end design is dominated by an extended semi-silhouette-style trailing edge that resembles Kremer bodywork from the original 935s of the ‘70s. Above the new bum are newly designed intakes for the motor, and a wing that benefits from a swan-style mounting system as well as new end plates. The front hood is also a new design, and is flanked by unique-to-this-car headlights which draw their inspiration from the 911 RSRs that compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The interior of the new car is the same as the RS Clubsport it is based on, with a welded, FIA-compliant safety cage.
This is an inarguably cool piece of engineering and design, but as with any expensive, track-only cars that will never truly compete in motorsport, there will be plenty of detractors no matter how impressive the machine is on its own merits. Marketing move or motorsport celebration, however you view it, it certainly looks the business. And although we haven’t and probably won’t get to drive one ourselves, we’ll assume it drives just fine, too.
