Porsche beats Corvette ZR1 at Road Atlanta

Porsche said on May 18 that a 2019 911 GT2 RS fitted with the Manthey Kit set a new production-car lap record at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, taking back a benchmark Chevrolet’s C8 Corvette ZR1 had held. Porsche listed the lap at 1:22.649, with brand ambassador and former factory driver Jörg Bergmeister driving the car on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R N0 tires. Autoblog and CorvetteBlogger reported on May 20 that the Porsche beat the ZR1 by 0.151 second and said the Manthey upgrade package carries a reported price of about $126,000. Porsche also used the same Road Atlanta session to post new times for a 2025 911 GT3 RS and a 2026 911 GT3, both with Manthey equipment. ### How quick was the Porsche, exactly? Porsche put the GT2 RS Manthey lap at 1:22.649 around the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia. The company said that was enough to beat the previous production-car lap record at the track by 0.2 second, while Autoblog and CorvetteBlogger pegged the gap more precisely at 0.151 second over the Corvette ZR1. (newsroom.porsche.com) CorvetteBlogger said the ZR1’s prior mark was 1:22.80, which aligns with the margin reported by multiple outlets. Hagerty also reported the Porsche’s 1:22.649 time and said it topped the ZR1’s 2025 run at Road Atlanta. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Who was driving, and what was on the car? Jörg Bergmeister, Porsche’s brand ambassador and a former factory driver, was at the wheel of all three record-setting cars in the Road Atlanta session, Porsche said. The record GT2 RS was a 2019 991.2-generation car fitted with the optional Manthey Kit and road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R N0 tires. (corvetteblogger.com) Porsche said the kit’s suspension and aerodynamic changes helped the car cut 2.2 seconds from the standard GT2 RS lap recorded at the same track on the same model of tire in 2019. Bergmeister said in Porsche’s release that the added chassis capability and downforce let him carry more speed into corners and accelerate earlier. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Why is the Manthey package part of the story? Autoblog and CorvetteBlogger both highlighted the Manthey package’s reported cost at about $126,000 in the United States. That figure matters because the Road Atlanta record was not set by a stock 911 GT2 RS, but by a Porsche using the factory-backed track-focused upgrade sold through Manthey-certified Porsche Centers, according to Porsche’s U.S. newsroom. (newsroom.porsche.com) Motor1 reported that the Manthey-equipped GT2 RS improved on the standard car’s earlier Road Atlanta mark by more than two seconds. Porsche’s own release tied that gain to changes in suspension and aerodynamics rather than an increase in engine output. ### Was it only the GT2 RS, or did Porsche reset other benchmarks too? (autoblog.com) Porsche said the same outing produced two more benchmark laps. The 2025 911 GT3 RS with Manthey Kit ran 1:23.932 to become the fastest naturally aspirated production car at Road Atlanta, and the 2026 911 GT3 with Manthey Kit ran 1:24.639. (motor1.com) Carscoops, Hagerty and other auto outlets described the session as a broader Manthey showcase, not a one-car attempt. The GT2 RS result drew the most attention because it displaced Chevrolet’s headline production-car record with a car first introduced years earlier. ### What comes next for buyers and track-day customers? (newsroom.porsche.com) Porsche said Manthey Kits are available in the United States through Manthey-certified Porsche Centers. Autoblog and CorvetteBlogger said the package costs about $126,000, giving buyers a concrete figure if they want to replicate the Road Atlanta configuration more closely. (carscoops.com) May 18 is the date on Porsche’s official Road Atlanta release, and May 20 is when Autoblog and CorvetteBlogger published follow-up reports focused on the 0.151-second margin over the Corvette ZR1. Porsche’s newsroom also lists Bergmeister as the driver for the GT2 RS, GT3 RS and GT3 laps from the same session. (newsroom.porsche.com)