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Old 11 Jul 2011, 21:08 (Ref:2925297)   #285
chernaudi
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chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!chernaudi has a real shot at the championship!
There's that, and the fact that the 911 is basically obsolescent as a GT car outside of performance ballanced series like GT3.

The rear engined layout is long in the tooth, and only the determination of the teams and drivers in my mind has kept the car competitive. Porsche doesn't want to race the Cayman because that would make it seem more upmarket than the 911 (which when you consider that they're racing against beefed up $50k Corvettes that though based off the high buck ZR1, have more in common with the base cars as far as power train than anything else, having the Cayman go up against that type of car isn't a bad idea for marketing), and tradition is keeping Porsche from designing a legitimate mid-engined 911.

The Audi R8 is a mid engined car, and that car it seems is due for a facelift or replacement within a few years time. Maybe then Audi will make a GTE variant, though there's nothing (aside from Audi's own policies) keeping Audi from making a GTE R8 now--most of the work is done, all they have to do from a basic standpoint is upgrade it to ACO safety standards, slightly de-tune the engine, and fit wider wheels and tires on it. The R8 has run competitivly with GT2/GTE cars in the past, and shows how little work is needed to make a GTE version.

But we also have to remember this from both the LMP and GT end of things--Porsche generally since the days of the 956/962 rarely get involved in racing unless they believe that they can sell some cars. So expect the GT customer program to continue as long as it doesn't hurt the LMP program, or if Porsche want the 911 to keep racing.
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