DRPM

^
+1
That makes sense to me.

Nizer

i'll bet Mooty's cayman is being aggressively shopped....

mooty

no way
I want deviating stitching in the United color of Benetton

997rs4.0

I asked the same question yesterday and the reply was yes, with forgeline and one more brand that I can't remember. Can't find the link now.

ilko

When a 9A1 engined car competes at Le Mans then we'll have a true current GT car. The Mezger did it, and won. Current feeder series are great but you're out against other privateers running last gen 3-series and Mazdas. When you stand up against the factory Corvette, BMW, and Ferrari teams - and win - then you've got the true GT engine. Which is what 996 and 997 cars had.

997rs4.0

It will be a lot of fun DEs in the next couple of years. Gt4s, 7.3 grinding it out. And then 1.3s way a head of everyone! I guess 1rs will be a rare sight at tracks. And then add some good 6.3 drivers in the mix..

GTgears

Correction. There's no such thing as a Tudor Cayman. Furthermore, only 1 of the 3 Caymans that ran Rolex Grand Am at Daytona ran the season. That was BGB's car. They changed the engine not too long into the season after Daytona, on principal. And then they quite spectacularly blew an engine at Watkins Glen. They may have changed it one more time. I think it was a 4 engine season.

That said, teams have not historically run all year on a single Mezger in a Grand Am Cup either. Usually 3 or 4 is the average. A PCA Club racer can get 50-100 hours out of one. A pro endurance race team is replacing them pretty religously at 40-50 hours.

I don't understand the Mezger obsession any more than I understand the rear engine worship. It's not a "motorsports based" engine as everyone always says. It started out as the 130bhp 2.0l heart for the original 911. It is a great design that has shown great adaptability and versatility to the point that the displacement has been doubled with the same basic architecture. But the constant 9A1 bashing and Mezger worship is as irrational as most of our other vehicular fetishes. It's an engine. To think that Porsche hasn't designed a highly advance technologically sound engine with their current family of engines is niave. Porsche makes good engines, Mezger or not. The lump in my '67 912 is a good engine too and powered the 356 for nearly two decades. But 911 guys don't give that one much credit either and only respect the Furhmann instead on the old cars.

audipwr1

I agree mezger motor has just as many problems as any of these things

They **** coolant unless pinned, leak oil, and are unbalanced if 3.8 or over (speculation re issues with later models)

If it were in a Honda it would have been recalled

Speeds5

I'd be looking at these when they're 30% off in a few years in the used market. These won't be limited in production so you know they'll be losing value as soon as you drive them off the lot. In 3-4 years, you pick up a nicely set up one at a discount and you're set for a track car.

993GT

IMHO, couldn't disagree more re: Mezger vs.M96 or 9A1...one is a true motorsports based engine, long living(esp. in turbo-spec), infinitely rebuildable, able to dramatically increase power(turbo's) with a few quirks(coolant fittings, some leak oil)...vs the throw-away M96's and 9A1's with a long list of fundamental engine construction issues that cause catastrophic failures(failing cylinder walls, heads cracking, m96 IMS, crankshafts breaking, oil starvation/wet-sump...etc.)...
This is not to say the M96 or 9A1 aren't great running engines(they are), it just the construction techniques that leave lots to be desired.

The Greek

Im confused about the "unbalance" of all GT3's that are 3.8 and 4.0's. Can you elaborate on this?

GTgears

People always seem for forget the pulled head studs on the 2.7s, broken head studs on the 3.0, bad valve guides on the 3.2, and leaking cylinders on the 3.6 air cooled Mezger engines. It is irrational worship. The engine family has had tons of issues over the years. Took them decades to "perfect" it as it sits in the GT3.

997s07

Cam actuator bolts backing out. Just learned this myself.

The Greek

If I recall, that was an issue limited to the RS. Don't recall any narrow body GT3's having that issue.

997s07

Nevertheless, the basic architecture was used in real pro races. An opportunity the 9A1 still has not been given. The real question is why! I won't hide the appeal to me that a GT1 block is in my garage. But I'm genuinely interested in why the 9A1 isn't raced professionally in the cup cars and RSR.