At 70 years old, Walter Röhrl has amassed a racing CV that anyone would envy, including a pair of world rally championships and setting a course record at the Pikes Peak international hill climb in 1987. After stepping back from regular motorsport competition, he became a development driver for Porsche. However, the German brand’s top models have now become too quick for the experienced driver, and Röhrl declined the opportunity to set the ‘Ring record for the new 911 GT2 RS.

'On the speeds like in this car, you go through Schwedenkreuz at 183mph and Fuchsröhre at 168mph, and I know all the accidents which have been on these places in the last 20 years,' Röhrl told Australian site Drive. 'If you come to Fuchsrohre at 170, I always think one of the test drivers from Bridgestone, he broke the [wheel] rim…'

Röhrl also joked that he didn’t run the GT2 RS on the ‘Ring because of traffic going to the track. 'In the last 20 years I needed four hours, now I need eight hours.'

Instead of Röhrl, Porsche test driver Lars Kern set the fastest time in the GT2 RS by lapping the course in 6 minutes and 47.3 seconds at an average speed. It made the new coupe 10 seconds quicker than the 918 Spyder’s 6:57 time from 2013.

While Röhrl didn’t get behind the wheel of the GT2 RS at the ‘Ring, he has skillfully driven Porsche’s quickest current coupe. He and Mark Webber demonstrated the vehicle’s abilities in a video (below), and Röhrl used the opportunity to slide the model around the course.

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