Porsche has a new GT racer for the 2017 racing season: the 911 RSR. It’s a complete redesign of the iconic 911 GT racer. As we covered last week, the RSR retains the iconic design of the Porsche 911, while boldly breaking from 911 tradition by moving the engine from the rear to ahead of the rear axles in the middle of the chassis. The 2017 Porsche 911 RSR was displayed at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The shift in engine placement was primarily a matter of seeking optimal weight distribution. But the relocation of the 510-horsepower four-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine also cleared the way for a number of other innovations. “While retaining the typical 911 design, this is the biggest evolution by now in the history of our top GT model,” said Frank-Steffen Walliser, chief of Porsche Motorsport.
The 2017 Porsche 911 RSR at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show.
With mid-engine configuration, Porsche engineers were able to add an extreme rear diffuser combined with the dramatic rear wing borrowed from the 919 Hybrid—vastly improving aerodynamics and stability during cornering. While the car keeps the 911’s chassis tub, the suspension, body structure, and transmission are completely new.
“The new car is phenomenal,” said Dempsey, “The new engine layout and the car’s balance is really good,” said Patrick Dempsey, co-owner of Dempsey Proton Racing, will lead the Porsche RSR team for Porsche in the 2017 racing season. “The handling is going to be so much easier than it was before.”
In the burgeoning era of driver-assistance safety systems, the RSR also adds a radar-based collision-warning system. Even in the pitch dark of a 24-hour race, drivers get early warnings of approaching traffic, especially important when racing among speeding Le Mans prototypes.
Serviceability and quick adaptations during a race are also obviously critical to success. So new quick-release fasteners allow entire parts of the RSR’s carbon-fiber body to be completely replaced in a flash—while innovative components also enable quicker changes to the suspension.
The RSR will debut at the IMSA season opener on January 28: the extremely tough 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona. That will be the first of the 19 races the 911 RSR will run in the FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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