Porsche GT3 RS @ Goodwood Review

June 2007
Filed under: PORSCHE Car News | PORSCHE Headlines

Visitors to the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed will for the first time be able to experience the performance and handling of the second generation Porsche Cayenne on a specially-designed circuit located next to the famous speed hillclimb course. The driver-oriented chassis of the Porsche Cayenne has been designed to combine sports car handling on the road with the added versatility of extreme agility off-road. The grass-surfaced course, around which the 385bhp V8-engined Cayenne S models will power, is intended to demonstrate perfectly the outstanding dynamic ability of the four door Porsche.

Rides in the all-wheel drive Porsche Cayenne S will be available in exchange for a donation to the Teenage Cancer Trust. Members of the public will be able to jump into the passenger seat alongside a Driving Consultant from the Porsche Driving Experience, and enjoy an exciting high speed run.

Epitomising the breadth of ability of the Porsche Cayenne is the special Transsyberia edition that will be on display at Goodwood. Based on the new Cayenne S, this sporting derivative makes its competition debut in the Transsyberia Rallye taking contestants over 4,000 miles from Moscow through Siberia to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia from 2 – 17 August 2007.

The two highest performing models in the 911 range will be participating in the ‘Sunday Times’ Supercar Run up the hillclimb course, a high-octane display of horsepower that celebrates the ultimate in performance road car engineering. The 415bhp Porsche 911 GT3 RS makes its debut at the Sussex venue, alongside the 480bhp four wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed each year has a central motor sporting theme and for 2007 it is ‘Spark of Genius – Breaking Records, Pushing Boundaries’. And if ever there was a marque for whom this sentiment was particularly appropriate, it is Porsche – with 16 victories at Le Mans just one of the company’s impressive records.

Manufacturers and private owners are invited to demonstrate cars of historical significance relating to the motor sporting disciplines celebrated. Sports car and endurance racing plays a major part in this year’s Festival, and given the unparalleled achievements by Porsche in this field, the world-renowned Porsche Museum team from Stuttgart is showcasing three ground-breaking cars from its past – the 1973 917/30, the 1977 ‘Baby’ 935, and the 1986 962.

However, threatening to steal the limelight from these classics will be the 2007 RS Spyder from the Porsche Motorsport headquarters in Wiessach, making its European public debut. Designed for competition in the ultra-competitive American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Championship across the Atlantic, the RS Spyder won the LMP2 class in the 2006 ALMS, and currently heads the category this season following three outright wins. Driving the RS Spyder at Goodwood is German ace Timo Bernhard, who leads the LMP2 Driver’s Championship in the ALMS.

A further unique feature of Goodwood is that the event seeks to reunite famous cars with drivers from the original factory teams. This year sees a star-studded line-up of former factory Porsche drivers behind the wheel of Stuttgart race cars once again. Derek Bell, five times winner of Le Mans and former factory Porsche driver will be driving the 1973 917/30 alongside fellow sportscar legend Jochen Mass; Vern Schuppan, 1983 Le Mans winner for Porsche, will be reunited with a 962C from 1986 and will also drive the 1977 935 ‘Baby’.

Porsche enthusiasts visiting Goodwood will be pleased to learn that there are many more examples of the marque, and former factory race drivers, participating in the Festival of Speed. These will include; Richard Attwood, winner of Le Mans with Porsche in 1970 in the fearsome 917; Vic Elford, winner of the 1968 Targa Florio; Brian Redman, 1970 Targa Florio winner for Porsche; and Allan McNish, winner of the 1998 Le Mans with the Porsche factory team.

And for visitors wishing to re-fuel themselves, the Porsche Café Le Mans will be once more situated on the outside of the track near the footbridge, offering meals and refreshments.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place in the grounds of Goodwood House, near Chichester, Sussex, between June 22 - 24. Admission is by advanced ticket only. For further information about the weekend’s activities and admission prices, visit goodwood.co.uk, or telephone
01243 755000.

Porsche 911 Top Art Review

April 2007

The custom bodykit has brand-based inhouse design and top-tuners influences, mixed along with a personal touch. A new aggressive street based look, aiming to be more a comprehensive tuned serious facelift than a simple reinterpreted bodykit. Its main characteristics: flowing edges and curves, slick design continuing and enhancing its stock one of a kind shape.

