Porsche 9R3

[BSchneiderFan]

So, does anyone know how good it was, or might have been? All I've read is that Nishie and Wollek gave positive feedback.

[wdave0]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

So, does anyone know how good it was, or might have been? All I've read is that Nishie and Wollek gave positive feedback.

Good info here, you could also look on mulsanne corner facebook for more comments. Basically - we lost out on a good thing.

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/porschelmp1.html

[Akrapovic]

http://www.racecar-engineering.com/a...-car-revealed/

More here.

[BSchneiderFan]

Would have been fascinating to see how it stacked up against the R8 and the V12 LMR. Of course, had Porsche pushed ahead, Audi wouldn't have had McNish.

[TF110]

It's a bad decision for us racing fans, but a good decision for the board who wanted to make money (on the Cayenne).

[templer]

Originally Posted by TF110

It's a bad decision for us racing fans, but a good decision for the board who wanted to make money (on the Cayenne).

This was the official version. The unofficial was that the VAG company doesn't want Porsche to beat Audi in LM 2000. Nobody of the LMP2000 project worked ever on the Cayenne. ( Motorsports guys at Weissach vs street projects at Zuffenhausen)
The 9R3 was probably the car which would have outpaced the Audi R8 2000 easily. Bob Wollek was quoted to said after the first tests at Weissach that Porsche has taken him the last chance to win LM.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by templer

This was the official version. The unofficial was that the VAG company doesn't want Porsche to beat Audi in LM 2000. Nobody of the LMP2000 project worked ever on the Cayenne. ( Motorsports guys at Weissach vs street projects at Zuffenhausen)
The 9R3 was probably the car which would have outpaced the Audi R8 2000 easily. Bob Wollek was quoted to said after the first tests at Weissach that Porsche has taken him the last chance to win LM.

It's not about the engineers themselves, it's the cash needed. In order to produce the 911s they make now they needed the high profits of the Cayenne line. Plus it was tested ONCE on a cold wet day, not much real information was gathered other than it ran.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by templer

This was the official version. The unofficial was that the VAG company doesn't want Porsche to beat Audi in LM 2000. Nobody of the LMP2000 project worked ever on the Cayenne. ( Motorsports guys at Weissach vs street projects at Zuffenhausen)
The 9R3 was probably the car which would have outpaced the Audi R8 2000 easily. Bob Wollek was quoted to said after the first tests at Weissach that Porsche has taken him the last chance to win LM.

I tend to not believe that rumor. VAG didn't control Porsche until much later. If anyone was pulling the strings behind the scene it would have been Piech via the Porsche/Piech family organization (later renamed Porsche SE as the holding company that controls VAG), of which Piech was one of the members and not singularly in control. I tend to find it hard to believe that Porsche was given the go ahead by the larger family and the told to stop as potential some sort of favor or at the request of Piech (who ran VAG at that point).

If is always possible that there was conflict (between Piech and others) around the Audi vs. Porsche battle, and that this factored in somehow, but I tend to believe the more simplistic explanation of they just decided to spend the money elsewhere and invest it back into the company (sad for us, probably the right decision for the company at that time).

As to the question by the OP, we will never know. As noted, it ran once, in bad weather conditions and was likely nothing more than a system shakedown. The only thing that would answer the question would be to pull it out and really test it. Even then it likely would need some level of development (like any new car) to see its real potential, which would never happen (to what ends?) With that being said, it would be interesting to bring it out to do a demo run and put it in the museum for more to see. The company has returned to LeMans and won. There is no reason to hide that car.

Richard

[carbsmith]

As written in the Mulsanne's Corner link

Today it is accepted, and confirmed by insiders, that a deal was struck between Ferdinand Piech, then chairman of the VW-Audi board, and Porsche's Wendelin Wiedekin to co-operate on the SUV project. The VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne are indeed the same car underneath except for engine specification and exterior styling. At the same time it was agreed that Porsche would halt its LMP project, and withdraw from top-echelon sportscar racing for a 10 year period.

[Mitchi_S]

I wonder how it sounds.

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Mitchi_S

I wonder how it sounds.

We already know how a relatively close derivative of that engine sounds, the 9R3's engine was only slightly modified before being slotted into the Carrera GT.

[Mitchi_S]

I know! I just wonder how fantastic it would've been hearing this car with this engine pushing through the Porsche curves or plowing down the Hunadieres ...