Motor Trend 9FF GTurbo 750

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04-13-2010, 10:56 AM

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Motor Trend 9FF GTurbo 750

First Drive: 9FF GTurbo 750
Freaking Fast: Tuned GT3 RS is a Car on the Outer Reaches of Sanity
April 13, 2010 / By Nick Hall

"The Porsche GT3 RS -- the most extreme, track-focused 911 in the Porsche lineup -- has a special place in every enthusiast's heart. It's as hardcore as a Porsche can be and represents the absolute limits of Porsche's engineering prowess. But there's always someone willing to go that extra mile. One of those folks is Jan Fatthauer of 9ff. His latest creation, the 9ff GTurbo 750, isn't just hitting engineering limits -- it's a car on the outer reaches of sanity.

Fatthauer is a soft-spoken man, and you'd never guess he's responsible for some of the most brutal cars on the tuning scene. From 1200 horsepower 911 Cabriolets to his own GT9R, he caters to a hardcore crowd for whom too much is never enough. It was only a matter of time before he bought his big thinking to the finely tuned scalpel that is the RennSport.

He began by cutting out weight, fitting a carbon-fiber bonnet, doors, and plastic side windows, and stripping the interior. The carpet is gone, along with the door inserts. Even the center console is missing, exposing the gear linkage for all to see. There's just a seat, the dash, and a full-bore rollcage with the front sourced from Porsche Motorsport and Cobra Evolution seats. And that's it.

Porsche waxed lyrical about stripping 44 pounds from the weight of the GT3 when it built the RS, which cost $18,000 more to essentially get a lot less. So 9ff's work in stripping a full 220 pounds from the weight of the RS despite the additional mechanical components is quite a feat. Even if the big-wave-riding full conversion isn't your bag, 9ff's carbon parts alone should work wonders on the handling front.

The engine is debatable. Purists will have a heart attack: Natural aspiration and adjustable, fearsome power are as important to the GT3 DNA as the rear engine. If that's what you think, you don't belong at 9ff in the first place. This isn't a place for guardians of Porsche purity. It's for hardcore drivers who want the fastest, craziest Porsche money can buy.

The fruit of Fatthauer's labors in the engine bay is a twin turbo version of Porsche's flat six with 740 horsepower and 626 pound feet of torque and enough high-end acceleration to match virtually any supercar on the planet. Even the Bugatti Veyron is firmly within its sights. The Veyron hits 185 mph in 19.8 seconds, while this €200,000 911 Frankenstein will do it in 20.6. From 125-185 mph, the 2600-pound GTurbo is faster -- much faster -- and it won't stop till it hits 225 mph.

It is crammed full of turbos and pipework that looks like something from a Victorian warship to feed air to the turbocharged setup. Fatthauer completely stripped the original GT3 RS engine and rebuilt the 3.6-liter with titanium pistons coated with slick chemicals to reduce friction. That was just the start. Most of Porsche's major components were too brittle for this job and have been replaced, along with the clutch and a single-mass flywheel that accounts for the raucous low-speed noise.

9ff engineers also boosted the fuel injection system to an advanced water-to-air intercooling system to stop this tightly packaged powerhouse from melting at speed. A new exhaust gets rid of the noxious gases. If it sounds like a race engine, it really is. Although one has to wonder about its longevity, Fatthauer offers a two-year warranty and incredulously claims the engine uses hardly any more oil than a standard car. Unless you really nail it.

Of course, with that much power, getting the power down is a big issue. Even with virtual racing tires wrapping the 20-inch wheels, the modified traction control system from a GT2 is not enough. It hits 62 mph in 3.5 seconds -- push for more and it simply melts the tires.

Fatthauer himself gives me a demonstration run before handing over the keys. Despite late-night Autobahn tests approaching 250 mph in other cars, even he is circumspect on the minor roads. But when we join the Autobahn and a gap opens up, he plants the gas and the world shifts. My neck snaps back and by the time my eyes have regained focus on the horizon, we are a mile away. A feigned casual glance towards the speedo shows 175 mph on the clock and no sign of slowing down. It is mind-bendingly fast.

We return to base and I take over, easing out of the factory and towards a well-worn test route that includes a straightline blast alongside the runway at Dortmund Airport. I gingerly let out the clutch (it never looks good to stall in front of a crowd), and the immediate relief is that it's easy to drive at carpark speeds and can hang in traffic without lurching all over the shop.

Too many of these monster creations are impossible to maneuver in a tight spot, but with a trickle of throttle this one is almost as easy as the base Porsche. But it isn't built for a trickle of throttle. So I floor it, and it is just as violent as the first time from behind the wheel. The whole car shimmies as the electronics try in vain to hold the car inline and then, as the tires finally find a foothold on the road, it just explodes down the road. The corners are a different matter. Mindful of the fact that this is a customer's car and that a rally driver binned his GTurbo on his first drive at Spa, I just can't hammer it in the bends.

The chassis is immense, which is all the more impressive when you consider that Fatthauer has simply fitted stiffer springs to cope with the extra load under acceleration and even Porsche's adjustable dampers and ride height still work. It comes with the factory ceramics, too, so it strips off the speed admirably before the bend.

But driving this car is a cerebral exercise in deciding how much throttle it can take before it lets go, and walking that fine line between spectacular speed and a spectacular accident. There is an element of fight club in the GTurbo 750. This lightweight car with ludicrous power and borderline racing tires is now effectively a racer. It's no everyday car, and the subtlety is replaced with a fine line of a limit. It's like paddling out into the truly huge surf and challenging yourself, as much as the car, every time you leave the drive.

The broad, accessible oversteer of the base lightweight Porsche has been replaced by a monster with prodigious grip and a sting in the tail. So it might look like a GT3 RS on the surface, but in reality it's a different animal.

Not all of the 12 customers who have bought the GTurbo conversion so far have entirely mastered the art. As well as the accomplished driver who crashed, Fatthauer revealed that when the cars come back for service the front calipers are yellow, as they were whe they left the factory, but the rears are always brown because the heat developed by the traction control takes its toll on the paintwork.

Should the calipers come back clean, then it's a sure sign the owner is ready for the next adventure -- the 1000-horsepower upgrade that 9ff also offers. Even Fatthauer says that one is pushing it, but then some folks like to live on the edge of sanity, or perhaps that little bit beyond."
Source - Motor Trend

Full gallery:
9FF Gturbo 750 Front Three Quarters Driver Photo