Porsche 911 991 RSR 4.0 mid-engine version (2017-2019)

Official photos: 2016 November 16 (prototype 2016 May 12)
Premiere: 2017 January 28-29, Daytona 24h

Engine: 4.0 B6 normally aspirated, 375 kW (depends on air restrictor)
Gearbox: Sequential, 6-speed with 3-disc clutch, magnesium casing
Weight: 1243 kg/2740 lb by regulations

Two decades after the different 911 GT1 cars - 993 GT1 '96, 993 GT1 Street, 996 GT1 '97, 996 GT1 Street, 996 GT1 Evo '98 - the mid-engined 911 is back! In order to install a proper diffuser under the rear end of the 991, the engine had to make room for it and the engine/transmission unit was rotated 180 degrees. The 911 was Caymanized, so to speak. Now you probably remember when the Cayman came out in 2005, it was said to handle better than the 911. The wheelbase of the 991.2 RSR was extended to 2516 mm. In comparison Cayman GT4 has 2484 mm, 991.2 GT3 Cup has 2456 mm and 991.2 Carrera/Turbo have 2450 mm. So, the rear wheels were moved back 1.3-2.6"/32-66 mm depending on how you look.

The extended rear diffuser, a top-suspended rear wing and the new side mirrors help to increase downforce with reduced drag. While the 911 GT1 cars were the ultimate mid-engined 911s with their turbocharged engines, the FIA rules restrict the engine power and there was no reason to equip the 991.2 RSR with a turbo engine. The normally aspirated 4-litre flat-6 was taken from the 991 GT3 R (used also in the 991 GT3 Cup 4.0).

The 991.2 RSR features a radar-supported Collision Avoid System which means now the faster LMP prototypes are detected behind early enough and misunderstandings can be avoided. On a cockpit monitor arrows indicate when vehicles are behind. Depending on the colour of the arrows, the driver knows whether the trailing car is coming closer or falling back. For the driver safety, the seat is now closer to the center of the car and is rigidly mounted (a new FIA rule). The movable pedal box (as well as brakes), come from AP Racing.

Porsche 911 991.2 RSR prototype — Thanks to quick-release fasteners, a door can be replaced in 15 seconds and a front bumper with underbody in less than a minute. © Porsche

Note the regular 911 mirrors on the prototype© Porsche

Porsche 911 991.2 RSR testing — 2016 October: 50 hour test at Sebring © Porsche

Between March and November 2016, the prototypes were tested for a total of around 22.000 miles/35.000 km which is more than with any previous Porsche GT racing car.

7 RSR were built by Porsche Motorsport for the 2017 racing season: 3 for testing, 2 for the FIA World Endurance Championship and 2 for the IMSA SportsCar Championship. It took 4 employees 10 working days to build one 911 RSR.

2017 Porsche 919 hybrid — The photo shows the size of the 919 compared to the 911 RSR © Porsche

Mirror base contributes to the overall aerodynamics of the car© Porsche

Flat underbody extended to the sides © Porsche

The brake discs are 390 mm front and 355 mm rear. And they are of steel, naturally. Racing is business and there's no room for solutions with flaws. With ceramic brakes you can pose to your neighbour.© Porsche

12.5" wide wheels with 300 mm tyres at the front and 13" wheels with 310 mm tyres at the back. © Porsche

The mirrors are electrically adjustable and have a memory function for each pilot© Porsche

Diffuser is the main reason the rear engine had to go, to make room for the rear end underbody aerodynamics © Porsche

At 80.6"/2048 mm, the body is 6.6"/168 mm wider than that of the 991.2 Turbo© Porsche

2017 Porsche 911 991.2 RSR Manthey Racing — Manthey Racing © Porsche

2017 Porsche 911 991.2 RSR engine cover — The top access panel for the engine mimics the rear window. Rear wing is mounted in "swan neck" style. © Porsche

For better aerodynamics under the rear wing, it is hang from top© Porsche

The wheels are in the optimal size, which is 18", not 19, 20 or 21" which posers prefer© Porsche

2017 Porsche 911 991.2 RSR top view, roof hatch — © Porsche

2017 Porsche 911 991.2 RSR roll cage, cockpit — © Porsche

2016 November: Los Angeles Auto Show, Patrick Dempsey© Porsche

2017 Daytona 24 Porsche 911 991 RSR in the pits — 2017 January, Daytona 24 hours: the car of Estre/Vanthoor/Lietz in the pits. The concrete barrier is a USA-specific thing and if you need to repair the car in the garage, you have to drive to the paddock..© Porsche

