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.
