25 years ago: when Porsche went watercooled with the 911 GT3 R, and won Le Mans

In issue 11, you can read the story on the 25^th anniversary of the watercooled 911 GT3 R’s class win at Le Mans. Here is a little look behind the scenes of our photoshoot with chassis 001.

No, technically, the 1999 class win at Le Mans was not Porsche’s first victory with a watercooled 911. The 1998 overall winner at Le Mans – the Porsche 911 GT1 – had that honour. And it was this engine that served as the basis for the new watercooled six-cylinder engine in the production 911s, the 996 model.

Controversy

The switch from an aircooled to a watercooled flat-six was a hugely controversial one at the time. Combined with the hated ‘omelette’ headlight unit – a costsaving measure to have lights and indicators in one unit – it made the 996 an object of hate and ridicule among 911-purists. Suffice it to say that it took the 996 model years before it became a more appreciated member of the Porsche stable.

Kussmaul

For the racing models – both the GT3 Cup and the GT3 R – Porsche engineer Roland Kussmaul explains in Tazio 11 how he was able to introduce some solutions in the road car that benefitted the performance of the race cars. The new 3.6-litre engine – producing 370 hp in Cup form and +400 hp in R trim – would easily rev up to 9000 rpm, much higher than the aircooled unit.

Manthey and Champion

For the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours, Porsche realized it took big risks with the new 996, introduced to compete in the LM GTS category. What if the old 993s would beat it? Instead of entering the 996 as a factory team, Porsche opted to have two cars run by trusted partners: German-based Olaf Manthey on the one hand, and US faithful Champion Racing on the other. But the factory’s presence would be obvious: the Manthey car ran sponsors that had been on the 1998 factory cars. And Kussmaul had not only led an intensive testing program prior to Le Mans, he was also overseeing operations on the Champion car at Le Mans.

Not just a class winner

In the end, the Manthey Porsche 996 GT3 R driven by Uwe Alzen, Patrick Huisman and Luca Riccitelli performed outstandingly. Granted, the class win is not the most glorious one. The LM GTS class counted just three cars, of which one was the Champion entry, the other an older Porsche 993 RSR. The #81 996 finished a rather remarkable 13^th overall, and third of the GT cars. That meant the 996 beat most of the 8-litre Chrysler/Dodge Vipers and the turbocharged Porsche 993 GT2. Now that was a stunt.

Red Bull

For the 2000 season, chassis 001 – the Le Mans class winner – changed to the blue Red Bull livery you see here. Driver Dieter Quester held close relationships to the Red Bull concern. Quester and Riccitelli were the main drivers of the car, that came second in its class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2000. It would win twice more in the NGT class in the FIA GT championship and finish second in that year’s championship standings.

Careful now

The current owner decided to keep it ‘as is’ since the day it last ran. This also means it very original, and it’s on old tyres the day it shows up at the Chambley racetrack in France for the photoshoot. Careful is the operative word, and I find out behind the wheel that the moment you start pushing a bit, the tyres give in at once. No pushing today, just enjoy driving it. A Porsche flat-six is always a joy, and this is no different in the 996. I mean, even in its current state, it just starts and goes.

For Kussmaul, the 996 defined the GT3 category. “We won Le Mans, Daytona and Spa with it. It took the others years to catch up with us.”

For the full story, go to issue 11.

Thanks to Tom Fischer and Circuit Chambley Grand Est for their help with this feature.