Porsche 911 991 RSR red hot brake disc — © Porsche

The GT LM class was so competitive at 2017 Daytona 24 hour race that seven (!) competitors finished the race within 7 seconds! While in the middle of the race Porsches were 1-2 in class, the final GT LM result was: 1. Ford GT, 2. 991.2 RSR, 3. Ferrari 488, 4. Corvette, 5. Ford GT, 6. 991.2 RSR, 7. Ford GT. Remember, all they covered 652 laps and were just 7 seconds apart after 24 hours! Thanks to BoP (Balance of Performance) rules the cars are very equal and this makes the races really interesting to follow.

2017 Daytona 24h GTLM class 2nd place 991.2 RSR #911 was driven by Pilet/Werner/Makowiecki © Porsche

Sports car racing is not a subject of public interest in USA and therefore Daytona 24 hour race cannot be compared to the Le Mans 24 and Nürburgring 24 hour races which gather more than 200.000 spectators. No spectators, no money, IMSA has to lean even on alcohol producers. The Daytona 24 drivers had to hold alcohol bottles in their hands on the podium. Really?

2017 January 29, Daytona 24 hour race GT LM class second place drivers Patrick Pilet, Fred Makowiecki and Dirk Werner with alcohol bottles© Porsche

2017 Sebring 12h Porsche 911 991.2 RSR — 2017 March 18: 12 hours of bumpy Sebring took their toll on the rear damper of the Porsche #912. The team lost 3 laps while the damper was replaced. They finished just 2 laps behind the winner - do the math! © Porsche

2017 Long Beach, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR transport truck — 2017 April 8, Long Beach © Porsche

2017 April 16, Silverstone: the first race of the 2017 FIA WEC season was won by Ford in GTE-Pro class. Porsche 911 RSR #91 finished third after a Ferrari 488 GTO. The #92 Porsche 911 had to retire because of the engine fire.

2017 April 16, Silverstone 6 hour FIA WEC, Porsche 911 991 RSR mid-engine fire — 2017 Silverstone 6h: Kévin Estre got out from the car unhurt. As a true Porsche-enthusiast, he agitated the lazy marshals to put out the fire quicker. © FIA (extracted from FIA WEC video)

2017 Austin, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR — 2017 May 4, Austin © Porsche

2017 Le Mans test day group photo — 2017 June 3, Le Mans test day © Porsche

2017 Le Mans scrutineering, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR — 2017 June 12, Le Mans scrutineering © Porsche

2017 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR under heat shield waiting for the start — 2017 June 17, before Le Mans 24h race start, heat shield over the cockpit © Porsche

2017 Lime Rock, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR — 2017 July 22, Lime Rock: this Porsche is a biohybrid :-) Eats biofuel and runs on petrol. © Porsche

2017 Petit Le Mans, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR — 2017 October 5, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Wow, what a photo! © Porsche

2017 Fuji, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR — 2017 October 15, Fuji: number 91 Porsche is shared by Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki© Porsche

2017 results

Date	Championship	Race
2017 Jan 29	IMSA Sportscar Championship + North American Endurance Cup	Daytona 24 hours	2nd				6th
2017 Mar 18	IMSA Sportscar Championship + North American Endurance Cup	Sebring 12 hours		3rd					8th
2017 Apr 08	IMSA Sportscar Championship	Long Beach 100 minutes		3rd			6th
2017 Apr 16	FIA World Endurance Championship	Silverstone 6 hours		3rd						DNF
2017 May 06	IMSA Sportscar Championship	Austin 160 minutes			4th					DNF
2017 May 06	FIA World Endurance Championship	Spa 6 hours				5th	6th
2017 Jun 17	FIA World Endurance Championship	Le Mans 24 hours			4th					DNF
2017 Jul 02	IMSA Sportscar Championship + North American Endurance Cup	Watkins Glen 6 hours					6th	7th
2017 Jul 09	IMSA Sportscar Championship	Bowmanville 160 minutes					6th	7th
2017 Jul 16	FIA World Endurance Championship	Nürburgring 6 hours	2nd	3rd
2017 Jul 22	IMSA Sportscar Championship	Lime Rock 160 minutes	2nd		4th
2017 Aug 06	IMSA Sportscar Championship	Road America 160 minutes	2nd							DNF
2017 Aug 27	IMSA Sportscar Championship	Virginia 160 minutes						7th	8th
2017 Sep 03	FIA World Endurance Championship	Mexico City 6 hours		3rd		5th
2017 Sep 16	FIA World Endurance Championship	COTA 6 hours	2nd				6th
2017 Sep 24	IMSA Sportscar Championship	Laguna Seca 160 minutes		3rd				7th
2017 Oct 07	IMSA Sportscar Championship + North American Endurance Cup	Road Atlanta Petit Le Mans 10 hours				5th	6th
2017 Oct 15	FIA World Endurance Championship	Fuji 6 hours	2nd	3rd
2017 Nov 5	FIA World Endurance Championship	Shanghai 6 hours	2nd							DNF
2017 Nov 18	FIA World Endurance Championship	Bahrain 6 hours			4th					DNF

