Tag: 911

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Motorsports Porsche

Peak season

Pikes Peak Hill Climb - Jeff Zwart

You may be aware the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was held last weekend. The outright winner was Nobuhiro Tajima in his Unlimited category Suzuki SX4. His time was 10:11.490; still noone has cracked the 10 minute barrier for the 20km course, which starts at 9,390 feet and ends at 14,110 feet.

Records were broken during last weekend’s action, though, and one of them was the qualifying time in the 2WD Time Attack class. It was set by Jeff Zwart in a Porsche 997 911 GT3 Cup car. Not happy with that, Zwart went on to knock a massive 38 seconds off the full race record for the class, as well.

The video of Zwart’s quali run is available after the break. It’s pure and has just the single camera angle from inside the cockpit. And while it might be missing the frantic beauty of the legendary Climb Dance, or even the cinematic heights of last year’s Peak Performance, it’s still a damn entertaining piece of footage. Turn your volume up to 11 and revel in the glorious noises from that Porsche drivetrain.

UPDATE: More info on Zwart’s record-breaking weekend can be read HERE.

[Thanks to Chris for the tip]

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Motorsports Porsche

The ultimate “run what you brung” weapon?

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Driving your own car to a track day and home again after a couple of hours track time is one thing. But imagine driving from Stuttgart to Nürburg where upon arrival you spend 24 hours thrashing the car around the Green Hell in a race with around 200 other cars. At the end of that you pack up your things and head back to Stuttgart as if this was all in a day’s work.

That scenario is pretty much what happened with the #11 Porsche 911 GT3 RS at the Nürburgring 24 hour race this year. Driven by Roland Asch, Patrick Simon, Horst von Saurma and Chris Harris the GT3 RS started the race from 42nd position and finished in 13th place outright. The team completed 145 laps, nine behind the eventual race winner.

Asch says the car ran like a dream, “As planned, we replaced the front brakes during the race. But other than that, the mechanics concentrated on refuelling, tyre changes and cleaning the windows during the pit stops. The car ran like clockwork.”

More from Porsche after the break. Extra pictures from the race can be seen HERE.

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Porsche

Porsche GT2 RS coming to Australia

Porsche GT2 RS

The most powerful street-legal Porsche ever—the 911 GT2 RS—is coming to our shores, albeit in small numbers. A Porsche Germany spokesman has confirmed with AUSmotive that they “expect to sell about 5 to 10 GT2 RS in Australia”.

Porsche have scheduled a September–October release for the GT2 RS. They tend to launch their cars simultaneously in all markets. So, factor in around 6 weeks for shipping times and we should be seeing the most potent “widowmaker” down under just in time for Christmas.

If you’ve been a bad boy this year and Santa doesn’t give you a 620bhp 911 then you’ll probably need to find around $500K to buy one for yourself. And you would, if you could. Wouldn’t you?!

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Porsche

Holy $#!%@!!

Porsche 911 GT2 RS

Porsche have done nothing to shy away from the “widowmaker” tag given to their GT2 nameplate. Bearing the extra special annotation of RS, this latest iteration sure to keep even the most talented drivers on their toes. Check out the promo clip after the break.

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Porsche

OFFICIAL: Porsche 911 GT2 RS

Porsche 911 GT2 RS

Porsche have now released official information confirming details of the 911 GT2 RS. This morning’s information appears to have been mostly accurate. The GT2 RS will indeed be limited to 500 examples worldwide.

What can now be revealed is some pricing information—the European base price is €199,500. Although, with taxes and so on the German retail price ends up at €237,758. The car will go on sale in Europe this September, after making its public debut in Moscow on 25 August, as expected. UK customer will also be able to buy a GT2 RS in September, in exchange for £164,107. Those in the US will be able to get their hands on the GT2 RS from October. No word just yet on Australian timing, but some of the 500 will be finding a home down under.

For your money you’ll get a 620bhp 3.6 litre twin turbo flat six. The GT2 RS tips the scales at 1370kg and that helps provide some pretty handy performance. The 100km/h sprint is despatched in 3.5 seconds, 200km/h can be reached in 9.8 seconds, and, if you dare, 300km/h will be all yours in just 28.9 seconds. V max is 330km/h.

Carbon-fibre-reinforced bodywork has been used to help reduce weight by 70kg over the previous GT2 (not 90kg as first thought). As you can see from the pics much of this bodywork has been left exposed with a matt black look.

Full details and more pics after the jump.

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Porsche

Porsche 911 GT2 RS press release leaked

Porsche 911 GT2 RS

Posted on the teamspeed forum today is some official looking text that appears to be a press release for the 911 GT2 RS. The info states the GT2 RS is the most powerful street Porsche ever and looks to be sourced via Porsche US. According to the text the key points are:

  • 620bhp from twin-turbo 3.6 litre
  • Nürburgring lap time of 7 minutes 18 seconds
  • Kerb weight of 1370kg (90kg less than 997.1 GT2)
  • Power-to-weight ratio of 2.21kg per horsepower
  • Porsche Composite Ceramic Brakes
  • 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds, top speed of 205mph (330km/h)
  • Carbon-fibre-reinforced (CFR) components with a matt-black surface
  • Limited to 500 units worldwide, US pricing (MSRP) $245,000
  • Official debut at Moscow Auto Show, 25 August 2010

We shall have to wait and see if this leak forces Porsches hand to release info sooner than they hoped. Although, it was expected official confirmation of the GT2 RS would come this week anyway. Let’s see how legit this info is. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is bang on the money.

