It’s been a good year for Porsche Carrera GT enthusiasts. After the infamous stop-drive order was lifted, allowing owners to finally enjoy their cars again, a new surprise emerged: Michelin PS Cup 2 tyres, specifically designed for the Carrera GT, are pushing the car’s limits to new heights.
Recently, German magazine Sport Auto set the stage for an extraordinary showdown at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Porsche development driver Jörg Bergmeister took the wheel of a striking yellow Carrera GT to see just how much performance modern rubber could unlock. His target? A legendary lap time of 7 minutes 28 seconds was set 20 years ago by rally icon Walter Röhrl when the car first debuted.
Bergmeister didn’t just beat the record—he obliterated it, clocking in an astonishing 7 minutes 12.69 seconds. That’s more than 15 seconds faster than Röhrl’s run, thanks in large part to advancements in tyre technology over the past two decades.
Reaching a top speed of 188 mph on the Döttinger Hohe straight, the Carrera GT demonstrated that it can still compete with today’s most advanced machines. In fact, its new time is nearly identical to the lap achieved by the more modern 991.2-generation Porsche 911 GT3, a track-focused powerhouse in its own right.
Fans of the Carrera GT can watch the full onboard video released by Sport Auto, showcasing not just the impressive lap but also the unforgettable sound of its 5.7-litre V10 engine. With Bergmeister skillfully navigating the six-speed manual transmission, it’s a true celebration of old-school supercar mastery paired with cutting-edge innovation.
The results raise an intriguing question: what could other classic performance cars achieve with today’s advanced tyres? The Carrera GT’s successor, the 918 Spyder, holds a spot among the fastest Nürburgring laps, but its record is over a decade old. Perhaps this is just the beginning of a new era for timeless supercars.
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