Although without race victories, Porsche won the 2017 IMSA North American Endurance Cup GT LM class in Drivers and in Teams categories (Ford won in Manufacturers category). At the NAEC the points are awarded many times in one race - after each of 3, 4 or 6 hours depending on the length of the race.

In the 2017 FIA WEC GT Driver's Championship Porsche drivers Richard Lietz/Frédéric Makowiecki scored second. In the GT Manufacturer's Championship Porsche scored third after Ferrari, Ford and in front of Aston Martin.

2018/2019 FIA WEC Super Season

FIA is in the process of moving its World Endurance Championship schedule for the seasons to start in the end of the year and to end next summer (the same has been practiced with Formula E from the beginning). To transform from the previous arrangement to the new, there has to be either a very short season or a longer-than-usual season. Instead of the usual 7 month season, the 2018/2019 "super season" will be 11 months long, but will not have more races. Actually there will be 8 races in the 2018/2019 season, while there were 9 races in the 2017 season, but the actual racing time is longer as the super season includes 2 Le Mans 24 hour races!

2018 Sebring 12h GTLM winner — 2018 March 17, Sebring 12 hour, GTLM class winner © Porsche

2018 Sebring 12h GTLM winners — 2018 March 17, Sebring 12 hour, GTLM class winners Frederic Makowiecki, Pascal Zurlinden (factory GT racing director), Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet © Porsche

2018 Spa-Francorchamps, FIA WEC, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR — 2018 May 3, Spa-Francorchamps © Porsche

Porsche 911 RSR Mid-Ohio 2018 — 2018 May 6, IMSA SCC Mid-Ohio 160 minute race: Porsche 911 RSR #912 driven by Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor won the GTLM class in front of a BMW M8 and Chevrolet Corvette© Porsche

Porsche 911 RSR 2018 Mid-Ohio — 2018 May 6, Mid-Ohio © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h

After withdrawal from LMP1 top class racing, Porsche factory team entered the 2018 Le Mans 24 hour race with 4 mid-engined 911 RSR - two cars that compete in the FIA WEC series and two IMSA Championship factory team cars:

911 RSR #91 (with "Pink pig" livery): Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, Frédéric Makowiecki
911 RSR #92 (with "Rothmans" livery): Kévin Estre, Michael Christensen, Laurens Vanthoor
911 RSR #93 (with Porsche Motorsport livery). Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber
911 RSR #94 (with Porsche Motorsport livery): Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Sven Müller

Bamber, Bernhard, Dumas and Tandy are overall Le Mans winners from earlier races, so there's not exactly anything to win for them. As Porsche factory drivers they cannot drive for other teams entering fast LMP cars, but anyway - Le Mans is Le Mans, an extreme experience always worth repeating, no matter in which car.

Porsche 911 RSR with classic livery for Le Mans 2018 — 2018 May 28 photoshooting of the 2018 Le Mans cars #91 and #92© Porsche

As Porsche wasn't fighting for the overall victory at the 2018 Le Mans race, they decided to please the fans with historic Porsche Le Mans liveries. The #91 got the livery of the Porsche 917/20 (that didn't even finish the 1971 Le Mans race, but standed out because of its strange body shape and livery). The #92 car got the "Rothmans" livery known from the Le Mans winning Porsche 956 and Porsche 962.

