New Porsche 911GT3 RSR Debuts at 24 Hours of Spa



Date posted: 07-29-2006

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Porsche is using this weekend's Spa 24-hour endurance race to premiere its new 911GT3 RSR.

The new car is to form the backbone of the German carmaker's motorsports activities in future years. It will be campaigned by longtime Porsche stalwart Manthey Racing.

Sharing the driver duties in the lead car are works drivers Timo Bernhard and Marc Lieb, as well as Pedro Lamy. They will be backed up by Lucas Luhr, Sascha Maassen and Marcel Tiemann in a second car.



Distinguishing the 911GT3 RSR from its road-based sibling, launched earlier this year, are several visible body changes: an additional cooling duct in the leading edge of the hood, a deeper front spoiler, a widened body shell, chunkier side sills and an adjustable rear wing.

The running weight of the new car has been bumped up from 2480 to 2700 pounds in race trim, although this is partly offset by an increase in rear tire width from 12 to 14 inches.

The round-the-clock race in Spa is the only event Porsche plans to contest with the 911GT3 RSR in 2006. Next year, the German carmaker will begin customer deliveries of the new car at a price that is still to be determined.

Under the relevant ACO and FIA regulations, the new 911GT3 RSR runs a 3.8-liter version of Porsche's classic horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine fitted with two 1.2-inch air restrictors. It makes 485 horsepower at 8500 rpm, with torque peaking at a sturdy 321 pound-feet.



For the 24-hour race in Spa, the new car will run the same sequentially operated six-speed manual gearbox as its predecessor. However, it is planned to be replaced by an all-new gearbox when customer deliveries begin next year.

What this means to you: Porsche may not be as active in motorsports circles as it once was, but it manages to retain a healthy presence through its customer program. The new 911GT3 RSR should ensure this continues.

New Porsche Motorsport Centre in Weissach

Text & Photos courtesy Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG

07-24-2006

10,000 square metres for Porsche race cars

After a construction time of just one year the new motorsport centre of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, located at Weissach, is now completed. With this, the company has created a crucial prerequisite in ensuring the continued competitiveness of its vehicles in racing. The heart of Porsche Motorsports is made up of four buildings, which are connected via a light and transparent arched-roof construction. The facilities include workshops, race vehicle production, logistics centre and a terminal for trucks. A three-story office block for the administration and development departments as well as a car-park complete the new motorsport complex, in which a staff of 210 will work.

Head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen: “The further increase in productivity, the highest possible flexibility and the optimisation of all processes determined the design and layout of the new buildings. In the last years the makes cups have grown enormously - in 2006 the series are contested in 18 countries on four continents. We manufacture up to 250 race cars per year here for the Cups as well as Gran Turismo and prototype racing. Now we enjoy an excellent situation and can continue to grow.”

The motorsport complex comprises a useable floor space of 10,550 square metres, double the size of the former racing department. Already in the design of the access road the new centre gives a clear indication of its purpose: In the corners are typically cambered kerbs like those found on race circuits, as well as stacks of tyres and brand advertising which lend a real motorsport atmosphere.

The workshop facilities house separate areas for the servicing of Cup and customer race cars, for the successful RS Spyder sportscar prototype, the 911 GT3 RSR as well as for development projects. The composite workshop, the pre-assembly area, the hydraulics room and other special facilities are directly connected. The first floor is home to the engine and transmission departments which have their own area for standard measurements and testing.

In the so-called “manufacture”, specialists construct limited numbers of racing sportscars and prototypes. Around 20,000 different parts are stored in the logistics site. Here the dovetailing of standard and motorsport production is clearly reflected. Spare parts, for example, for the new road-going 911 GT3 and the 911 GT3 RS vehicles are supplied from Weissach. At the terminal up to seven articulated lorries can dock at the same time where they are then loaded and equipped with parts for delivery to the race tracks.

Spa: Sascha Maassen 24H race report

Racing series: FIA-GT

Date: 2006-07-30

Sascha Maassen scored another victory on 30 July, topping the G2 class in the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa. Maassen, of Raeren, Belgium, combined with Lucas Luhr and Marcel Tiemann, both of Monaco, to record the first victory in a 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (type 997).

Luhr qualified the No. 197 Manthey Racing Porsche second on the G2 grid, 13th overall, with a lap of two minutes 22 seconds on the 6.968-kilometre Spa Francorchamps circuit. He drove the first stint and took the class lead after 40 minutes of the 24-hour race. Maassen drove next, followed by Tiemann. The trio continued to lead the class -- and moved up to ninth overall -- until the 13th hour. The car's undertray came loose, breaking the radiator and forcing a long pitstop for repairs.

The car returned to the track second in class, seven laps behind the class leader and 18th overall. The drivers steadily worked back up through the field to take the class lead in the 22nd hour. Maassen drove the final stint, made more difficult as the car had only fifth gear for the last 30 minutes of the race. He finished first in G2 with a six-lap lead, 14th overall.

'We had a lot of trouble during the race, but this was a test race for the new RSR,' Maassen said. 'Now we have a lot of knowledge so we can develop this car before we sell it to customers next year.'