IMPROVING ON PERFECTION

Improving On Perfection

Touring the race tracks of Europe in a newly built Manthey GT3 RS 4.2.

Attempting to make an already great car better isn’t something many are brave enough to take on, but if there is anyone that is up for the challenge it’s Manthey Racing, and this 4.2L MR is a perfect example.

When the owner of this particular 911, Aston, set out to find a base car for the build, he knew what he wanted: no chasing garage queens or low-kilometre examples; the goal was pre-loved and well-used. Enter a bone-stock 2010 Porsche 911 997 GT3 RS.

Before even seeing the car in person, Aston had it sent to Manthey Racing in Germany for their full 4.2 MR Kit. First order of business: a 400cc bump in displacement, bringing the factory 3.8 up to a 4.2. Cup exhaust pipes, GT3 R manifolds, KW V4 Racing Suspension, and custom aluminium Manthey wheels followed. Head unit out, Manthey centre console in, and straight back onto the road it went.

What better way to take delivery of your new-to-you 4.2 Manthey 997? A Euro summer road trip, of course. Straight onto the Nürburgring for a shakedown, then across to Spain for a day at the Ascari Club, a few days through the southern mountains of Spain, and then into Belgium for its first run of the famous Spa-Francorchamps. Without skipping a beat, the car was both a track weapon and a daily driver, so onto the Red Bull Ring we went.

What better way to take delivery of your new-to-you 4.2 Manthey 997? A Euro summer road trip, of course.

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The car makes complete sense. Forget not being able to have it all - the Manthey 4.2 997 has now proven otherwise.

It was here in Austria that the car really came into its own, sitting right at home nestled between small Austrian towns and the tighter corners of the Red Bull Ring. The car makes complete sense. Forget not being able to have it all - the Manthey 4.2 997 has now proven otherwise, and will continue to do so for tens of thousands of kilometres to come.