The Mezger Six: Evolution of an Automotive Game-Changer
Fittingly, the last 911 to have a Mezger flat six hanging over its back wheels was also the first: the GT3. Porsche made sure the final evolution of one of its greatest engines was also its ultimate, a swan song to end all swan songs: the 2011 GT3 RS 4.0. The previous GT3 3.8 had pushed the diameter of the bores to the absolute limit, so Porsche lengthened the stroke by fitting it with a crankshaft taken directly from the RSR. They also slapped on some new air filters, gave it a more liberating manifold and catalysts, and stabbed the ECU with an adrenaline needle. The end result was a naturally aspirated, 4.0 liter, flat six that put down 500 hp and 339 lb ft of torque at 8,250rpm — 250 off its redline.
It’s hard to overstate just how important the Mezger engine was for Porsche. It came along at a time when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy and about to hedge their entire future on two cars backed by the same fatally-flawed engine. Remember, Porsche’s perpetual financial safety net, the Cayenne, didn’t exist yet. Had the company gone ahead with sticking the M96 in every Boxster and 911, it very likely would’ve lead to a massive recall and the death of the company. The Mezger will forever have a place in Porsche’s mechanical pantheon, not just because it was one of their all-time greatest engines but because it helped save the company.