- Anniversaries
- Apr, 25 – 87th birthday of the Porsche company (1931)
- May, 09 – 32nd birthday of the 961 (1986)
- May, 10 – 75th birthday of Wolfgang Porsche (1943)
- May, 15 – 36th birthday of the 956 (1982)
- May, 20 – 56th birthday of the 804 (1962)
Porsche 911 991 GT3 R
Date of unveil by Porsche AG: May 15, 2015Premiere: May 11, 2015 Nürburgring
Technical specification and comparison
| Purpose | Engine | Power | Gearbox | Front brakes | Rear brakes | Front tyres wheels |
Rear tyres wheels |
Tank L | Dimensions | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 911 991 GT3 R | 2016 FIA GT | 4000 cc, bore 102.0 mm, stroke 81.5 mm | 368 kW without restrictor | Sequential 6-speed | 380 mm steel disc 6-piston caliper |
372 mm steel disc 4-piston caliper |
30/65-18 12.0x18 ET17 |
31/71-18 13.0x18 ET37.5 |
120 | 4604 x 2002 | *1220 kg 2689 lb |
| 911 991 RSR | 2013-2015 FIA GTE Pro | 3996 cc, bore 102.7 mm; stroke 80.4 mm | 345 kW with restrictor | Sequential 6-speed | 380 mm steel disc 6-piston caliper |
355 mm steel disc 4-piston caliper |
30/68-18 12.5x18 ET25 |
31/71-18 14.0x18 ET50 |
94 | 4537 x 2002 | *1220 kg 2689 lb |
| 911 991 GT3 Cup | Porsche Carrera Cup, Porsche Supercup | 3800 cc, bore 102.7 mm, stroke 76.4 mm | 338 | Sequential 6-speed | 380 mm steel disc 4-piston caliper |
380 mm steel disc 4-piston caliper |
27/65-18 10.5x18 ET28 |
31/71-18 12.0x18 ET53 |
100 | 4537 x 1851 | 1200 kg 2645 lb |
The suspension and brakes of the 2016 991 GT3 R are tested at round 9 of the VLN long distance championship on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife on 17 October, 2015. The engine in the test car is still the well-proven power plant of predecessor models. The new direct fuel injection engine is undergoing test runs in Weissach and in the USA.
The 991 GT3 R is available from December 2015 for the 2016 racing season (new FIA rules for GT cars). Despite the 2016 991.2, the customer racing car will retain the looks of the 991.1 generation (factory team will not use the GT3 R).
The body panels of the 991 GT3 R are naturally made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). All windows are made of polycarbonate, starting with the 991 GT3 R, also the windscreen. In accordance with the new FIA safety rules, the door windows are removable in addition to the escape hatch in the roof. The engine is the same as in the street legal 991 GT3 RS, except the air for the engine is taken through the vents on the rear cover (the "show-off" side air intakes of the 991 GT3 RS have been deleted for the race car). The 120 litre FT3 cell has fuel cut off safety valve in accordance with FIA regulations. Like with the earlier racing versions, the air jack system with four jacks has been built into the car. The bucket seat can be adjusted fore/aft. The seat has adjustable padding system to suit individual drivers. With drivers under 80 kg, ballast has to be installed in the car.
2016 FIA GT World Cup
On November 19-20, 2016, a racing event called Macau Grand Prix was held and a once-in-a-year FIA GT World Cup event within it. A pre-race comment from Porsche driver Kévin Estre (911 GT3 R #912): “The street circuit in Macau is one of my top 3 racetracks – it’s very fast and incredibly difficult, with many bumps and blind corners. There are no run-off areas, only walls and guard rails. You have to focus from start to finish and you can’t afford to make the slightest mistake. The many fans lend a great atmosphere. For the majority of drivers it’s the last race of the year, so they’ll be doing everything to head into the winter break with a victory under their belts.”
The Macau Grand Prix hosted the TCR International, three local (Macau/Chinese) series and 2 FIA races (GT and F3). The Macau street track is narrow, slippery and has no run-off areas, so the accidents happened all weekend long. The most spectacular crash happened during the FIA GT World Cup race when a second place Audi R8 landed on its roof. The GT race was terminated after this incident. Although the race was supposed to be 18 laps long, with many accidents only 1 or 2 timed laps could be counted. At the moment when the race was terminated, two Porsche 991 GT3 R were leading (1. Earl Bamber #911, 2. Kevin Estre #912). According to the rules the positions of the last full lap were accounted for the race and it meant that Laurens Vanthoor who landed his Audi R8 on the roof, was named as the winner of the race (Porsche didn't bother to make a scene out of the situation as Vanthoor was already contracted to be a Porsche factory driver from next season). In addition to Earl Bamber not winning, he also got a time penalty for dangerous take-over. The take over was perfecty perfect, so the stewards must have had their nervs fully eaten up as the flying Audi was around 50th (!!!) car that crashed into the guardrails during this weekend. More crashes followed in the last race of the day, the Formula 3 World Cup.
2017 Dubai 24h victory
The 991 GT3 R took 1-2 victory at the 2017 Dubai 24 hour race. The fastest cars in the race were the A6-Pro class cars that included Porsche 991 GT3 R, Mercedes-AMG GT3, Audi R8 LMS and Lamborghini Huracan GT3. The race was won by Herberth Motorsport 991 GT3 R driven by Brendon Hartley, Robert Renauer, Ralf Bohn, Daniel Allemann, Alfred Renauer. The 991 GT3 R of Manthey-Racing (driven by Sven Müller, Matteo Cairoli, Otto Klohs and Jochen Krumbach) had a puncture towards the end of the race and couldn't fight for the victory.
2017 Daytona 24 class victory
Alegra Motorsports won the GTD (GT Daytona) class with the 991 GT3 R driven by Carlos de Quesada, Michael de Quesada, Daniel Morad, Jesse Lazare and Michael Christensen (Porsche factory pilot). The first five GTD cars (Porsche, Audi R8, Mercedes-AMG GT3, Audi, Acura NSX GT3) all covered 634 laps and were within 8 seconds after 24 hours! For Porsche, this was the 77th class victory at Daytona 24 hour race.
2017 Bathurst 12 hour class victories
2017 was the first time when full professional driver teams (class APP) were allowed and the overall victory was taken with a Ferrari 488 GT3 (290 laps). Second place overall and pro-am class (APA) victory was taken by Patrick Long, Marc Lieb, Matt Campbell and David Calvert-Jones with 991 GT3 R (289 laps). Third place overall was taken with Bentley GT3. Fourth place overall and amateur class (AAM) victory was taken by Liam Talbot, John Martin and Davashen Padayachee with another 991 GT3 R (289 laps).
2018 upgrade
The parts kit, which can be used to update all 2016 and 2017 911 GT3 R, includes amongst other things a new front lid for the optimisation of thermal management and side flicks to improve the aerobalance.
Article © James Herne / Stuttcars.com
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