911 Turbo S vs GT4 RS Manthey: 7:03.92 vs 7:03.12!

Porsche brought two very different weapons to the Nürburgring and both delivered times that make your jaw drop. The 2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S is the headline stealer: a twin-turbo flat-six paired with a performance hybrid system that lifts total output to 701 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. It launches like a slingshot, darts through corners with calm confidence, and then crushes the straights. Watching it thread the Nordschleife in 7:03.92 is like watching a surgeon at work—clean, precise, and a little bit unbelievable.

Here is what makes that lap even sweeter for enthusiasts: the car ran on standard production tires. Porsche fitted Pirelli P Zero R tires, the same rubber you can buy for a showroom car, and there is also an optional Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport 3R fitment from the factory. No slicks, no trick compound, just a road-legal tire with real-world grip. The rest of the package is classic Porsche: an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission that fires off shifts instantly, all-wheel drive traction that just digs in, and massive Porsche ceramic composite brakes that shrug off heat. Top speed is 200 miles per hour and the sprint from zero to sixty miles per hour happens in 2.4 seconds, but the number that sticks is that lap time. Fourteen seconds quicker than the previous model is not evolution—it is a leap.

Then you look across the pit lane and see the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS fitted with the Manthey kit. If the Turbo S is a sledgehammer wrapped in silk, the Manthey GT4 RS is a scalpel. There are no engine changes here—still the intoxicating 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six singing to 9,000 revolutions per minute with 493 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque—but Manthey’s aero and chassis work transforms the car. A wider rear wing, front aero elements, a revised underbody, and adjustable coil-overs turn the GT4 RS into a downforce-hungry tracker that talks to you through the wheel, the seat, and your spine. On the same Nordschleife, it clocked a stunning 7:03.121, and it did it on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires. That is 6.179 seconds quicker than the standard GT4 RS, which was already an animal.

What makes these two stories compelling is how different the paths are. One car uses electric assistance to fill the boost and sharpen every response; the other relies on airflow and suspension finesse to slice time out of each sector. One hammers out of corners with a tidal wave of torque; the other carries speed like a perfectly thrown dart. Either way, the stopwatches do not lie. It is a great time to be a Porsche fan, whether you crave the punch of the Turbo S or the purity of a naturally aspirated screamer honed by Manthey.