Porsche makes the quick faster

Fairfax

THE QUICKENING: No stone has been left unturned to make the Porsche GT2 a speed machine.

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The 911 Turbo is already a quick car. So imagine what happens when the boffins in the white coats at Porsche manage to extract more power from the same engine - and then strip about 100 kilograms out of the car's body.

That's basically how the GT2 was created.

Every nut, bolt and panel was examined and checked to see if it was required. One of the items that happened to be deemed non-essential was the group of cogs that drives the front wheels. You see, the 911 Turbo is all-wheel-drive, which helps it claw its way out of corners and from a standstill because the front wheels are helping the back wheels distribute the power to the road.

In the GT2, however, all the power goes directly to the rear wheels. In this case, the front wheels are merely there to steer the car and keep the front bumper from hitting the ground.

I'm sure it was just my imagination but under hard acceleration you can't help but get the feeling that the GT2 is balancing on its back wheels, just as in a cartoon.

The Porsche's twin-turbo engine packs a wicked punch and the super-wide rear tyres do their best to transmit that power to the ground. It's not always easy, however.

The tyres that come with the GT2 are a highly regarded Michelin tyre designed for weekend track days. They have the bare minimum tread depth to meet road legal requirements and usually take two or three laps to warm up. Caution is required for at least the first 30 minutes of street driving.

In the wet, as we were unlucky enough to experience, you may as well forget it. The tyres will eventually get up to temperature in an hour or so but even then it's not wise to be brave. It is about the only time the GT2 is vulnerable - and anyone in a Toyota Yaris could see it off, no question.

In the dry, however, it comes into its own, although caution is still required. Until the turbo cuts in, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a Daihatsu Charade, albeit one with really good seats and a suede steering wheel. This odd sensation only lasts for about, oh, half a second, however. The Daihatsu daydream ends when the Porsche's two turbochargers suddenly come to life like a clap of thunder.

If you haven't anticipated this abrupt surge of power you won't have time to select second gear before you meet the engine's rev limiter and discover the seatbelt pre-tensioners as your body is thrust forward momentarily.

To give you some idea of the acceleration, count to four. If you were in a Porsche GT2, you'd be doing 100kmh by now.

Perhaps more incredible than the acceleration is how easy the GT2 is to drive. After driving the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, the GT2 feels like a Corolla. The clutch action is light, the gearshift is precise and fuss-free and the steering is no different to an average car.

Compared with a regular car, however, you can better feel what the front tyres are doing. I'm not sure if that's because of the quality of the steering wheel itself, or simply because Porsche has the steering geometry just right but it's a delight either way.

The GT2 has a few other tricks up its sleeve. Despite being smaller than the Gallardo, it makes better use of its available space.

These cars aren't bought for practical reasons but at least there is decent storage room behind the GT2's seats, under the bonnet, a good-sized glovebox, and deep, covered door pockets. (In the Lamborghini, the pockets have been replaced by a carbon-fibre panel to save a few grams.) A high-end sound system drowns out the drone of the engine and tyres at freeway speeds on long drives to and from the racetrack.

The GT2 also has a tighter turning circle, which makes it less embarrassing than the Lamborghini when it comes to U-turns.

Surprisingly, however, the GT2 doesn't cope with some aspects of the daily grind as well as the Lamborghini. For example, the GT2 can easily scrape its front bumper on speed bumps and even some petrol station driveways. For good reason, the black rubber edge is flexible and easily replaceable.

Because it is so light over the nose, the front wheels can easily "tram track", that is, follow the contour of the road. When braking heavily on a bumpy road, you hold your breath as the front end squirms slightly. This, apparently, is the true spirit of a Porsche. The fanatics say it's not a Porsche unless it scares you. At least a little bit.

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