To car manufacturers, the Nürburging is the one track that matters most. It’s where records are set and legends are born, the yardstick for the entire world of performance cars. Recently, another record has been shattered, as the new Porsche 911 GT3 is now the fastest production car with a manual transmission to ever lap the famed German track.
On the full 20.832-kilometer layout of the Nordschliefe, factory driver Jörg Bergmeister clicked off a lap time of 6:56.294, taking the stick-shift production car record from the Dodge Viper ACR and beating the old GT3 with the PDK dual-clutch transmission by 3.633 seconds.
While the new GT3’s record was set by Porsche itself, sending the Viper ACR around the Nürburgring was done without factory backing. In 2017, with Viper production winding down, Viper Club of America member and racer Russ Oasis started a GoFundMe campaign titled “Take Back The Ring Record.” The goal was heroic—send two Viper ACRs to Germany and try to reclaim the overall Nürburgring lap record. More than $200,000 was raised, the ACRs were shipped over, GT racing driver Lance David Arnold was put in the driver’s seat, and the push began.
While the Viper ACR effort didn’t break the seven-minute barrier and suffered setbacks including tire failure inducing a crash, it was still good enough to be the fastest stick-shift production car to ever lap the Nordschleife, setting a lapt time of 7:01.3 on the shortened 20.6 kilometer layout. Could it have gone faster with more time, more engineering support, and a factory driver? Perhaps, but it’s still an astonishing effort by a private team.
However, factory backing doesn’t make Porsche’s new record any less impressive. After all, that Viper has 143 more horsepower than the new GT3, weighs only 149 pounds more, and features a wing the size of Texas. It also came on ultra-sticky 200-treadwear Kumho tires, so the gap to the rubber development of the GT3 isn’t as massive as with many supercars of the era.
Then there’s the other stuff the new stick-shift GT3 beat around the Ring. Cars like the Ferrari 296 GTB, the Porsche 918 Spyder, and the Ford Mustang GTD. Cars that cost six figures, even seven figures more. Sure, the new GT3 is a quarter-million-dollar car once you spec it up with the Weissach package and bucket seats, but it can hold ground against even more expensive machinery while letting you row your own gears. I don’t know about you, but that sounds outstanding to me.
Top graphic credit: Porsche
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lmao @ the GTD
Everything I’ve read or watched about the Viper record attempt makes it sound like time was left on the table. Between time constraints, weather, crashes, and no factory backing, it seems that time was left on the table 8 years ago. Really puts into perspective how capable that Viper ACR was. Not to diminish the engineering that went into the car, but I always appreciated how, big power, big wing, big tires, and big stones was all it took to compete with the fancy European stuff. Sometimes a massive hammer is an effective counter to a finely crafted sword.
the amount of bravery it takes to lap any track especially the nurburgring at 11/10ths in a street car can not be overstated.
The thing that made the Viper ACR fast was also its downfall. It ate through tires like crazy and the tires on it were a one lap wonder tire.
When your only tool is hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
I’ve always wondered how much of these lap time advancements are due to the actual car itself vs tire tech improving. Would be cool to see how fast the Viper is on modern rubber and Porsche on what was available even just 8 years ago.
The problem is that no modern track tire is available in Viper sizing, much less the unique ACR size.
There are options for high performance street tires of course, but no Cup 2s or anything.
So what you’re saying is we have to send the Porsche out on aged rubber? Sounds fun at 150+mph….
And you can get it with a back seat now! (at least in touring trim).
Yes I have young kids… why do you ask?
The Max-Cosi Rodi Sport fits perfectly in the back of a 911. wink wink.
Anyone else dreaming that Chrysler split back off from Stellantis and brings back the Viper (and loads of V8s)?
All good things must end.
Kind of remarkable that such an unwieldy beast of a car that basically started its life as the manufactured equivalent of something your drunk uncle was throwing together in his barn managed to hold on to such a record for so long. Honestly if you would’ve asked me yesterday to take a guess as to what car was the fastest manual around the ring I would’ve assumed it’s was a Porsche since they’re basically the only modern supercar manufacturer still offering them.
