I would agree. I can only imagine the corporate politics behind such a statement in an environment, where the buyout of Porsche by VW has stalled to the level of possible failure as it did when it was the other way around.

 

why is everyone acting surprised to the corporate strategy of VW?

 

As the lone dissenting voice I expect flaming, but I'd really like to see them start racing the new DFI engine. No more effective means of finding and correcting design flaws than racing them for 24 hours. I'd expect improvements to trickle down to the street cars over time.

 

We can hope, right? Although not nearly as dramatic as the air cooled to water cooled conversion, there might be some nostalgic value to the 997/GT1. As much as the 9A1 may very prove itself it is frustrating to realize PAG will use basically one platform. "Integrated dry sump" in Porsche speak does not sound as confidence inspiring as a true dry sump. We have already heard that as much as the 9A1 may be an excellent performer it lacks the soul of its predecessor and that wasn't even the famed GT1 block. We knew this was coming.

 

This move has been obvious since we saw the 997.2 TT based on the new DFI engine (a decision made long before VW had a role in the process). I see no reason to fear the change, though. Porsche still knows how to build a proper engine, and there's every reason to expect that future GT cars will have appropriate engines whether they're GT1-based or not.

I, for one, am excited to think about the performance we should expect to see from a modern Porsche engine built to racing standards. That said, I'll probably hold off a few years and let mooty work out the bugs, but I'll happily buy a non-GT1 engine GT3 once they're seasoned by a few years of racing.

 

^ Love the next-gen 911 predictions; spot on!

 

So, this begs the question when will a 991/9A1 based RSR or Cup car emerge from Porsche Motorsport?

or ...

will Porsche break the tradition between the motorsport cars and the GT "homologation" editions?

 

I agree that this comes as no surprise. DFI has advantages in endurance racing - better fuel economy = fewer pit stops. A few years back someone posted a diagram of the 9A1 engine pointing out that it appears to be designed to accept a true dry sump.

Technology moves on ...and I'm counting on Porsches getting better not worse.

 

For a street car applications, don't think 9A1 has coolant line issues that the GT1-block engines have either, although I'm not certain this is correct.

We may miss the sound of the NA Mezger engine however, as I doubt whether Porsche will be able to replicate or match the beautiful, raw, analog song of the current GT3 motor. We shall see...

 

I agree hopefully whatever they do with the 9A1 it will be "better" ...

I am a little concerned about the recent flood of "special" badged cars like the GTS, Speedster, Cayman R etc ...

Seems like the GT-1 block has run out of bhp ... can the 9A1 provide more? If not then what does Porsche Motorsport do for a powerplant for the 991 race cars? - and what do the GT3s do?

They either transplant the current GT1 block into the 991, squeeze more out of a 9A1 (but can that exceed 450bhp) or "rebrand" the GT3 in its 991 form with a 9A1 based GTS like powerplant ...

or they could just decide that the GT3 is done as a limited edition car ... 991 R anyone?

 

I see no reason why the 9A1 engine cannot produce more power. as a ground-up design, nobody would accept limitations below those of the current GT3 RS.

I'm sure it can handle a greater displacement than the M997.70 engine. DFI has produced power increases in other engines, why not the 9A1. I'm convinced that PAG left "head-room".

The end of life special models don't surprise me at all. Things like the 993 Turbo S which I thought was a total rip off in 1997 have turned out to be collectors items. Why not empty the parts bins since those bits will be obsolete next year. The speedster is the most special case since it is truly a limited edition done by special wishes - expensive as hell but rare. Not sure I consider it "collectible" but that's just me.

Regards,

 

My next big question is... what engine will Porsche put in the next GT3 to race in LeMans?

Ferrari has the 458 (or whatever race version it will be called to race in LeMans); which is rather lightweight, very aerodynamic, and its engine output is in the high five hundreds horsepower range.

In a recent Top Gear episode, they 'casually' raced a Ferrari 458 and a 997.2 GT3RS at VIR. The 458 just walked away at the straight with its V8 horsepower.

I guess Porsche would need a similar output engine to compete in the near future LeMans. A NA 9A1 flat-six? I am not so sure...

On the other hand, didn't some guys just won Daytona 24 hours race with a Cayenne V8 engine? Didn't RUF just sucessfully developed a V8 and fit it in its RGT-8? Didn't they mention the 991 chassis will be longer and wider (with bigger engine bay, I guess?) Hmm... it got me thinking -- a V8 GT3? Wink

Regards,

 

If we're going to be "convinced" by reading between the lines of Porsche in its history as a way to predict how it might behave in the coming model cycle, I think the new Carrera/Boxster engine is designed to be cost effective. Nothing else. Criteria of emissions, durability, power output, quality, all come into play and Porsche doesn't disappoint, but compared to the venerable engine that has carried the name to victory for so many decades, Porsche has no shortage of means to solve the emissions versus performance riddle -- they don't need to cut out the heart of the car and hope the customers still find it in their hearts to drive the next one. They threw water in our face and we've learned to live with leaking seals (that never used to leak) and we've learned to deal with no brakes or no diff or cheap suspension parts, but hell, once they send the old horse to the glue factory, what's left? Headlights that turn with the steering wheel?

 

"we are business people..."

They have to maintain their OM - operating margin of 19% which is double that of the industry.

 

If indeed they do make the change and the new GT3 motor is not a race proven one (and will never be raced at all) but just a more powerful DFI version (one that fulfils all the new age engine agenda) of the existing base model motors (and slightly more powerful than the existing GT3 3.8L one ) that means that their marketing teams probably researched this and most likely did some customer profile studies too that showed that sales won’t be affected by this change and indeed they will probably increase. Also with one motor only for the whole range the new GT3 will cost Porsche less money to produce.
If that is the case then I am afraid that the company reached a point where it became better in selling cars than actually making cars and that is a point of no return…
Also sadly enough this is telling of the average future Porsche / GT3 customer and perhaps a realization that at least here in RL we do not represent that group (yet).

One the other hand I hope that there is another study going one that will convince them that far ahead down the road once you cut all connections with your past, at one point you will forget who you are and parish; and this for Porsche means to jeopardize its racing future pedigree and the direct connection it had to the road versions.
That I hope is the study that prevails, and Porsche will give us a true new racing/road engine (frankly I don’t care how it’s called or where is based on) one that will write another 20 years of podium finishes and first places.
(And btw one that can keep up and beat the V8's..)

PS. Sentimentally speaking the GT1 based motor is already in history as one of the greatest racing motors of all times and my personal favorite and nothing will change that.

PS2. Reminder to self: Don’t ever sell the 6GT3 : )