Porsche’s New 911 Racer Is Not Rear-Engined

Ed
By Ed Higginbotham
Nov 16, 2016 | Porsche

Porsche just removed the wraps from their all-new GT car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Holy cow, it’s mid-engined!

Porsche will tackle the 2017 racing season with a newly developed GT racer. The new 911 RSR makes full use of the breadth of the Le Mans 24 Hours GT regulations, and in addition to lightweight design, features the ultra-modern, flat-six engine positioned in front of the rear axle.

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Comments
Matt B
Matt B SuperDork
11/16/16 2:30 p.m.

Well, they finally caved.

mazdeuce
mazdeuce UltimaDork
11/16/16 2:55 p.m.

Wasn't this a very poorly kept secret for a while now? I'm most curious about whether this will spawn a road car variant. Yes I know they build the Cayman, and it's not like I could afford one anyway, I just want to know if Porsche is nutty enough to do it.

Fitzauto
Fitzauto Dork
11/16/16 3:19 p.m.

Looks like they finally figured out how to do it the right way

aircooled
aircooled MegaDork
11/16/16 3:23 p.m.

What's next?!? A mid-engined Corvette!?!?! At least the 'mericans' have the balls to hold on to tradition!!

Furious_E
Furious_E GRM+ Memberand Dork
11/16/16 3:29 p.m.

BLASPHEMY!!!!

Devilsolsi
Devilsolsi Reader
11/16/16 3:59 p.m.
aircooled wrote: What's next?!? A mid-engined Corvette!?!?! At least the 'mericans' have the balls to hold on to tradition!!

Ummm....Corvette DP?

Devilsolsi
Devilsolsi Reader
11/16/16 4:03 p.m.

I have a bit of an issue with the direction GTLM/GTE is going. I don't think the Ford should have been able to run this year. I don't think Porsche should be able to run a mid engine car, unless they base it on the Cayman. The class is supposed to be production based. Ford wasn't in production, and the Porsche doesn't exist.

I guess if you go back to the Grand-Am days they ran tube chassis Mazda RX-8s with 3 rotor motors. Those had nothing to do with production cars. Guess it isn't that different.

kb58
kb58 Dork
11/16/16 4:14 p.m.

Sort of like NASCAR, where the total number of actual components from the cars they're pretending to be can be counted on one hand.

Huckleberry
Huckleberry MegaDork
11/16/16 4:17 p.m.
aircooled wrote: What's next?!? A mid-engined Corvette!?!?! At least the 'mericans' have the balls to hold on to tradition!!

Not sure if joking. The Corvette is already technically mid-engined. The whole thing is behind the front axle.

mazdeuce
mazdeuce UltimaDork
11/16/16 4:45 p.m.

They just need homologation rules again. Or more strict ones. Racing the Ford GT is one of those fuzzy areas that you let slip because it's good for the sport. The 911 is at least based on the same shell that they sell. I'd like to see what they had to modify to make it work and how that fits in with the rules. And there is always the thought that Porsche is about to announce their next special car which is why this was allowed. We'll see.

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