With the introduction of the all new GT1 World Championship this season, we felt it was time to take a look at one of the prime examples of the first generation GT1 cars; Porsche's 993 GT1. The result of an astute interpretation of the regulations, it was basically a combination of a 993 (911) road car front end with the drivetrain of the Le Mans winning 962s. By building at least 25 examples, including road going versions, Porsche managed to homologate the car as a GT. Ultimately the Porsche GT1 racer built around the steel road car monocoque was not a success. The program did finally yield results in 1998 when an all-carbon version of the car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At last year's Modena Trackdays we caught up with the first customer 993 GT1, which was raced with considerable success in the British GT Championship, scoring several victories. Our 12-shot gallery includes on-track footage as well as all engine details.
Porsche's current racing program is focused mainly on production based machinery. At Geneva early next month, the German manufacturer will unveil the 997 GT3 R Hybrid, which will be raced at the upcoming Nürburgring 24 Hours. It features a hybrid drivetrain that is capable of producing an additional 120 kW for 6-8 seconds after each charge cycle. The 24-hour race mainly serves to test the system for future (racing) applications.
Although Red Bull Racing did not make its testing debut until yesterday, its influence could be felt all along the pit-lane at last week's session at Valencia. To some extent, all new cars incorporated some elements of Adrian Newey's highly successful RB5, which was driven to six wins last years. Red Bull opted to spend more time in the wind-tunnel before launching the successor of the innovative 2009 machine. Early yesterday morning they finally unveiled the RB6, which at first sight looks like a subtle evolution of the Grand Prix winning design. There are many interesting changes to the aerodynamics and the unique pull-rod suspension has been carried over. With a largely unchanged package and two very talented drivers, Red Bull Racing should be among the front-runners again this year.
Enjoy the links:
2010 KIA Ray Hybrid Concept - Images, Specifications and Information
2010 Porsche 997 GT3 R Hybrid - Images, Specifications and Information
1996 Porsche 993 GT1 - Images, Specifications and Information
2010 Red Bull Racing RB6 Renault - Images, Specifications and Information
2010 Force India VJM03 Mercedes - Images, Specifications and Information
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Originally Posted by LTSmash
