Revealed: Porsche 911 RSR — More Betterer Than It Looks

 

The big news is that new RSR is now essentially a mid-engined car. Some will say "Sacre bleu!" But, given the comments we’ve seen over the years, most will say "Finally!" The 4.0L boxer motor has been shifted forward toward the front of the car and rotated 90 degrees. The new car has 510 hp on a base weight (in class) of 2735 lb. 

 

 

The major impact of all this mechanical engineering is that is allows Porsche to improve the aerodynamics. In simple terms, with the motor moved forward and no longer in the way, the rear diffuser can be much more efficient. They have attended to serviceability (very important in endurance racing) and have made the body panels quicker to replace. Safety has also been addressed, with the driver shifted inward toward the center of the car. Maybe even bigger news is the presence of an electronic collision avoidance system. No news on how that will work, and we can already hear the hand-wringing from fans, but we are intrigued. 

 

 

This car will be run by the factory, but presumably there could be a trickle down of its technology to GT3. We hope. Meanwhile, if you aren’t Nick Tandy and want a mid-engined Porsche race car, check out the GT4 Cayman.