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Porsche's new 911 RSR makes its debut at Goodwood

Based on the 991.2 GT3 RS, it'll start racing in the 2019-2020 World Endurance Championship season.

Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
Andrew Krok
2 min read
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The 911 RSR made its debut in front of a packed house at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, its flat-six engine screaming its way up the Duke of Richmond's driveway.

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The RSR is a hardcore version of the Neuelfer meant specifically for racing. The engine is moved midship for better handling, and it's thoroughly reworked to manage the rigors of endurance racing. Now, at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Porsche is showing off the latest iteration of its bread-and-butter GT race car.

Porsche on Saturday unveiled the 2019 RSR. It will compete in both the FIA World Endurance Championship (in the GTE class) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. It replaces the 911 RSR that's already won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and eight different IMSA endurance races, including runs at Sebring and Road Atlanta.

Based on the 991.2 GT3 RS, the new RSR wields a potent 4.2-liter flat-six. Depending on the size of the restrictor plate required per racing regulations, the car produces approximately 515 horsepower. In fact, it's the largest boxer engine to ever be fitted in a Porsche 911. The automaker claims it has better drivability over a wide band of revs than its predecessor.

That power makes its way to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential racing transmission, which has been stiffened for the 2019 model. Instead of routing the exhaust through the rear bumper, it now leaves the vehicle through a pair of cutouts ahead of either rear wheel. Not only does this save weight, according to Porsche, it also adds an aerodynamic advantage. Clearing space under the rear bumper allowed Porsche to optimize the rear diffuser for even more downforce than before.

While Porsche has been working on the new RSR since 2017, it really proved its worth this past March, when Porsche ran the car for 30 hours over some 3,700 miles of racing. In what seems like an odds-defying run, the car exhibited no technical issues, and it was cleared for racing in early July. After its Goodwood debut, it will kick off the 2019-202 WEC season at Britain's Silverstone track on September 1.

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Not only do side-exit exhaust pipes allow Porsche to tweak its diffuser for better aerodynamics, it looks the absolute business, as well.

Porsche
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