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Porsche 930 Hides Formula 1 Engine Underneath

Who Wants A Street-Legal F1 Engined Porsche?

We recently took a look at the TAG-Turbo 911 (Powered by Lanzante) and today we bring you another one of these special machines. During the Goodwood Festival of Speed this YouTuber filmed this insane Street-legal Porsche 930 TAG Turbo by Lanzante. It is fitted with a Formula 1 1.5 liter V6 Turbo Engine. In this video you will hear the engine sounds and see flames from the exhaust. It is an absolute monster.

Lanzante, famous for its McLaren F1 GTR victory in Le Mans 1995 and then for its road conversions for McLaren F1 GTRs and P1 GTRs, is the company behind this fantastic project. The idea comes from the original Porsche 930 TAG Turbo prototype, built by McLaren to test the 1.5-liter TAG-Porsche Turbo V6 engine that powered its F1 cars in the mid-80s. They reached an agreement with McLaren, 11 TAG-Porsche engines will be used to power 11 Porsche 930s. These engines aren’t new but real, actual Porsche-built TAG engines used in F1 races during the 1980s (with plaques mounted in the engine bay listing the engine’s 1980s race history and drivers).

But of course lot of work must be done, both on the 930 chassis and on the engine too. Even if you won’t have the 900+ hp of the original F1 TAG, the performance of the little 1.5 V6 are still pretty insane, with a max output of 500 hp with 3 bar of turbo pressure and a red line positioned at 9,000 rpm. The car will also weigh 250 kgs less than a standard 930 Turbo.

Introduced in 1975, the Porsche 930 was the company’s first turbocharged sports car for road use. Originally conceived for homologation purposes, the 930 Turbo quickly became popular among car enthusiasts, prompting Porsche to permanently establish the Turbo lineage in the 911 lineup.

On top of being the first-ever turbocharged 911, the 930 is also famous for its Slantnose (Flachbau) version. Born as a conversion kit by Kremer Racing, it featured a flat nose with pop-up headlamps similar to the race-spec 935. The Slantnose also spawned a one-off 935 “Street” car commissioned by TAG Heuer co-owner Mansour Ojjeh.

Which brings me to the other TAG-related Porsche 930, an even more radical 911 fitted with a Formula 1 engine. The TAG Turbo was born in the 1980s when Porsche built twin-turbo, 1.5-liter V6 engines for the McLaren F1 team. The mills were financed by TAG, hence the “TAG Turbo” branding.

The engine was first tested in a Porsche 930 mule. The car looked identical to the production version save for the RUF-sourced wheels and the taller rear spoiler. Only one example was built back in the day but the Porsche TAG Turbo recently made a comeback via Lanzante.

Famous for its road-spec conversions of the McLaren F1 GTR and P1 GTR, Lanzante purchased 11 original TAG-Porsche F1 engines to refurbish them and recreate Porsche 930 TAG Turbo some 40 years after the initial prototype was built. As with all Lanzante creations, they will be sold to select and wealthy customers.

Rated at 750 to 1,000 horsepower in the Mclaren race cars, the engines will be detuned to around 500 horses for this project. The cars will come with a 9,000-rpm redline and will be about 250 kg (551 lbs) lighter than a standard 930. Each car will have a plaque mounted in the engine bay listing the powerplant’s race history and drivers).

McLaren used TAG engines from late 1983 until 1987, winning 25 races and two manufacturers’ championships (1984 and 1985). The Brits lost the 1986 title to Williams, but Alain Prost won the drivers’ championship in a TAG-powered McLaren.

Lanzante’s TAG Turbo project is still underway but a couple of cars have been finished and tested. One of them was featured at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier in 2022 but didn’t get much attention at the time. Come December and fresh footage from the event shows the mint green 930 roaring and spitting flames up Goodwood hill. Check it out below.