May the 'Force Be With You

Faster on track. Simple to say. Hard to do. Manthey pulls it off with some downforce-focused GT3 RS upgrades

- Story: James Dennison

AS A £100K (RS 1.19 CRORE) ADD-ON TO a standard Porsche 911 GT3 RS, the Manthey kit is neither cheap nor subtlew. Lookers-on will instantly either savour or scorn its very existence while prospective owners will be swayed by headline figures of over a tonne of downforce at 285 km/h.

Without driving the car, it is hard to cut through the noise. Get behind the wheel, however, and a mere 5.8-kilometre lap of Monza—about two minutes, depending on how good you are—is enough to make clear exactly why customers spend the money.

Manthey-Racing GmbH is a hugely successful German motor sport team with achievements including multiple class wins at the Le Mans and Nürburgring 24-hour races. Since 1999, it has been fettling Porsche's road cars, and since 2013 Porsche itself has owned 51 per cent of the company.

Today it is best known for the sort of extreme-looking modifications you see on the 911 GT3 RS. Downforce is the focus, and a 20 per cent improvement on the standard car is not to be sniffed at—especially as it comes with no increase in drag. Change the drag and, for emission reasons, the car must be re-homologated.

Working closely with Porsche's R&D team at Weissach, Manthey's engineers designed several new aero components that work together to create a game-changing package. For example, the front splitter is 50 millimetres longer and uses sprung carbon-fibre support rods for additional strength (it can, in theory, take 100 kilograms of weight), while precisely curved edges act as a vortex generator, reducing turbulence around the front wheels.

Further collaboration is in evidence up on the roof, where you will find eight strakes guiding hot air away from the engine intakes—six more than the standard car. Manufacturing complications meant Porsche could not do this itself, but it gave Manthey the nod during development.