Porsche's new entry-level race car is a 911
Tired of the GT3's road-legal stuffiness? Porsche has removed the shackles for 2027
The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport is dead, all hail the new 911 Challenge. Presumably, anyone actually competing in the one-make Sprint Challenge GB already knew that Porsche’s most affordable competition car was destined to be replaced in 2027 (makes sense; production of the coupe wound up some time ago), though only now do we have detailed confirmation of what will fill out the entry-level spot for those hoping to go racing. Shock: it’s a 911 predominantly based on the GT3.
The key to the Challenge is precisely how much of the production car tech it shares - and with cost a leading factor, the equally unsurprising answer is quite a bit. The basic aero package, the seven-speed PDK and a 515hp version of the 4.0-litre flat-six are all carried over, and the car retains its ABS, traction control and ESC systems, as well as the multi-stage adjustable PTV+. Porsche suggests this kind of familiar user-friendliness will make it easier for people to get started in motorsport - and they’re probably right.
“The 911 Challenge brings the driving experience of the road-legal 911 GT3 into customer motorsport more directly than ever before,” said Michael Dreiser, Head of Sales at Porsche Motorsport. “Drivers can get to grips with it without a long learning curve and can complete their first kilometres on the racetrack in a familiar vehicle design.”
Of course, not everything will be the same. For one thing, you’ll be surrounded by a welded-in roll cage with a six-point harness pinning you to an adjustable racing bucket seat, and all the sound-deadening, carpets and trim will have gone. For another, the chassis will feature some racier components, including a three-stage adjustable anti-roll bar, a motorsport-specific damper map, new 380mm steel brake discs front and rear, and, most importantly, treadless racing slicks fitted to five-hole 18-inch wheels.
Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, on the basis that the exhaust system does away with its particulate filter and the engine will rev to 9,000rpm, the newcomer probably repeats that trick in the real world, too. Elsewhere, you get a 110-litre FT3 fuel tank, an integrated air-jack system and Porsche’s solemn promise that the Challenge ‘is designed as a competition car without road approval and makes no compromises in its circuit-focused specification.’ Though it does pinch the steering wheel from the GT3 RS for slightly more functionality, and you don’t have to do away with air conditioning.
"Since their introduction, the GT3 models have shaped Porsche’s identity as a sports car manufacturer like almost no other model range. They are conceived and developed in close collaboration with motorsport,” reckons Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “With the 911 Challenge, this tradition is being expanded to include a model that allows new customer groups to experience the thrill of motorsport in a 911.“ If that sounds like all the motivation you need to get started, the model will be available to order in the UK from next month.
Most racing cars, where the rules don't enforce otherwise, tend to settle on something roughly like the ratio this car has.
Smaller wheels with higher profile tyres (up to a point) helps that in several ways. Firstly it reduces overall unsprung mass, allowing the suspension to respond more quickly; secondly if allows the use of lower tyre pressures, increasing the size of the contact patch; and thirdly it allows the tyres to provide more of the suspension effect themselves. Reducing the amount of unsprung mass which has to move when you go over a bump from 20kg to 15kg makes a huge difference to how a car drives, but if you can get the entire bump to be absorbed by the tyre sidewall, the effective unsprung mass can be reduced to a few hundred grams.
Smaller wheels with higher profile tyres (up to a point) helps that in several ways. Firstly it reduces overall unsprung mass, allowing the suspension to respond more quickly; secondly if allows the use of lower tyre pressures, increasing the size of the contact patch; and thirdly it allows the tyres to provide more of the suspension effect themselves. Reducing the amount of unsprung mass which has to move when you go over a bump from 20kg to 15kg makes a huge difference to how a car drives, but if you can get the entire bump to be absorbed by the tyre sidewall, the effective unsprung mass can be reduced to a few hundred grams.
And yes, this is a proper gt4 race car, eligible for either one make racing, or many of the gt4 championships around the world - British gt runs gt4 and gt3 cars together. As with all gt racing, theres a healthy amount of wealthy amateurs who pay their way, often teamed with a factory pro driver.
The race cars have sensibly sized wheels filled with the biggest brakes that'll fit (smaller than road, and still big enough) and higher profile tyres - all of which are far more functional on road (and would be more comfortable too) but apparently don't look cool. And we all know how much more important it is to look cool than to be functional, especially in this price bracket.
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