‘Tis the season to go faster. That’s the official word from Manthey-Racing who, despite the Nürburgring currently being covered in snow, have today launched their new Performance Kit for the Porsche 992 GT3.

This should come as no surprise to anyone given the success of their previous MR packages – especially for 991-generation GT cars – which have all resulted in more performance, ALL of the time, as Ryan wrote here. Oh, and the 991 GT2 RS MR still holds the lap record around the ‘Ring with a time of 6:38.835.

But there’s an added bonus to this 992 MR package compared to those before it: You can run this without causing any headache to your standard Porsche warranty. And yes, we’re sure if you can afford a 992 GT3 you can likely afford if it goes wrong, but that’s an almighty plus point for those keen on doing regular track days.

“The team at Porsche in Weissach presented us with a big challenge when they produced the new GT3. Our goal of improving the performance of the Porsche GT models even further for track use, without making too many changes to the car’s essential DNA, and, at the same time, coming up with an attractive package for customers who love to drive on the track, has meant a lot of work for us with the new model,” explains Stefan Mages, head of development at Manthey-Racing. “Alongside the performance, I’m also really pleased with the car’s appearance.”

It’s still unusual to see a tuning package in 2021 without some token power hike, helped in part with the shift towards turbocharged engines that allow a 10 to 15% increase with a relatively straightforward ECU flash.

But this is what makes Manthey-Racing unique. Horsepower may have sold cars in the past, but it doesn’t always make them faster on track. With an MR package, the focus is on extracting more performance through grip, aero and – most importantly – confidence as a driver.

What’s in the box, then? Aero and suspension are the big talking points here in the form of a Manthey 4-way adjustable coilover kit developed with KW Suspensions. The wheels, although stock-looking in their design, are Manthey’s OM-1 lightweight upgrade, and behind those are a set of new brake pads with braided lines too.

Then there’s the aero. Up front you get a new lip/splitter and ‘flicks’ (canards) on each corner of the bumper, while the rear benefits from a new diffusor, carbon wing/side plates and carbon aero-disc covers for the rear wheels.

In quite a short period of time, Manthey have managed to ‘own’ this approach to tuning a Porsche GT car. It’s subtle enough to not look shouty, but turn up at the track and people will know you mean business. This only works because Manthey-Racing packages deliver. Every single one has reduced lap times as well as improving the driving experience on the limit.

There’s no word on the 992 GT3 MR lap time (yet), but with the stock car already achieving a 6:55 around the ‘Ring we wouldn’t be surprised to see that dip into the high 40s. Keep in mind this is only the GT3; we still have an RS to come yet, and inevitably an MR version of that too.

The Speedhunters
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