THE BULLETIN

TESTING TIMES: PORSCHE REVEALS R&D BEHIND NEW 911 GT3

The 992-generation 911 GT3 is packed with technical highlights. During development, the model’s engineers pursued one aim in particular: to further enhance the performance of the car without compromising its everyday usability. Co-operation between technicians working on Porsche’s series development models and specialists from the manufacturer’s motorsport department played an immensely important role here. “Engineers who develop our race cars also working on the design of a new GT car for the road is the most direct Porsche technology transfer I can imagine,” smiles Andreas Preuninger, Director of Porsche’s GT Model Line.

Technological progress in the area of aerodynamics is particularly apparent, not least because the new GT3 marks the first time a suspended rear wing has been fitted to a Porsche series production car. The part’s swan-neck mounting is used in a similar form on the 911 RSR GT race car, as well as the 911 GT3 Cup. Since two aluminium brackets hold the wing element from above, airflow can pass undisturbed across the underside, which is aerodynamically more sensitive. This new design led to a reduction in flow losses, and not only did it increase downforce, it also resulted in well-balanced negative lift conditions in partnership with many other detailed measures. “We developed the aerodynamics of the new 911 GT3 in around seven-hundred simulations,” explains Porsche factory Aerodynamics Engineer, Mathias Roll. “In total, we spent more than 160 hours fine-tuning the car in the wind tunnel at the Weissach research and development centre.”

The new rear wing’s angle of