Seventh Son: Porsche Unveils 991-Based GT3 Cup Racer [w/Video]
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/12/seventh-son-porsche-unveils-991-based.html
When you have a brand-new model in your showrooms, it doesn’t really make sense to have participants run your own one-make series with an older generation car. Even more so if you are Porsche and the car in question is the 911 that takes part in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
Well, that’s stretching the truth a bit: the racers aren’t based on the base 911 Carrera or Carrera S but the hardcore GT3 – hence the GT3 Cup moniker for the model that the company claims is the most successful racing car ever, having sold 2,385 units since 1998.
With the seventh generation 911, code-named 991, been on the roads for more than a year now, it was about time the Stuttgart automaker rolled out its successor. That happened yesterday during the “Night of Champions” event at the brand's R&D center in Weissach.
The all-new 911 GT3 Cup is powered by a 3.8-liter flat-six with 453HP (460PS), 10HP more than the 997 GT3 RS-based model it replaces, delivered 1,000 rpm lower, at 7,500. Power is directed to the rear wheels via a six-speed dog-type gearbox developed by Porsche Motorsport that, for the first time in a Porsche Cup car, is operated by paddle shifters.
Camouflaged prototypes of the road-going GT3 have already been spotted with a PDK dual-clutch semi-auto so, pending further information from Porsche, it’s possible that the dog-clutch transmission has been exclusively developed for the Cup version.
The racer’s single-piece race wheels have a center mount and they are wrapped in Michelin slicks that measure 27 cm at the front and 31 cm at the rear, making them 20 and 10 mm wider respectively than the 997-based GT3.
The new GT3 Cup also features a new race braking system, with 380 mm slotted and inner-vented steel front rotors and six- and four-piston calipers front and rear respectively.
“The new 911 GT3 Cup is much easier to drive at the limit”, said works driver Timo Bernhard, who was significantly involved in the car’s development. “It is excellently balanced. The new axle geometry is enormously positive for the handling. Apart from that the new Cup 911 is great fun to drive.”
Safety is crucial in any racing series, so the 991 GT3 Cup is fitted with a new safety cage that offers better protection in the event of a collision, a new racing seat that wraps around the driver’s head and shoulders and can be adjusted with the help of padding. Last but not least, there's a rescue hatch in the roof to provide easy access to medical staff and make extracting the driver easier after an accident.
Like its predecessor, the GT3 Cup is assembled at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen plant in Stuttgart alongside the road-going models. It then gets its set-up for the circuit and a test drive by a professional race driver at the Motorsport Center in Weissach before being delivered to customers.
The latter will have to shell out €181,200 (US$234,250) excluding country-specific taxes and they can have it in any color they like, as long as it’s white.
You can watch a video of the new 911 GT3 Cup right after the jump.
By Andrew Tsaousis
プレスリリースを基にした記事で、上が英語版、下が日本語版。
ポルシェ 911 新型、GT3 カップカー発表
http://car.jp.msn.com/newsポルシェ-911-新型、gt3-カップカー発表-1
ポルシェのドイツ本社は12月8日、ドイツ・バイザッハの研究開発センターで開催されたモータースポーツイベント、「ナイトオブチャンピオンズ」において、新型『911 GT3カップ』を発表した。
同車は、7世代目となる新型『911』（「991型」）をベースに開発された初のレーシングカー。2013年シーズンのワンメークレース、「ポルシェモービル1スーパーカップ」に投入される。
3.8リットル水平対向6気筒ガソリンエンジンは、最大出力460ps/7500rpmを発生。先代モデルよりも最大出力は10ps引き上げられた。トランスミッションは、新開発のパドルシフト付き6速シーケンシャル。ポルシェによると、RR駆動のカップカーとしては、パドルシフトの採用はポルシェ初だという。
レース用のブレーキシステムも、さらなる耐久性向上を目指して新開発。フロントのローター径は380mmで、キャリパーは6ピストン。リアには、4ピストンのキャリパーを装備する。タイヤはミシュラン製のレーシングスリック。タイヤのトレッドは、先代比で前輪がプラス20mmの270mm、後輪がプラス10mmの310mmへと拡大させた。
安全性も重視され、室内には新設計のセーフティケージやバケットシートを導入。911 GT3カップのドイツ価格は、18万1200ユーロ（約1940万円）と公表されている。
とうとうカップカーもパドルシフトになりました。
RSRも、ちょっと前にパドルになった。
991ベースのGT3もそろそろ出るのかな。
Porsche released official details for the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 2013. The 911 GT3 Cup will be run exclusively in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in 2013. The car for one-make racing made its debut on the occasion of the end of motorsport season “Night of Champions” celebration at the R&D Centre in Weissach. The 3.8L six-cylinder flat engine generates 460 hp at 7,500 rpm, surpassing the predecessor by 10 hp.
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: Character refinement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxJz9aLHuZE
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: Precision tool for the race track
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8TakwDPrRI