Techart Porsche 911 GTStreet RS

Anyone thinking the standard 911 GT2 RS needs more power and more aggressive styling is probably mad. But look past the bold blue paint and the Techart GTStreet RS makes sense, as the chassis and engine tweaks work together brilliantly. It’s an incredible car to drive and, even if the price is crazy, a compelling swansong for the 997-model 911. We can’t wait to see what can be done with the new car.

Porsche may have given the existing 911 a final send-off with the 493bhp GT3 RS 4.0, but expert tuner Techart has other ideas. This is its swansong for the 997 version of the 911 – the 710bhp GTStreet RS – and we’re one of the few to have driven it.

The mean – and very blue – machine first appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September. It’s now available to order with a starting price of £380,000. That’s a crazy £216,000 more than the 911 GT2 RS on which it’s based.

So what do the super-rich get for their money? Well, a genuinely unique car for a start. Techart will trim the 911 any way you want, and the customer who let us borrow his car certainly liked the colour blue.

Aside from the vivid paintwork, the GTStreet RS comes with a carbon fibre bonnet and front wing panels, a new lower front splitter and an engine cover made of fibreglass. The rear is dominated by a huge 140mm adjustable carbon fibre wing.

The cabin can be fitted with a roll cage and sports seats – and our test car continued the blue theme inside, even down to the dials on the dashboard and the quilted Alcantara suede trim.

While the standard GT2 RS makes 612bhp from its 3.6-litre twin-turbocharged flat six engine, Techart’s tuning kit boosts this figure to 710bhp. Plus, torque output swells to a staggering 900Nm. This results in brutal acceleration: 0-60mph is over in 3.1 seconds, half a second quicker than the standard car. Top speed jumps from 193mph to a dizzying 219mph.

The GTStreet RS channels that grunt through the standard car’s short-throw six-speed manual gearbox and some sticky 20-inch Michelin Cup tyres. It’s certainly a very physical experience, with just the briefest of pauses as the twin turbos spool up before you get hurled forward with huge force. It sounds great, too, thanks to a new stainless-steel exhaust.

What’s more, the impressive handling capabilities of the standard GT2 RS have been improved by widening the front and rear track. Added to new lowered springs all round, this creates incredible grip and poise.

At low speed, the limited-slip differential works full-time to keep all the power in check, but at higher speeds you will really start to notice the extra stability from the front splitter and rear wing. Techart didn’t feel the need to improve the standard carbon brakes – they bring the GTStreet RS to a rapid halt without fuss.