You know the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS? The one that’s supposed to be the most powerful 911 ever? Apparently it’s sold out, but if you ask the folks at Porsche, they won’t say. In fact, they won’t say anything. Porsche has yet to even acknowledge the new GT2 RS’ existence.
On Monday, German publication AutoBild reported all 1,000 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS cars are sold out. But when I sought comment from Porsche to confirm this, a spokesperson said the company “has made no official announcements on such a model.” Then who did? What is going on?
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We’ve covered the car a lot since its debut—or whatever that was—at the E3 gaming conference as the cover car for the new Forza Motorsport 7on June 11. We’ve seen it on the Nürburgring. We’ve heard that it’s reportedly the most powerful 911 yet. We’ve seen reports on people trying to sell the car for $160,000 over MSRP. AutoBild reported that the car will start at $290,329 at current exchange rates.
But Porsche won’t acknowledge it. There are no photos on its press website, and its spokespeople won’t say that it’s a real car in the Porsche lineup.
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Here, just read my email chain with a spokesperson for Porsche Cars North America:
Hi […]!
I’m Alanis King with Jalopnik.com, and we’re looking into a report about all of the GT2 RS models being sold out. The report also says there are 1,000 of them, and that the starting price is around $290,000 at current exchange rates.
Can Porsche confirm any of this?
Thanks,
Alanis
Here was the response:
Hi Alanis,
Thank you for reaching out.
Porsche has made no official announcements on such a model.
Additionally, as a matter of policy, we do not disclose production numbers, just sales numbers of overall models lines in our monthly sales release. I’m attaching the latest one for your reference: http://press.porsche.com/news/release.php?id=1030
Um, what? Here’s what I said back:
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Hi, […]!
Thanks for the quick response.
To make sure I’m reading this correctly, because I’m genuinely confused: Are you saying Porsche has not announced a GT2 RS? Who announced this car at E3?
It’s especially weird that there are no Porsche photos of it, so I’m asking sincerely—I want to be clear when writing about it.
-Alanis
And here was the response:
Hi Alanis,
No worries, I am happy to clarify.
Earlier this month, Microsoft released its’ [sic] new video game Forza 7 at the E3 in Los Angeles. Speculations regarding a possible new Porsche GT model have surfaced surrounding the presentation of the game. As a matter of policy, Porsche will not comment on these speculations.
We will be sure to share any official press release and photography with you when any future product is officially announced.
Speculations? Automobile said they’ve ridden in the car! And that it has 700 horsepower! Other reports are that it has 640 horsepower going to the rear wheels, and that a 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine is at the rear. What is happening?
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Here’s how I responded:
Thanks! So, who announced this car? Who were those people at E3? Does Porsche have any comment on them… announcing it? And the people saying they’ve ridden in it (like Automobile)? Is Porsche’s official comment that this car isn’t… real?
I’m just very… bewildered. But please do put me on the list for new products.
And the response:
Alanis,
Recently, several media outlets have reported on development drives of a new, performance oriented Porsche model. It has not yet been brought to market. We don’t rule out a surprise later in the year.
I give up. That’s what Porsche has to say about the 2018 911 GT2 RS. It’s all speculation.
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Porsche clearly wants to introduce this car on its own terms, at some auto show or special event somewhere, and that’s why weeks later official information isn’t out yet. But… the car exists. People have seen it. They’ve ridden in it. And it’s still being treated like some mysterious future product awaiting its debut.
This is weird. Trust me, it’s weird.
Correction: This post originally said a dealership was trying to sell the car for $160,000 over sticker, but it was really a private seller. Our heads were spinning a bit too much with all of the back and forth about whether the car actually exists, so that’s our bad.
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