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Thanks again for all the imputes. I appreciate it. The investigation to see if it is possible is still ongoing. The idea behind it is to have a Factory built Race Car there is legal to Drive on the street, even though it is far off ideal for the propose.
Yes it will be easier to run a normal Gt3 on the street, I own some already, but this whole thing is not about being easy and pratical, this is about doing it:-)
I have raced a 996 cup. there is nothing in a 996 cup that makes me want to drive it on the street.
beyond the legality/insurance (I bet that if you skirt the legality issues you void the insurance...) issues there is a long list:
cage, belts clutch, the way it needs/want to rev. ride height/splitter, engine cooling, seat, heating/airco, windows that if you have them dont open, exhaust/sound, cats etc etc
We recently rented out a local track and had about 15 cars that were mostly GT3RSs and I had my 996 Cup. During the last session one of the people wanted to do a picture of all of the cars on the track during the parade lap time slot. We had done that to do low speed, no helmet drives to give family and friends a ride around the track. It was the first time I’ve ever driven my car without a helmet. When the picture thing was over I had to drive the length of the track to get back to the pit. I wasn’t going very fast but was absolutely blown away of how loud the inside of that car is without a helmet. It’s deafening.
Interesting topic. And one that can be polarizing.
Intellectually, converting a race car to a street-registered car doesn’t make much sense. As others pointed out: race/Cup car NVH for street use is laughable; let alone not easy/practical and legal (for 996 Cup and newer) to properly register.
Emotionally, as OP expressed, there is “something” about being able to drive a real race car on the streets. I’ve swung the pendulum both ways since 1990s: street-car-to-race-car conversion (early 911) to purely race-car only (open-wheel formula cars, etc.). For the better part of the last decade, I’ve settled into having street-registered factory/period-race history race cars. Why? The “something” for me is the romance of a race car driving experience/feeling in the streets in a way that street cars converted for track may never have. As much as it is impractical and not the most comfortable (and arguably more unsafe), I’d rather have the most visceral drive even in short durations. It’s like having an espresso shot versus a cappuccino in the middle of the day; this notion became more prevalent to me during Covid lockdown wherein I can at least hop in my race cars and go for a quick drive to blow off mental cobwebs. I can only suspect that OP and I are not alone on this silly notion. Besides, there’s a reason why 50s/60s dual street/race car values are up there (250 SWB/TR/GTO, 4 cam Spyders/RSK, 904/906) and why a niche company like SCG (Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus) offers a new street-drivable race car. Drive to the race, race then drive back home.
I had the first Porsche Cup model - a 944 Rothmans (and still have access to another one currently owned by a family member). I imported it to the US; Porsche North America was helpful in making sure I have letters to address EPA/DOT compliance. I also have a street-registered Ferrari Challenge car in the US. Title was obtained with Ferrari dealer’s help with MSO. Key was the presence of proper 17-digit VIN without specific letter or number to indicate non-street use. As some have posted here, 1999 and newer unfortunately don’t any longer seem to have such possibility. So besides 50s/60s cars, 80s/90s factory race cars raced in Showroom Stock class or one-make series are the ones that can be legally street-registered.
Having said this, there are potentially some ways in the US to register more modern race cars like 996/997 Cups...without having to illegally weld a street VIN to the race tub. But I haven’t tried it and probably won’t until past 25 year DOT or emissions exemption. In the US, there’s a kit car and niche car exemption in some states. Is there such a thing in Germany?
In the US, there’s a kit car and niche car exemption in some states. Is there such a thing in Germany?
Nope!
All cars you want to register have to meet the same EU-Regulations that were applicable by the time they were built. There are no exceptions for niche cars or kitcars. The other (real) problem is that the Cup-vins are not permitted by PAG for road use. Means: The moment you enter a Cup-VIN into the system at the german DMV it can´t be associated to an existing permitted vehicle.
If you go through the DMSB (German motorsports authorities, like IMSA in the US) you can register it as a rally car. But then it has to be converted according to the current rallye regulations (and that gets checked by a DMSB-official) before they hand you out the documents to obtain the plates. Downside: You´re only allowed to operate the car on public roads during an officially sanctioned event that you´re participating in.
You can however run the car on garage-plates (Red plates as they´re called here). But that´s only allowed for test drives to check functionality. Joyrides are also excluded.
Thank You for Your inputs and comments. All helpfull.
As some of You can follow, this is not about having a Car there is suitable for the street nor getting a cheap or easy solution for a Gt3 on the street, it will not be. I have few handfuls of 24 hours and 12 hours Fia Endurance Races under my belt driving factory build Race Cars so I am a where that a Race car is totally different than a street Car.
I think most of us here at the forum are not always going the main stream way, that is why we love this type of Cars and actually are driving them. There is a few Cup Cars out there witch are fully street can my my one be added to the list it could be great, so I am still looking in to if it can happen and if there is away around it the next step is to consider it is worth the effort.
in what country do you like to do drive the Cup car ?
End of the day it's about how the local authorities (DMV) that handle the process and giving you a license plate,
judges the car being road worthy and if the original paperwork does allow it to be considered at all.
No affiliation with the below company but they know at least how it's done in Germany.
Once a correct title in Germany, this could be less complex to be imported in the UK for example
A few years back I believe there was a german race shop that somehow was approved for driving the cars on the street.... but mainly for just short test drives or moving between different workshops. There are a few videos on youtube of the guy driving a 997.1 and 997.2 cup on the street...
For whatever its worth, I have driven 90% of my cup cars from our repair shop back to my house over the years. It is fun for the first 10-15 min... after that I feel like im just beating up the car for no reason and I pick the absolutely best roads to travel on. As time a has passed the novelty has worn off and now I dont bother.
Running the 996RS with the straight-pipes on it was an experience... lol
11-25-2020, 02:56 PM
