The latest Porsche 911 RSR mid-engined came with a 4.2 Flat-Six

The shift to a mid-engine configuration has clearly worked for the hottest racing car of the Porsche 911. The RSR has won numerous victories over the FIA ​​World Endurance Championships and the IMSA Series, and is the defending champion of the first.

Keeping this in mind, Porsche has almost completely replaced the car: its latest 911 RSR is described as 95% new. Porsche certainly can not be accused of resting on its laurels now, is not it?

Headlights, brakes, clutch, driver's seat and some suspension parts are the only objects carried away. The engine is still in front of the rear axle, but it is now bigger, the six-cylinder naturally aspirated from 4.0 to 4.2 liters. The power varies depending on the size of the restriction plates used, but it usually delivers around 508bhp.

The new boxer engine emits a soundtrack via a new exhaust system, located on the sides of the car, just in front of the rear wheels. This means fewer ducts, which helps to gain weight.

It's better for the aerodynamic side of the equation too: without a big set of dirty pipes at the rear, the Porsche Motorsport engineers had a lot more freedom to shape the new diffuser.

The cockpit has been redesigned with the help of driver feedback and now has an 'optimized' safety cage that will provide better protection in the event of a problem. To avoid any risk of collision, a collision alert system detects the fastest prototypes with which the RSR will share the circuits.

As before, the body is made of plastic reinforced with carbon fibers. The panels have been designed to be able to replace new parts as quickly as possible, which is essential for reducing pit stops during endurance races.

Porsche has been working on the new RSR since 2017 – the same year, the first one made its debut in competition. Trials began in August 2018 at the Porsche site in Weissach. The brutal development program of the car included a 6000 km race in 30 hours at Le Castellet in March.

The car made its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​this weekend. Approved a few days ago, he will participate for the first time in the first event of the FIA ​​WEC 2019/2020 season at the 6 Hours of Silverstone on September 1st. He will be racing at IMSA from next year, while WEC customer teams will be able to use the car from the 2020/2021 season.