Versions / interpretations:

Silver neutral
Orange “mission virtual to real plus”
Romanian police pursuit vehicle














Modifications:
Front and rear spoilers redesigned, with aerodynamic extractor and diffuser
Side skirts, new rear wheel wings/arches for a better admission
New hood and rear aileron with direct air flow for the turbo intercoolers
Reshaped mirrors
Panoramic view thanks to the new roof top that integrates an extra carbon fiber direct air flow for the engine compartment
Vertical doors kit
All new elements made of carbon fiber
20’ custom wheels (with Porsche logo integrated as design element for spokes)
Yokohama Advan tires
LED front signals/rear lights
Big brake kit, sport suspension, modified exhaust, upgraded engine specs
Interior changes based on carbon fiber/black leather with a new multimedia surround sound system (amplifiers, subwoofers, speakers, central DVD screen and rear camera)

Porsche 911 Turbo Le Mans 600 Review

December 2006


The Swiss Porsche specialist Rinspeed launches its new and exclusive accessories program "Le Mans" for the latest Porsche 997 Turbo models

The body

The "Le Mans" front skirt with integrated Carbon splitters appears eye-catching and produces a higher aerodynamic down force at the front axle. This increase results in a better road handling. The bigger and re-shaped air intakes for the radiators and the brakes improve the cooling of them considerably. Additional headlights with day light driving lights and the inboard moved fog lights guarantee a sporty yet elegant appearance. The newly - especially for the Turbo developed - side skirts connect optically the front and rear fenders in a maximal way. It follows the new body lines harmonically. Further appearance improvement is achieved by the Carbon covers for the rear view mirrors. The "Le Mans" rear skirt with integrated exhaust tips also increases the down force on the rear axle and esthetically supports the high performance exhaust system with integrated metal catalytic converters. Eye-catching yet not separable element is the rear wing which sits tightly above the rear hatch. The wing profile is also available in a Carbon finish.

The propulsionFor the first time the Swiss tuners have also addressed the engine output. The 3.6 liter power pack produces in the "Le Mans" breathtaking 600 hp (441 kW) at 6'700 rpm, the torque is increased to almost unbelievable 800 Nm at 4'000 Nm. The engine conversion includes two special VTG turbo chargers, a new Carbon air intake ram-air system with sport air filters, improved intercoolers as well as a high performance exhaust system with metal catalytic converters.

These modifications allow the Rinspeed "Le Mans" to be accounted amongst one of the fastest street legal sports cars. The sprint from 0-100 km/h is achieved by the super sportsman in just 3.3 seconds, the 200 km/h mark is reached in 10.9 seconds and the top speed is clocked at 343 km/h.

Further equipment of the "Le Mans" consists in an adjustable suspension which is based on the original PASM damper system. It has been developed in cooperation with Bilstein and assures a precise road handling in the top class. Maximum braking is achieved by an efficient and stable high performance brake kit with 8 pistons aluminum calipers and 380 mm x 34 mm at the front axle and 6 pistons calipers with 360 mm x 32 mm at the rear axle.

A close contact to the road is ensured by the typical and well sold Rinspeed 20 inch aluminum wheels in the C5/1 design. The rear wheels have been widened to the size of 12 x 20" especially for the Turbo. The tires sizes of 245/30-20 at the front axle and 325/25-20 at the rear axle hug the road for sufficient grip for the Swiss super sportsman.

Porsche 911 9F-V400 Review

February 2007

Once again, the new world speed record for production road cars is set by Germany. Exactly 5 years, 8 months and 12 days after the record of 386.7 km/h was set by McLaren with its F1, the bar was raised a bit higher.

Jan Fatthauer, owner and chief engineer of 9ff, insisted on steering the record car in person. 388 km/h on the Nardo circuit where McLaren had to give up at 371 km/h when lateral acceleration became too high. 9ff's 9f-V400 based on a Porsche 996 has a power of 840 HP and an 880 NM torque - sufficient power for raising the vehicle above the 400 km/h mark on a straight track. At such a high speed, the real problem is aerodynamics.
This is why Jan Fatthauer and his men had to try out various tail fin variants before the record was achieved, so that the record drive automatically was a test drive. Says Fatthauer: "Both tail fins which were used for the record made sure that even at top speed, the car's road holding remained absolutely level and stable".