Intergalactic power, two street-legal 997 Turbos, and one pro racer take to VIR. Seven-hundred horsepower. Seven… hundred.

Whispering it a few more times to yourself doesn’t make it seem any less daunting. Consider for a moment that it exceeds the horsepower of two new Carreras! What will the first foot-to-the-floor spin to redline in second gear feel like? Nauseating?

Two gleaming 700-hp 997 Turbos sit in the paddock of Virginia International Raceway, waiting to answer the question. Today’s mission: Pit AWE’s 750R against TPC Racing’s 775 Blitzkrieg on road and track. What we want to know: Which best embodies the dual-nature “tuner Por*sche?” After all, lap times aren’t everything when it comes to street cars.

Excellence regular Bob Chapman will help assess road-going performance while ALMS driver David Murry will help assess track performance at VIR. The ground rules are simple: No slicks, one set of tires for both tests, valid registrations and insurance, and no tweaks other than tire-pressure adjustments between the street and track tests.

We’ve all read articles about high-power cars that try to convey the feeling that such power imparts. But without personal experience of those g-forces, we’re forced to think about it in terms of something we have experienced. Is 700 horsepower like that vague recollection of the first time you crossed the 100-mph threshold. Is it laugh-out-loud fun? Or is it like the time you first did something fearless, like jumping out of an airplane — an electric feeling that is simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating?

Like many creations of its kind, the TPC 775B is a reflection of its owner. On first glance, it’s as understated as any Porsche can be. Well, any in Guards Red, anyway! It looks like it could have just rolled off the showroom floor. The only visible modifications are the stance, GT2 wheels, and a small sticker with the company logo. In other words, it’s a sleeper.

Owner Michael Levitas is a bit of a sleeper, too. The easy-going Baltimore native is a Grand-Am champion and a Daytona 24-hour winner, but he spends most of his days at his company, TPC Racing. He gets there in this car, his daily driver. Race wins, and especially championships, require attention to detail and Levitas has it. Ask him about the development of the 775B and he launches into a high-octane discussion of custom-valved shocks, proprietary springs, the impact of front versus rear spring rates on a 997’s handling, and how optimal setup differs from previous 911 platforms — complete with hand gestures that only race-car engineers can understand…

He says TPC achieved 700 horses on pump gas by modifying the turbochargers with larger compressor wheels, with major (exducer) and minor (inducer) dia*meters enlarged by 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm respectively. TPC also modified the turbine in an effort to create a wide torque plateau for a claimed 600 lb-ft available from 4000 to 6500 rpm. Says Levitas: “Our turbo is more efficient than a factory GT2 unit by one-third.”
TPC designed and built its own intercoolers, moving from Por*sche AG’s tube-and-fin design to a sturdier and significantly larger (by 52 mm) 127-mm hybrid bar-and-plate core with tube-and-fin type internals. Levitas says the design significantly improves torque at lower rpm. The intercoolers bolt into the factory positions and use lightly modified factory ducts. The exhaust system is a collaboration between TPC and Europipe.

The last piece of the puzzle is custom TPC ECU tuning with adjustability offered via a plug-in switcher to select power modes based on octane. Of the power on tap, Levitas enthuses, “The car will run mid-tens in the quarter-mile at over 135 mph.” He goes on to explain that his last trip to the drag strip ended when he was kicked out for running a sub-11-second pass without a roll cage.

The Meteor Gray AWE car belongs to another racer, this one ALMS shoe Tim Pappas. Its color is tastefully set off by BBS LM-R wheels framing yellow PCCB calipers. The only other visible modification is the small AWE 750R sticker. It’s understated and cool in a laid-back sort of way. Again, it doesn’t fall far from the personality of its architect, AWE’s Todd Sager, a measured man who seems to embody the maxim “Walk softly and carry a big stick.”

AWE’s approach to increased power follows a general OEM fitment philosophy. Comments Sager: “We wanted easy modularity to allow consumer choice across the broader parts market. We find that our customers value that.” Addition*ally, Sager aimed to develop parts that would operate safely within the limits of the stock engine’s internals: “We wanted to maximize power reliably, without having to crack open the engine.”

Forged aluminum, CNC-machined compressor wheels replace the stock cast-aluminum compressor parts, increasing reliability at higher rotational speeds. Intercoolers are direct bolt-on replacements, designed in-house and 37 percent larger than stock, yielding a 55º F temperature drop with a one-psi pressure increase. Sachs’ Racing Stage 2.5 clutch ensures enough clamping force to handle a claimed 646 lb-ft at 5000 rpm
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AWE designed headers that incorporate HJS 200-cell cats which feed into AWE mufflers. It also designed a ten-percent-larger throttle body adapter, which measures 82 mm. Finally, in collaboration with chip tuner GIAC, a unique tune was created that offers five profile op*tions: premium fuel (700 hp), 100-octane race fuel (750 hp), valet mode (50 hp with a 30-mph speed limit), ignition kill (car will not start, even with the key), and stock boost — all accessed using a handheld switcher that plugs into the OBD II port under the dash.

One look at the stance of these 997s is enough to know that they’ve got chassis upgrades. The AWE 750R’s suspension modifications are pretty modest, consisting of Bilstein Damp*tronic coil*-overs, a 24-mm H&R adjustable rear anti-roll bar set to full soft, and GT3 two-piece lower front control arms. TPC’s 775B has more extensive changes: Bilstein Damp*tronic coil-overs with custom valving and custom springs, a front anti-roll bar that’s 50 percent thicker than the stock piece, a rear anti-roll bar 30 percent thicker than stock, TPC’s adjustable drop links, 997 GT3 Cup control arms in front (machined to fit), and front-end geometry changes to TPC specs. While AWE was running stock ceramic brake pads for the 750R’s factory PCCB brakes, TPC chose Pagid Yellow (RS19) pads for the 775B.

Time to get moving. I nab the bright red 775B’s keys first and Chapman climbs into the gray AWE 750R. Levitas’ final imperative (“Don’t disengage PSM!”) includes a cautionary wag of the finger. I never kill PSM on a first drive, but his words keep echoing in my head.

Tooling through VIR’s interior roads at 20–25 mph, the 997s feel remarkably stock. Both start and drive almost exactly like their unmodified counterparts. At this point, the only noticeable difference be*tween the two is the sound: the AWE 750R has a more explosive, raspier note than the 775B, a facet that magnifies exponentially under more aggressive throttle.

For the rest of the article -->> Excellence :: The 700 Club : Two 997 Turbos claiming 700 horses go head-to-head.

 

TPC has made me a fan!

 

Although the times are impressive for those two cars, I'm not overly WOWed by them... I know of three amature drivers who've lapped in 996GT3 street cars at 2.03s with less than 400HP and done it repeatedly and regularly.

I've personally run VIR turning 2.08-2.10s on street tires in my little measily 600HP 996TT.

Mike

 

I undertand your point and it is well taken. Mike our owner is good for ~1:59s in this car on this track. Each driver is different. The key of the comparison was a blind driver going into two different cars that he has never driven before and comparing them. 3 seconds around vir for two relatively similar cars definitely states that there are differences.

For what it is worth, we have gotten a Cayman S, w/o forced induction and w/our suspension pieces to do 2:04...

our 964 turbo race car does 1:53s...

http://www.tpcracing.net/videos/tpcracing-videos/

towards the bottom.

 

Nice writeup and nice work on both accounts.

Fact check: that darker car is not Meteor - looks like Atlas.

 

Casey, What I should have said is that "it doesn't surprise me that these cars performed as the article proclaims."

I've been living this "performance type" for 3+ years thru the help of Kevin at UMW.

Mike