2018 Le Mans test day, two Porsche 911 RSR in historic liveries — 2018 June 2, Le Mans test day © Porsche

2018 Porsche Le Mans factory team 911 RSR cars — Porsche Motorsport factory team for the 2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Pro class © Porsche

2018 Le Mans scrutineering, 2x Porsche 911 RSR — 2018 June 11, scrutineering © Porsche

2018 Le Mans Porsche factory team — 2018 Le Mans 24h Porsche factory team © Porsche

2018 Le Mans Porsches — All Porsches of the 2018 Le Mans 24h race © Porsche

2018 Le Mans Porsche 911 RSR — 2018 June 13, free practise © Porsche

2018 Le Mans, Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche — 2018 June 13, free practise, Dempsey-Proton Racing 911 RSR #77 would win the GTE Am class a few days later© Porsche

2018 Le Mans qualification, Porsches on the pit lane — 2018 June 14, second qualification run is about to start © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24 start, GTE Pro class — 2018 June 16, Le Mans 24h start shows GTE Pro class (LMP1 and LMP2 cars have started in front of them)© Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 911 RSR — © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h, Porsches in the night — © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h, Felix Porsche, Wolfgang Porsche — Felix Porsche, Wolfgang Porsche and Porsche CEO Oliver Blume © Porsche

The #94 car of Bernhard/Dumas/Müller had to retire because of the rear suspension damage. It could have been repaired, but Porsche was not searching to finish among the last ones. It had entered so many cars, so it just focused on the performance of the running 911s. The #93 car of Pilet/Bamber/Tandy had to pit for an alternator replacement which robbed 25 minutes and the chances for a good result. Both Porsche Motorsport liveried factory team cars had bad luck and the focus switched even more to the two 911s with historic liveries running up front in the GTE Pro category.

2018 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 911 RSR #92 — © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h, front brake of the Porsche 911 RSR #92 — © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Pro winner Porsche 911 RSR #92 — © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Am winner Porsche 911 RSR #77 — 2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Am winner, 28th overall (335 laps)© Porsche

Porsches managed to win both GT classes. Dempsey-Proton Racing 911 RSR #77 driven by Matt Campbell, Christian Ried and Julien Andlauer won the GTE Am class. 18-year-old Andlauer became the youngest class winner in Le Mans history.

The #92 "Pink Pig" won the GTE Pro class, followed by the #91 "Rothmans" in front of Ford GTs, Corvette C7Rs, Ferrari 488 GTE Evos, Aston Martin Vantage AMRs and BMW M8 GTEs. The GTE Pro class was the most interesting and most competitive class at the 2018 Le Mans race as in the top LMP1-Hybrid class only one manufacturer (Toyota) had remained.

2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Pro winners, Michael Christensen, Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre — 2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Pro class winners Michael Christensen, Laurens Vanthoor and Kévin Estre (photo made before the race)© Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Pro 2nd place: Richard Lietz, Fred Makowiecki, Gianmaria Bruni — 2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Pro class 2nd place drivers Richard Lietz, Frédéric Makowiecki and Gianmaria Bruni (photo made before the race) © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Pro podium - Porsche 1-2 — GTE Pro 1-2 victory for Porsche Motorsport: Fred Makowiecki, Richard Lietz, Gianmaria Bruni, Frank-Steffen Walliser (Head of Porsche Motorsport), Michael Christensen, Kèvin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor © Porsche

2018 Le Mans 24h GTE Am winners (Dempsey-Proton Racing) — GTE Am winners Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer, Patrick Dempsey (team owner), Matt Campbell© Porsche

2018 July 1, Watkins Glen 6h, Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy — 2018 July 1, Watkins Glen 6h, Tandy/Pilet finish 3rd after Ford GT and Corvette and in front of sister car driven by Vanthoor/Bamber (all 190 laps) © Porsche

2018 IMSA SCC, Elkhart Lake, Porsche 911 RSR — 2018 August 3, Elkhart Lake, RSR unloaded from the truck© Porsche

Porsche 911 991.2 RSR cockpit/dashboard — The office © Porsche

2018 Petit Le Mans class victory with 1998 livery

2018 Porsche 911 991.2 RSR with 1998 livery — © Porsche

The livery seen here, was used on the 1998 Le Mans winning Porsche 911 GT1 aswell as in the 1998 Petit Le Mans race on Road Atlanta, where one of the cars got airborne because of the flaw in aerodynamics design. Like the 991.2 RSR, the 996 GT1 was mid-engined. Just that the 911 GT1 was actually a prototype that raced in the GT category, while the 991.2 RSR is closer to Porsche street cars. At least shape-wise.