But nope. It was 8.4 liters of freedom sent to the rear wheels through a tremec, as god intended. I’m a little hesitant to be patriotic in these difficult times but I will absolutely show my pride when it comes to American sports cars because there’s just nothing like em.
Porsche also seems to care the most.
Honestly, I considered the manual record lost the instant the T.50 was announced.
It’s fine. Time marches on. SRT probably got the most possible out of the formula, there’s no shame in what they accomplished.
100% – the SRT was a great example of squeezing every last drop of capability out of a platform.
And yes to the T.50.. if it doesn’t break 6:56, it sure as hell will sound good trying.
Aside but related. Went to the Ferrari Museum in Modena and our tour guide was a no-show. To keep us occupied until they found another guide, they let us play in the F1 simulators. The menu offered many tracks. I picked Nürburging (of course). I crashed multiple times getting getting around that track. It’s brutal.
Oh it’s notorious for a reason. The fact that it hosts a 24 hour endurance race is mind boggling to me. I think I’d be over it after maybe 2 or 3 laps…it takes a special kind of psycho to be willing to put up with it for hours on end.
Burgmeister is an amazing driver, but this is very impressive. I drive periodically at the Nordschleife , typically in a GT3RS and the drive is just insane compared to other tracks.
Admittedly the conditions here were perfect and the tires were were PS2rs. Very sticky but wear instantly. I use regular PS2s
I’m not so impressed. What tire did the gt3 use? The cup 2r? The cup 2r is much faster than the v730, tire development moves a lot in ten years.
Factory backing vs the yeehaw viper attempt is also apples and oranges.
We were part of the gofundme!
Yes, the gt3 has less power, but it’s 100k more, even more if you consider actual purchasing price vs fantasy land msrps
From what I’ve heard from almost anyone who has driven them, the 911 is consistently the most day-to-day livable car.
Like, if you could only have one vehicle, and you want to track that vehicle, the 911 is the buy.
Yes, but not a GT3 version haha. Those are a bit too hard core for most to want to daily.
Compared to any car in it’s class, it’s gonna be the most livable, though.
Not a perfect car for the road but I use a GT3RS on the road sometimes, mainly a 991. My 992RS is definitely just for track. The best road car though is the GT3 Touring, a lot cheaper than the S/T.
I got to sit in a GT3RS at the Detroit auto show – must have been….10 years ago now?
Climbing in and out of that car is an exercise. I was used to a low seating position having dailyed an FRS. I got way down in the seat and then just let myself drop. It was another 4″ before my ass hit the seat. It would have been a very tough car to daily then, when I was 25 and much less….rotund.
I got to drive a plain old unmodified 997 Carerra at a Mid-Ohio track day and it was hugely impressive and capable.
As a PCA instructor, M3s as single car setups for track and street outnumber 911s by like 10 to 1. So the ‘single car’ question has already been answered
I’m guessing that’s more of a budget issue.
Dunno if you’d want a tracked BMW to be your only car.. you’d probably end up in Ubers a lot.
At my most frequented track, BMW’s break down on track sessions quite a lot (not Subaru-level, but a close 2nd, worse than Mustangs, which would be in 3rd), in comparison Porsches are by far the most reliable tracked cars, even though they’re probably the most hard-driven.
Another anecdotal is I’ve seen 2 Viper ACR’s on the track over the years, both broke down (one managed to limp back, the other had to be towed); neither were particularly fast (that’s also due to the driver, ofc).
this is correct, bonus if it has two turbos and is awd.
My Porsches are old so I can’t comment on new ones, but I can tell you that I daily drove my 911SC from April through November for over six years with no issues at all. Sure, it’s old, but I would pick my boys up from daycare every day, we’d go to Sam’s club with it, baseball practice, car shows, etc. It did truly “daily” and I have to believe that 40 years of development would have made that even more so. If I had to have only one car (that wasn’t a truck) that would be it.