Oakley Design GT2

It seems odd that we’ve never bought you any information on Oakley Design’s GT2, after all many of our forum members love the standard GT2 and Oakley Design appear to share a relation with Gumball 3000 which we dedicate a whole forum section to. With this in mind, the recent Evo Magazine test drive seems a solid basis for us to introduce you to the modifications.

To start with, let me explain who Oakley Design are. Foremost, Oakley Design are a Porsche tuning company, inspired by motor racing and dedicated to producing performance products for Porsche’s. Compared to other Porsche tuners like Gemballa and Techart, Oakley Design appear to focus on more subtle modifications visually, whilst following through the same level of performance upgrades on the mechanicals. All their cars are extensively tested, the GT2 being no different (I once saw it rolling down my local high street!) and are regularly spotted at motorsport Mecca’s such as the Nurburgring and Ascari’s test track.

Now we come to the car itself, the figures show a substantial 109bhp increase in power to 632bhp. This enables the GT2 to travel from 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds and on to a new top speed of 217mph. To achieve this from the 3.6 litre flat-six, Oakley Design have incorporated a number of different modifications. There’s a new ECU written by Oakley Design, KKK turbochargers to replace the standard GT2’s variable turbine units, increased cooling and a new titanium exhaust unit, all designed to make the most out of the car.

To lighten the car, a wealth of Carbon Fibre has been applied. From the wheels to the roll cage, the whole car is caked in the stuff. The front spoiler, roof, rear wing lip and wheel rims are all made of it and have been tested to ensure they work to the owner’s advantage using MIRA (automotive design experts) wind tunnels. The roll cage is on its way to being FIA approved also so could presumably be incorporated into other Porsche cup cars to save 48kg over standard steel units.

Now onto what Evo said about it. To cut straight to the point, they gave it 4 stars out of 5, which is actually down on the 5 stars of the standard car. Reviewer Henry Catchpole found the handling to be better in some respects than the standard car with the suspension “noticeably stiffer, but bizarrely it is also more compliant.” By this, he meant that when traction is eventually lost its handled more progressively and smoothly than the standard car. In a way, he believes that this car is actually less ferocious than the standard car. The downsides were the price, a mere £59,000 for the full kit, and a light front end (that was caused by the fact the dampers were still set in track settings).

More information at Oakley Design!