Sebring – AUSmotive.com

P4/5 Competizione

On the weekend the P4/5 Competizione had its second and final race at the NÃ¼rburgring before the 24 hour race in June. James Glickenhaus and his team will continue testing, most likely at the Hungaroring, to finalise their N24 preparations.

Mike Frison, respected NÃ¼rburgring blogger, and lately Save the Ring activist, caught up with Glickenhaus at the race and had a good chat. Two of the more notable points to emerge from that discussion were plans to race the P4/5 Competizione at Le Mans and Sebring in future.

Makes sense, really, you put all that money into making a racecar, you probably want to tale it around the world.

However, it was the revelation that Glickenhaus would also like to convert the P4/5 Competizione to run a diesel engine to help improve performance. That’s likely to cause a few disturbances of the force down Ferrari-way.

[Source: Mike Frison | Pic: Facebook]

If you had the cash, a 911 GT3 RSR would have to be right up there as the track-day weapon of choice. Of course, the cost, at around AU$750K, is pretty high, so only captains of industry need apply. Anyway…

This new RSR has a fully revised 4.0 litre engine. It seems a bit odd seeing a 911 with an engine capacity that isnâ€™t 3.x litres, but who am I to argue. I certainly wouldnâ€™t be complaining about the 331kW on offer, although peak torque is not especially high at 430Nm (7250rpm). All the same, with a 9400rpm redline and an approximate weight of 1245kg (FIA-spec) youâ€™ll be sure to progress rapidly enough.

Porsche says peak revs are down from the previous RSR and this has improved the torque curve which has, in turn, improved driveability. Great news if you need to pop down to the shops in your RSR to pick up a litre of milk.

Apart from the excessivly flared rear guards, the most striking feature of the latest RSR iteration are the louvres on the bonnet. Apart from aiding the RSRâ€™s aerodynamic and cooling capabilities there is the added bonus of keeping your briefcase at optimum temperature. The car just looks the business, and I can only imagine the joy one would experience if you were to be let loose in one of these on an empty racetrack.

Porsche is getting into the spirit of Australia Day by giving the 911 GT3 RSR its world debut at Sebring International Raceway on Monday, 26 January, as part of the three-day American Le Mans Series Winter test.

Around 20 new RSRs are already on their way to some of Porscheâ€™s dearest customers, although it looks like AUSmotive may have to wait some time yet for our order to be fulfilled. And tonightâ€™s lotto numbers are…