From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.
Lap Time: 3:16.6
Class: LL90s | Base: $66,263* | As Tested: $66,775*
Power and Weight: 270 hp • 3035 lb • 11.2 lb/hp
Tires: Pirelli P Zero Rosso
F: 205/50ZR-17 (89Y) N5
R: 255/40ZR-17 (94Y) N5
*1995 pricing
I left some time on the table. My 1995 Porsche 911 ran a 3:16.6. The tires were delayed, and I was unable to lap it enough to get dialed in. There’s also some worry involved with running your own vintage car at VIR. Still, the 993 generation, the last of the air-cooled 911s and the first Porsche with a multilink rear suspension, proved to be a spectacular track car.
That multilink rear suspension and the wide-for-their-day 255/50ZR-17 rear tires are what fully tamed the backward-arrow 911 from righting itself. Setting up for the left called NASCAR Bend requires braking and turning slightly from about 90 mph; you feel the weight shift, but the rear stays in place. Confidence builds. The near-perfect brake feel helps call up the right amount of deceleration to keep things from getting crazy, and the brakes are strong and secure when you need them on the front and back straightaways.
The front tires are far narrower (205/50ZR-17) than the rears and make you think understeer will be a dominant trait, but the reality is that there wasn’t much to speak of as the Pirelli P Zero Rossos delivered 0.94 g of cling in Turn 1. Vintage in appearance, these P Zeros are the fifth iteration of the 993’s original-equipment tire and enjoy the grip of modern compounds. There’s enough stick to expose the seats’ lack of lateral support.
Lapping the 993 is a joy. The 270-hp engine keeps speeds sane, and although there’s more squirm in the chassis than in modern Porsches’ (and I had every bit of suspension rubber replaced a couple of years ago), the brakes are simply perfection, and the steering should have its own podcast.
With more practice, and if it weren’t my personal car at risk, I think I could lop off five seconds or more. Hey, Porsche Museum, let’s find out.
Back to Lightning Lap 2026
Tony Quiroga is a 20-plus-year-veteran Car and Driver editor, writer, and car reviewer and the 19th editor-in-chief for the magazine since its founding in 1955. He has subscribed to Car and Driver since age six. “Growing up, I read every issue of Car and Driver cover to cover, sometimes three or more times. It’s the place I wanted to work since I could read,” Quiroga says. He moved from Automobile Magazine to an associate editor position at Car and Driver in 2004. Over the years, he has held nearly every editorial position in print and digital, edited several special issues, and also helped produce C/D’s early YouTube efforts. He is also the longest-tenured test driver for Lightning Lap, having lapped Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course more than 2000 times over 12 years.