Record-Breakers
The 9ff outfit has hammered seven top-speed records into submission with heavily modified Porsches since the company's inception in 2001, including the title for the world's fastest cabriolet. But company principal Jan Fatthauer, formerly an apprentice at Brabus, always wanted to go further, and so after three years of development his own GT9 supercar was unleashed last year and touched 254 mph on an oval course, 2 mph faster than the Bugatti Veyron.
It would comfortably have become the world's fastest production car, but the SSC Ultimate Aero TT went and spoilt it all with a run that was 1 mph faster. So the R version of the 9ff GT9 — intended initially to be a track-only machine in the vein of the Ferrari FXX — has suddenly become street-legal in a bid to beat the record and satisfy customer demands. Only 20 of these cars will see the light of day, and each one will be different.
Start With a Porsche 911 GT3
The front structure of the GT9R comes from a Porsche 911 GT3. This is mated to a space-frame chassis inspired by Porsche's 1995 GT1 racing car, and it's far from the stretched GT3 that other reports have suggested. Of course it looks like a flattened Porsche 911, as 9ff has built its reputation tuning Zuffenhausen's finest.
The engine starts out as the block of a 996-model 911 Turbo, then it's bored out to four liters, the cylinder bores are plasma-coated and finally forged pistons are fitted. Twin Garrett T35 turbochargers complete the package. Four engines detonated during testing to find the right mixture of Nikasil and carbon for the cylinder coating, but such a thing seems inevitable when the stress of 300 hp per liter is involved.
The roof is a key element in the GT9R's slippery aerodynamics, and it's a single piece of carbon-fiber right down to the pillars. It's ironic that the whole platform sits on a floor of plywood. Fatthauer simply couldn't match the strength, light weight and pure functionality of wood even with exotic carbon-fiber, and it's refreshing to see someone admit that high tech isn't always the best solution.
The interior of the GT9R still needs some updating, as the 996-model 911 dashboard that sits in this car simply isn't good enough for a car that will cost nearly $980,000 in its most expensive form. Fatthauer has developed a cleaner, Cayman-style dash with an electronic control screen that should sit far better, and the customers will, of course, be able to specify every level of fit and finish — from pure luxury to a stripped-out racing cockpit clad in carbon-fiber that should save 110 pounds off the overall weight of 3,086 pounds.
