Porsche Builds the 5,000th Cup 911

Monumental Occasion

Near the end of last November, the 5,000th one-make cup racing car based on the Porsche 911 rolled off the assembly line in Zuffenhausen, a monumental occasion that the automaker just got around to celebrating. However, this tradition of these special racing machines began way back in 1990 with the vehicles built for the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. Since then, the Cup 911 has evolved into one of the most widely produced racing vehicles in the world.

Photos: Porsche

Unique Offering

The anniversary Cup 911 will be campaigned in the 2023 season of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. For this special season, the 5,000th Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car will be helmed by famous guest drivers at selected rounds of the international one-make cup. To commemorate this, the No. 911 car will be decked out in a special livery, which distinguishes it from the field of around 30 other racing cars in the series.

Photos: Porsche

Impressive Success

"More than 5,000 Cup 911s - this impressive figure symbolizes the huge success of our worldwide Porsche one-make cups like no other," said Oliver Köppen, Manager One-Make Series and GT Sport, Porsche Motorsport Sales. "It also stands for the high level of popularity that Porsche enjoys among teams, racing professionals, young drivers, and amateur racers around the world. No other Porsche racing car has been produced in such large numbers or raced more frequently."

Photos: Porsche

Big Plans

What began in 1990 with the first Cup 911 in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland has now turned into a success story with a total of 34 Porsche-approved one-make cup series contested around the world. Over the decades, the Cup concept spread from the Development Center in Weissach to almost every continent. Porsche Carrera Cups are currently run in Europe, America, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. For the 2023 season, the Supercup will take over eight European Formula 1 weekends as part of its support program, too.

Photos: Porsche

Vast Expansion

"Since the debut of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in April 1990, the Porsche one-make cups have evolved remarkably," said Michael Dreiser, Director of Sales of Porsche Motorsport. "This season, the number has increased to 34 series worldwide - and almost all rely on the latest 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. This success was largely due to our customer teams, to whom I owe a special thank you."

Photos: Porsche

Slightly Modified

In 1990, the strategy behind the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland was clear - technology from series production should prove itself on the racetrack, and the manufacturing of all Cup cars was centralized at Porsche. The 964-gen 911 Carrera RS served as the basis, as it was only slightly modified for the one-make cup series by way of safety equipment, a sports suspension racing, and an exhaust system.  

Photos: Porsche

Keeping Tradition Alive

Much has changed since then, but many things also remain the same. In fact, the 992 911 Cup car features a computer-aided safety cell, a sequential dog-box transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel, a carbon-fiber body and cockpit components, and a rear wing that can be adjusted in eleven positions, though its powerplant and output remain virtually the same as the road-going version - keeping at least part of this long-standing tradition alive.

Photos: Porsche

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