Porsche Is Restarting 911 GT2 RS Production To Build Just Four Cars

Porsche is taking amazing steps to restart the GT2 RS production line for just four cars, following a cargo ship fire that saw a quartet of the flagship 911s sent to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Production of the 691bhp Stuttgart sledgehammer ended in February, since when the specific tooling involved in making it has been removed. It’s now being replaced ready for a new, ultra-short build run in April.

Just over a week ago, Davy Jones’ locker claimed the final four GT2 RSs being sent to Brazil. They sank with the Grimaldi Lines ship Grande America some 140 nautical miles off the coast of France and now lie about 15,000ft below the waves, making them about as salvageable as Chris Evans’ Top Gear career.

The four copycat cars will be built in the exact original specs and trim combinations chosen by their buyers in South America’s largest country, also staying faithful to that build order – although, like their identical twins now lost to the world, they’ll probably still end up on the same boat. It’s not known whether these four cars will have the same serial numbers as the deceased cars, or new ones.

When we contacted Porsche GB for a statement, all the company could tell us came from the contents of a statement released by Porsche Brazil, which reads as follows:

“Porsche Brazil confirms that 37 of its new cars, in route from Hamburg, Germany to Santos, Brazil, were aboard the vessel Grande America that suffered a maritime incident near the coast of Brest, France, on March 12, 2019.

“Among the fleet were four 911 GT2 RS units. In a special decision and to uphold its commitment to its valued Brazilian customers, Porsche has ensured that those units will be reproduced in the order in which they were originally confirmed.”

The other 33 Porsches were of ‘more ordinary’ breeds and can be replaced as a matter of routine via normal production schedules. Also aboard the stricken Grande America were 10 tonnes of hydrochloric acid and 70 tonnes of sulphuric acid, plus around 2000 cars.

The four replacement GT2 RSs should get to their new owners in June, says Porsche. May their doppelgangers rest in peace.