Larry Herman

Here's what Porsche does not understand about the US market. In general (IMHO) the buyers of new 911s know nothing at all about their cars, let alone racing. Whether it was a flat 6 or a V8 that won is of no concern to them. All they know about Porsches is that the shizzle is a 911; it's fast, it's expensive and it's German. Some probably don't even know the engine is in the back until they shop for one.

It's us enthusiasts who champion the marque and want to see it continue to successfully battle against the rest of the world as it has in it's glorious past.

So as far as racing goes, I don't think that it matters if a 911 wins on Sunday, because there will always be 911 buyers on Monday. However, if Caymans and Cayenne motors win on Sunday, that actually may sell more of them on Monday.

NaroEscape

Funny story about this comment, and very embarassing to be a Porsche owner that these people are also owners:

Father and son (father is a Porsche mechanic) were in the PCA Corral with their older Porsche (model doesn't matter) and the battery was dead. They ask a guy that just came up to his 997 if they could jump off his battery. He said "I would love to help, really, but I don't even know where the battery is or if you can reach it easily - sorry about that" - got in and drove off. They were so shocked they didn't know what to reply, when another Porsche owner, hearing the exchange came up and helped out.

RSA333

Great news for the winning DP team!

The so-clalled 'Cayenne-derived' engine was originally developed by Porsche as a race engine, not a SUV engine.

Larry Herman

Well maybe that's why it worked so well right out of the box. When Porsche builds racing engines, they work pretty well. When they purposely build street engines, they suck.

NaroEscape

Wasn't exactly 'out of the box'. They did a lot of development work on it. The Cayenne engine is too heavy, with the weight up high. My understanding is they tore it apart, cut out weight and somewhat redesigned it per se. I talked to a lot of guys up and down pit road this weekend and that's what I heard.

Larry Herman

Poor choice of words. How about "first time out". I know that they had to make some signifcant changes (it was mentioned during the telecast), but there had to be something about the initial design and overall robustness that made it attractive to begin with. It is still pretty incredible that on it's maiden race it made it the whole 24 hours with no problems.

NaroEscape

Agreed

THXBABE

Wasn't there a team running a Cayenne motor last year? Was it the same team?

Fabio421

Yes, the engine has been in development for some time now. It wasn't it's first race.

Meister Fahrer

Here's a good article about the team and some background:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2010...D_AM/100139996

The Action Express Daytona Prototype win was unexpected for multiple reasons. The slapped-together driver lineup of Ryan Dalziel, Terry Borcheller, João Barbosa and Mike Rockenfeller was talented, but not exactly first-string. The crew was partly new. It also included alumni of Brumos Racing, who were left looking for work when Brumos kept its No. 59 Riley-Porsche active for this year, but dropped No. 58--which the team had fielded in the past, largely to give J. C. France, son of Grand-Am founder Jim France, a job. After J. C. France's arrest late last year on DUI and drug charges the week before the Grand-Am season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, France lost his racing license and his job.

So while the Action Express car was not simply a repainted entry of Brumos's No. 58, it's a different car; it was built and prepared in the Brumos shop.

But--and this is a big but for Porsche--while the Brumos cars have long been powered by the Porsche 3.99-liter flat-six engine, the Action Express car carried a 5.0-liter V8 that Porsche neither builds nor officially sanctions. For years, Jim France has been advocating the use of a Porsche V8, especially since Porsche does sell a V8 in its Cayenne SUV. But when Porsche would not build one for Grand-Am competition, France helped spearhead an effort that resulted in this engine, built by the Texas-based Lozano Brothers.

Consequently, according to Porsche motorsports spokesman Andy Schupack, Porsche will not technically claim a win, and you will likely not see any full-page ads in newspapers or magazines that tout the victory. You probably would have, Schupack said, if Brumos, for example, had won. “It's a Porsche-powered win,” Schupack said after the race, “but not a Porsche win.”

Still, it seems like a Porsche win, especially since the Cayenne-based V8 ran like a Rolex all day and had power to spare, despite being 30 pounds heavier and nearly three inches taller than the Porsche six-cylinder.

Streak

The Spirit of Daytona #90 has been running the Cayenne V8 for few years.

I certainly don't want to see the 911 go away. People can argue all they want about the rear engine needing super duper engineering or the antiquated aspect of the 911 concept yada yada yada. The 911 has dominated motorsport for decades and continues to do so all over the world. Love that car! Love it! It is and should be the pinnacle of Porsche's racing effort. Maybe it needs to get a v8?

What about all those Panamera V8's? Any possibilities there? Lighter? Lower CofG?

500

Isn't it really a case of the way the Grand-Am rules are structured as to how well any particular motor is allowed to go? I don't think any DP can have a Porsche flat six built to the ultimate capabilities of that platform. I suppose if the V8 continues to post good success that car will be targeted for performance equilization?

At the end of the day, that is what must make DP very unattractive for manufacturers: There is no reward (just punishment) for gaining competitive advantage. Although that does make for close racing, it also reduces the significance of any technical accomplishment.

cscrogham

Bingo! You just hit the Grand Am nail on the head.

JimB

Isn't Rockenfeller an Audi team driver? You don't get the use of a factory driver without some level of support by the mothership.

Veloce Raptor

Well, **** that. These days, in this economy, they should embrace ANY success with ANY product they make.






Professional Racing and Driving Coach