Porsche 911 991.2 RSR cockpit — © Porsche

2018 Road Atlanta, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR with 1998 livery — 2018 October 11 training on Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans © Porsche

2018 Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR with 1998 livery — 2018 October 13, Petit Le Mans 10 hour race is on. Nice shot! © Porsche

2018 Road Atlanta, Petit Le Mans winner, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR with 1998 livery — GT class winning (and 12th overall) Porsche #911 is covered with rubber residuals© Porsche

Overall victory went to a Cadillac DPi prototype followed by two Mazda DPi prototypes (all 443 laps). 7 cars finished the race on the same lap. The GTLM category saw similarly tense competition with 6 cars finishing on the same lap after 419 laps: Porsche 911 #911, Corvette, 2x BMW M8, Ford GT and the #912 Porsche.

2018 Road Atlanta, Petit Le Mans winners, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR with 1998 livery — 2018 Petit Le Mans GTLM category winners Fred Makowiecki, Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet © Porsche

Porsche 911 991.2 RSR Gulf, 2018 Shanghai FIA WEC — Gulf Porsche at 2018 FIA WEC in Shanghai © Porsche

2019 Daytona, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR in Brumos Racing livery — Brumos Racing theme livery was used for the 2019 Daytona 24 hour race© Porsche

2019 Daytona, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR in Brumos Racing livery, rear view — © Porsche

2019 Daytona, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR in Brumos Racing livery, top view — © Porsche

2019 Daytona, Porsche 911 991.2 RSR in Brumos Racing livery, in the dark — 2019 Daytona 24 hours: Porsche #912 scored 3rd driven by Bamber/Vanthoor/Jaminet© Porsche

2019 Sebring 1000 mile race winner Porsche 911 RSR — 2019 March 15 Sebring WEC 1000 mile race, GT category winning (10th overall) Porsche 911 RSR #91 was driven by Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz© Porsche

2019 Sebring 12 hour winning Porsche 911 RSR — 2019 March 16 Sebring 12h, GT category winning (10th overall) Porsche 911 RSR #911 was driven by Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet and Frédéric Makowiecki © Porsche

2019 Long Beach IMSA SCC 100 minutes winning Porsche 911 RSR — 2019 April, shortest race in the IMSA SCC calendar - just 100 minutes - was held on the Long Beach street course. Porsche #912 driven by Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor won the GT category (8th overall).© Porsche

2018/2019 FIA WEC Super Season GT winner: Porsche Motorsport team — 2019 May 4, Spa (Belgium), Porsche Motorsport secured the 2018/2019 FIA WEC Super Season GT category championship title before the last race of the season © Porsche

2018/2019 FIA WEC Super Season GT winners: Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre, Porsche Motorsport — 2019 May 4, Spa, Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre won the 2018/2019 FIA WEC Super Season in GT category © Porsche

2019 Le Mans

2019 Le Mans practise, pit stop of Brumos liveried Porsches — Practice © Porsche

For the second year in a row, after Porsche had terminated its LMP1-Hybrid program, the most interesting and rivalling category at the Le Mans 24 hour race has been the GTE Pro. Thanks to the Balance of Performance (BoP) system all the cars are made really equal. The work of the BoP specialists can be appreciated when top 5 cars finish the 24 hour race on the same lap. Considering they did 342 laps and were on the same lap, their performance was within 0.3%. The GTE Pro 4th place Ford GT was disqualified after the race when it was found out that its fuel tank could carry 0.83 litres more fuel. Sounds like a bit too harsh judgement, but that's how the quality of BoP is ensured.

Then, it was decided that the GTE Am winning Ford GT will also be disqualified. Its fuel tank could carry just 0.1 litres more fuel than allowed. Such a disqualification sounds already like unfair, but the judge's decision is the judge's decision. The second place Porsche 911 RSR #56 of Bergmeister/Lindsey/Perfetti became the 2019 Le Mans GTE Am class winner.

2019 Le Mans GTE Am class winning Porsche 911 RSR — 2019 June 16, Le Mans GTE Am class surprise winner: the 911 RSR of Team Project 1 driven by Jörg Bergmeister/Patrick Lindsey/Egidio Perfetti © Porsche

2019 IMSA Lime Rock, mid-engine Porsche 911 991 RSR 4.0 #911 and #912 — 2019 July 20, nice shot taken at the Lime Rock IMSA race© Porsche

Continue to 991 RSR 4.2

Anniversaries: Oct, 29 – 81st birthday of Hans-Peter Porsche (1940); Nov, 15 – 46th birthday of the 924 (1975); Nov, 19 – 13th birthday of the Boxster 987.2 (2008); Nov, 19 – 13th birthday of the Cayman 987.2 (2008); Nov, 26 – 58th birthday of the 904 (1963)