New cars: Porsche 911 GT2

Los Angeles Times

This is “the most hard-core 911 ever to wear a license plate.” It’s also the first production 911 that can exceed 200 mph. The seats, suspension, steering, and brakes are all “ultra-hard.” A lighter, racier, rear-wheel transaxle has replaced the Turbo’s all-wheel drive system. The result is a car that “is quite simply insane and, frankly, kind of scary.”

Motor Trend

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There’s no better way to cure jet lag than to redline a 911 on an unrestricted racetrack, as we recently did at an unused airport runway, hitting 180 mph in a driving rain. This new edition has shed 300 pounds by eliminating rear seats and adding a plastic rear lid. The six-speed manual gearbox shifts “as quick as a card shark flashes aces.” The car gets 23 miles per gallon on the highway—but you aren’t worried about that, are you?

Automobile

GT officially stands for Gran Turismo, but if this beast is not treated with due competence and caution, “Guaranteed Trauma is more like it.” At mind-boggling speeds, the noise level is intense, the chassis transfers every bump in the road surface, and the steering is “a live wire.” This 530-hp, 3,175-pound wonder will out-accelerate any mechanical device that crosses its path.