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Porsche

Porsche 911 GT2 RS coming soon

Porsche 911 GT2 RS

More news emerged last week on the next Porsche 911 GT2 model. It now appears the next GT2 will also be bestowed with the RS badge. However, it is understood there will be no “lesser” model bearing just the GT2 nameplate. It’s GT2 RS or bust, it would seem.

With an expected power rating of 600bhp 620bhp from its 3.8 litre twin-turbo engine the GT2 RS should hit 100km/h in the low-mid 3 seconds range. Torque should be out of this world, offering blistering in-gear acceleration, as well.

The GT2 RS shares many components with the GT3 RS. So there’s a wider track up front and centre-lock alloys will also be used on the GT2 RS. Of course, it’s a GT2, so that means rear-wheel drive only. Best keep that right foot in check.

Official details on the GT2 RS are expected from Porsche soon. Perhaps as soon as the car laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife in its target lap time of 7 minute 22 second. Finally, then, Porsche will have a Nissan GT-R beater.

More pics over at the Car magazine website, and there’s also a brief video available below.

[Source: Car]

UPDATE: Over at the teamspeed.com it has been revealed the GT2 RS was previewed at an exclusive function in Leipzig last week. According to the info posted the GT2 RS will be 90kg lighter than the current 997.1 GT2. The new RS version will be limited to 300 cars and official details could be revealed by Porsche later this week. An extra image of the GT2 RS from the preview event can be seen below.

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Ferrari Porsche

VIDEO: Ferrari 458 Italia v Porsche 911 GT3 RS

evo: 458 v GT3 RS

Chris Harris from evo has spent a fun day behind the wheel of the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Harris will be racing a GT3 RS at the Nürburgring 24 hour race later this month. Watch the two videos below to see if he wishes he was in the 458 instead.

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Porsche

Nico Hülkenberg makes Nürburgring debut in Porsche Hybrid

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid & Nico Hulkenberg

Williams F1 driver Nico Hülkenberg has driven the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid around the Nürburgring Nordschleife ahead of the third round in the VLN championship.

It was the first time “The Hulk” had driven around the Ring in a tin top racecar and speaking after his drive he said, “This circuit is unique—you can’t compare it to any other track in the world. This is certainly not the last time I’ll drive here. Surprisingly, in the slow corners, the 911 is not far off a Formula 1 car. The mechanical grip is impressive.”

Hülkenberg’s opportunity came about due to Williams Hybrid Power supplying the electromechanical flywheel system used in the GT3 R Hybrid. The unit provides energy recovery, storage and distribution found in the car.

More pics, video and Porsche press release after the jump.

[Thanks to Obi for the tip]

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Porsche

Porsche GT2 update spied during Nürburgring testing

Porsche GT2 update during testing

A pre-release Porsche 911 GT2 update has recently been spotted during testing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. According to reports the next GT2 will use the same 390kW 3.8 litre flat six from the Turbo S. However the GT2 should weigh in a bit lighter than the Turbo S, so expect an improvement on the 0-100 time of 3.3 seconds. A small improvement, I guess.

You can see from the pic above that the front spoiler is changed over previous GT2 (see image below), with a more aggressive look, with rearranged LEDs allowing the car to gobble up more air. The GT2’s rear wing appears to be left untouched. With any luck we might see this car revealed, along with official details and specs, at the Paris Motor Show in October.

[Source: Autoblog]

UPDATE: More GT2 gossip over at Motor Trend. Thanks to Matt for the tip.

UPDATE #2: According to Dale over at Bridge to Gantry the GT2 will lose around 100kg to tip the scales 1300kg and have 600bhp, or more. Nice!

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Porsche

Renn Sport

Porsche RS gallery

Mention the model name Porsche 911 GT3 to any car person and chances are they’ll start to go weak at the knees. Add two more letters to that model, namely RS (for Renn Sport) and you’ll complete the task of turning an otherwise sane looking person into a drooling mess. The RS is the quintessential road and track weapon. Well, the quintessential German road and track weapon, at the very least.

So, then, what better way than to have all that explained to you by a Scottish bloke driving around the Porsche Experience UK test facility in England. You can see said video after the jump, and as an added bonus you will also see an extensive range of RS models, starting right back with the original 1970s version and finishing off with the latest 997.2 iteration. Ladies and gentlemen, start your downloads.

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Porsche

VIDEO: 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo S

2010 Porsche Turbo S

If you were too lazy busy to read this morning’s press release giving you all the details of the new 390kW 911 Turbo S then fear not. Porsche has come to your rescue by providing four YouTube clips telling you pretty much everything you need to know.

Enjoy…

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