Porsche may have pegged the power output of the 992.2 GT3 to 503bhp, but that hasn’t stopped the march of progress. The GT department has today revealed the Nordschleife lap time for the car – and not only has it beaten its predecessor by 3.6 seconds, it’s done so equipped with the six-speed manual gearbox, setting a new ’Ring record in the process.

Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister beat the previous lap record for manual transmission – set in 2017 by the Dodge Viper ACR – by more than 9.5 seconds*. Why the asterisk? That’s because the Viper recorded its 7:01.3 time on the shorter 20.6km version of the circuit. Porsche has therefore extrapolated additional time for the same 20.832km length. As always with Nürburgring lap records, the grey area persists.

Still, that takes nothing away from the achievement of Bergmeister and the 992.2 GT3. One of the key factors in the improved lap is the availability of the Weissach package on the GT3 for the first time – normally the reserve of the RS. Comprising a short-throw gear lever, a roll cage, ultra-lightweight magnesium alloys and a raft of carbon fibre, the package costs an additional £15,597.

Further RS influences contribute. The new GT3 adopts the anti-dive geometry of the 992.1 RS, meaning the car is more stable under braking. Bergmeister also credits the RS for further improvements: “The new 911 GT3 inspires even more confidence at the limit than the previous model. I was faster in almost every corner.”

“We learned a lot from the 911 GT3 RS, especially with the chassis. The car is much more stable on bumps and over the kerbs. And thanks to the eight-per-cent-shorter gear ratio, there is noticeably more drive from the rear axle when accelerating with the same engine power. Even if it would have been a few seconds faster with the seven-speed PDK – with the six-speed manual gearbox I definitely had more to do on the fast lap – and it was therefore even more fun.”

As with the official lap of the 992.1, the car was fitted with road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres (sized 255/35 R20 at the front and 315/30 R21 at the rear).

According to Andreas Preuninger, Director GT Model Line, the decision to set a lap time with the manual was down to customer demand: “More and more 911 GT3 customers are opting for the six-speed manual transmission. And more and more often we are asked by these customers how fast a 911 GT3 with manual transmission would be on the Nordschleife.”

“We have now answered this question and – although we know that the variant with PDK is significantly faster – we drove our official lap time with a manual six-speed gearbox. Even without the automated, super-fast and precise gearshifts of the PDK, and with a conventional instead of electronically controlled limited-slip differential, the new 911 GT3 shaved around 3.6 seconds off the time of its predecessor with PDK.”