CRex

Just read the January edition of GT Porsche which has a very revealing interview with PAG's R&D Head, Wolfgang Dürheimer on the direction of the brand. In no unclear terms he said the GT1 block will end with the GT2RS (see below).

I don't have the online version (http://gtpurelyporsche.com/thismonth.asp), but the text goes:

"... change is coming, even to the cars built by Porsche Motorsport, often seen as a brand within a brand. Ever since the first GT3 was built over a decade ago, these cars hve been using the old racing engine, the indirect injection motor that can trace its origins back to the 911 GT1 Le Mans winner of 1998. But now that Porsche has an all-new direct injection flat-six in every other 911, Boxster and Cayman, the time has come for the old engine to take its final bow. 'We don't need to replace it,' concedes Durheimer, 'but we are business people and it doesn't make sense to have two entirely different generations of flat-six being built in house.' He confirms the GT2 RS will be the last new Porsche to be fitted with the old engine. And while that will bring tears to the eyes of the purists, I think we should at least wait to see what its replacement is like before lamenting its passing too much."

It's on p.82 if anyone has the printed version.

I'm crestfallen... if I'm reading this right, there'll be one engine platform for 911s going forward and it doesn't take much to guess that's 9A1-based...

p.s. The article also talks about forthcoming hybrids and 4-cylinder 911s. Well worth a read, albeit depressing in the utmost.

911rox

So reading between the lines, the illusive 500hp RS LE is nothing more then a myth then... Shame for the GT cars if they do go down this path... I suppose only time will tell now...

TTurbine

Guess i will be shopping for a low milage .2 GT3 to add a NA GT1 Block to my stable.....

Ritesh

Truely sad. But I think most of us expected Porsche AG to make this financial decision.

All this does is confirm to me that I need to keep my GT3 or get a RS ASAP!

aussie jimmy

sad.......

Izzone

I was waiting for this......one day will add an RS 997.2

CRex

True that... it does make our cars more special down the road, perhaps closer to the status of today's 993RS... IF we can stomach the mad depreciation in the intervening years that is...

911SLOW

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRex

Just read the January edition of GT Porsche which has a very revealing interview with PAG's R&D Head, Wolfgang Dürheimer on the direction of the brand. In no unclear terms he said the GT1 block will end with the GT2RS (see below).

The magazine's website (http://gtpurelyporsche.com/thismonth.asp) requires subscription and I only have the iPad version. But the text reads:

"... change is coming, even to the cars built by Porsche Motorsport, often seen as a brand within a brand. Ever since the first GT3 was built over a decade ago, these cars hve been using the old racing engine, the indirect injection motor that can trace its origins back to the 911 GT1 Le Mans winner of 1998. But now that Porsche has an all-new direct injection flat-six in every other 911, Boxster and Cayman, the time has come for the old engine to take its final bow. 'We don't need to replace it,' concedes Durheimer, 'but we are business people and it doesn't make sense to have two entirely different generations of flat-six being built in house.' He confirms the GT2 RS will be the last new Porsche to be fitted with the old engine. And while that will bring tears to the eyes of the purists, I think we should at least wait to see what its replacement is like before lamenting its passing too much."
It's on P82 if anyone has the printed version.

I'm crestfallen... if I'm reading this right, there'll be one engine platform for 911s going forward and it doesn't take much to guess that's 9A1-based...

p.s. The article also talks about forthcoming hybrids and 4-cylinder 911s. Well worth a read, albeit depressing in the utmost.

Please do race it before selling it. Thank you.

CRex

John you can rest assured that I track my p-cars as they're meant for, but racing? Tempting but ain't got the skillz yet...

Now I wonder what's the point of your chart above? The math geek in me sees what it is, but it wouldn't matter if the subject matter was pop-corn or GT3s w/ RMS failures, would it... half-life is half-life, or am I gettin dumb at this late hour...

mdeleeuw

Sounds like a cost issue. But given the importance of GT racing to Porsche, I doubt they would abandon such a proven platform unless they have good confidence that it will work.

Mike

85Gold

And that says it all. That doesn't mean the 6GT3 is for sale or as they say you will have to pry my 6GT3 from my cold dead hands.

Peter

FTS

I would assume he was referring to Porsche to race the new engine before marketing it to us

911SLOW

Indeed I was

And because I was indecisive on whether it's worth to bring pop corn, I pulled out the chart. It worked, even pop corn has many unknowns about its future.. so..

Clifton

Drawing on historical examples like the air cooled motors of yore (993), I'm curious to see what if any affect this type of anouncement will have on the values of the GT1 based cars.

Carrera GT

I'm all for seeing flat fours again. Preferably around 10K rpm redline, 250 hp in 2200lb two-seater, rear-engine cars with the wheels at the corners by virtue of some genius invention to take away overhang.

As for discontinuing their last remaining claim to their origins, utter madness. When bureaucrats take the helm and declare "change is coming" their agenda is self-centered. If the intent was to make the product more competitive, more satisfying and more valuable to 911 buyers, we'd continue to see innovation and progress -- there's no call for "change."

This idea of changing the 911 is flawed in the same way that Porsche thinks they should build a hot rod mid-engine product to "compete" with the 12C and 458 -- this is as if to have learned nothing of the history of success at Porsche; success from continuing to advance the rear-engine vehicle to best all comers.