Watch a 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Hit 198 MPH on the Autobahn
The unrestricted sections of the Autobahn remain popular for top speed runs.
Automotive YouTube channel AutoTopNL has published a video of a Porsche 911 GT3 pushed to the limit on the German Autobahn.
While much of Germany's Autobahn network now has speed limits and various methods of enforcing them, there are still stretches that remain unrestricted. Enthusiasts still often feel a calling to these roads, aiming to test the top speed of their vehicles on the public highway.
This video demonstrates just that, with the driver making several attempts at reaching Vmax in the GT3. With 510 horsepower from its naturally-aspirated flat-six engine, the rated top speed is a lofty 199 mph, while zero-to-60 is achieved in just 3.9 seconds.
In the initial launch, the driver shows off that devastating acceleration on his way up to 193 mph, before backing out amidst traffic. Further runs are frustrated by cars and trucks. However, one final run saw the speedometer touch 198 mph, just 1 mph shy of the car's official top speed.
The GT3 looks impressively poised the whole time. A combination of downforce and steady handling are key here, making the run to 198 mph look smoother than 100 mph in an old Ford Festiva. The driver simply plants the pedal, lets the gearbox shift itself up into 7th, and holds the wheel true.
Such stunts aren't particularly popular in the broader community. In recent years, the tide has turned, and calls to implement limits on the entire Autobahn have grown louder than ever. Germany's most prominent auto club famously changed its position in 2020, stating it believed the time to implement limits had come. Even Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel thinks its time to rein in the speed.
For now, however, stretches of the Autobahn remain unrestricted. For as long as that's the case, enthusiasts will continue to use the roadway as a legal venue for stretching their vehicles to the limit.
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