GT racing marks the intersection of Porsche’s road car and racing businesses. Its current GTE,
GT3,andGT4racersallstartlifealongsidetheroad-goingvehicles,beforeundergoingcircuit
preparation in the continuation of a tradition that started with the original 911 RSR of 1973
andcarriedthroughthelikesofthemighty911GT1homologationspecial.Theheightened
competition in global GT racing today has prompted a 911 first, with the current GTE-spec 911
RSRplayingagainsttype–butnottherules–with a decidedly mid-mounted flat-six.Porsche made a success of international rallying, starting in 1967 when
Polish racer Sobiesław Zasada drove a 912 to capture the European
Rally Championship. Irishman Cathal Curley followed with a run
of international rally wins in a standard 911 Carrera RS 2.7, leaving
competitors scratching their heads in his wake. The 911 became a must-
have rally car, particularly in Ireland, which was a hub for European
rallying at the time, and more than half of the 17 911 RS 2.7 Sports
allocated to the UK competitively took to Irish rally stages in the 1970s.
Factory-backed 911s only won twice in global rallies, but while the
Porsche factory’s rally results didn’t quite measure up to its road racing
successes, a pair of outright victories in the fearsome Paris Dakar rally in
1984 and ’86 (back when the route began in the French capital) cemented
the brand’s loose-surface credentials. If Porsche went racing, even in the
inhospitable conditions of the Ivory Coast, it was going to win.IN MOTORSPORT
ONEMAKE
GT
Porsche’s credentials span from grassroot
to the pinnacle of international motorspor
cornerstones are the one-make Carrera Cu
GT3 Cup Challenge, which have spread to
20 championships across the globe. The fi
Carrera Cup was held in 1986 in Germany
series has since grown to be the most prol
make category in the world. To keep it rel
the man on the street, the current crop of
Cup cars share the GT3’s 4.0-litre atmo en
Ferdinand’s finest has become the world’s most prolific m
of race cars, delivering more than 300 track-only special
each year. The legacy burns brightest in these categorie
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