Lanzante to unveil 625hp TAG Championship at FoS
An F1-engined Porsche 930 Turbo was already mad enough - now here comes the stripped-out version
It’s now six years since Lanzante’s announcement of old 911 Turbos powered by Formula 1 car engines almost broke the internet. More than 500hp and 9,000rpm in a Porsche 930 ought to have been crazy enough for most, but Lanzante has decided otherwise, because here’s the TAG Championship. All 625hp and 10,250rpm of it.
Described modestly as a ‘further enhancement over the TAG Turbo by Lanzante’, there will be just three Championships produced, in addition to the original 11. The number was decided on because of the three drivers’ championships won in ‘84, ‘85 and ‘86 with TAG-engined cars (the first 11 was chosen because 11 drivers raced TAG F1 cars). This new car has been on a drastic diet, most notably, for a 920kg weight without fuel or driver. A ‘normal’ TAG is in the region of 1,100kg. The electric windows are gone, the climate control system is lighter, the seats are carbon-backed and the wheels are Dymag magnesium-carbon.
Weight has even been saved with a new wiring loom, and there’s a very serious-looking roll cage in the back. Aluminium doors have now been replaced with carbon items, and the black stuff is now also used for the wings and bumpers. There’s extreme, and then there’s Championship extreme. Lanzante reckons this car saves more than 400kg compared to the donor car.
Cosworth has again been tasked with engine work on the race-used examples of the TA TTE P01 1.5-litre twin-turbo V6. Compared to the TAG cars we’ve already seen, these derivatives will benefit from new pistons, conrods, valve cams and turbos; as well as saving weight (the titanium blowers are 8kg lighter) there is even more power on tap. The claimed numbers are 625hp and a redline of 10,250rpm, substantial gains from the 503hp and 9,000rpm previously. An adapted six-speed manual from a 993-era 911 is used, and 200mph is said to be on the cards.
The first of the three TAG Championships will be shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Featuring an engine that raced across the 1984, 1985 and 1986 seasons, this one will be known as Championship ‘85. Lanzante says these new cars are a lot more about celebrating the F1 cars rather than evoking the 911 McLaren built with the engine way back when. To that end, this one is going to get a livery like Alain Prost’s helmet from the 1985 season (the engine for this one secured him two podiums that year), which contrasts with the naked carbon like the famous MP4/2B GP car. The interior will get a suede wheel with white stitching, again as per the F1 racers.
As is so often the case when the Goodwood Festival of Speed comes around, then, the Lanzante stand is going to be well worth a visit in six weeks time. There’s the McLaren drift car to think about, too. Whether or not the Championship is going to be ready to roll by July isn’t clear, but, either way, it’s definitely going to be worth gawping at. Bring on the next two already.
But the cynic in me feels that its an incongruous combination of elements that have been pulled together because doing crazy stuff to old 991s is the white-bread, zeitgeist method for making a car that can be sold for mega-bucks. That recipe with a portion of F1 heritage on the side.
That I'd like to experience the engine derives from it being a 1,000hp, power-button mentalist from the primordial days of turbocharging, if it's dialled back to 2/3 the power and modern-magiced to relative drivability - is there anything but bragging rights left?
But the cynic in me feels that its an incongruous combination of elements that have been pulled together because doing crazy stuff to old 991s is the white-bread, zeitgeist method for making a car that can be sold for mega-bucks. That recipe with a portion of F1 heritage on the side.
That I'd like to experience the engine derives from it being a 1,000hp, power-button mentalist from the primordial days of turbocharging, if it's dialled back to 2/3 the power and modern-magiced to relative drivability - is there anything but bragging rights left?
But the cynic in me feels that its an incongruous combination of elements that have been pulled together because doing crazy stuff to old 991s is the white-bread, zeitgeist method for making a car that can be sold for mega-bucks. That recipe with a portion of F1 heritage on the side.
That I'd like to experience the engine derives from it being a 1,000hp, power-button mentalist from the primordial days of turbocharging, if it's dialled back to 2/3 the power and modern-magiced to relative drivability - is there anything but bragging rights left?
There are only 3 made, of course its going to be mega bucks, but i also imagine they cost ALOT to build and lanzante would like to do things to make a profit. I f**cking love it.
Call me a philistine but I’d rather have that car and money in the bank than this.
I doubt any of the ones made will get driven, they will be sat in a private collection and looked at until the owner gets bored an decides to buy an oil painting instead..
I wonder does it really make any sense other than being lighter by 100kg at the rear compared to the weight of the original 930 engine..
Whatever, it's looks great, like the low kerb weight and 600 bhp can't be sniffed at.
It seems to justify why people opt to fit K20/24 turbo'ed engines in 911's.
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