Wiring has been optimised on the new model, using a streamlined wiring harness and a central power unit from Ole Buhl racing. (Illustration: Porsche) » More Photos

TESTED IN EUROPE
While the current RS Spyder has made its name in America, the car was tested and developed in Europe. A return to Le Mans is inevitable and is something Dr Walliser’s group prepared for as part of the chassis development cycle from the outset. ‘I think people will see RS Spyders at Le Mans in 2008 – one or two I’d expect. We did the testing in Europe, on European tracks of course, so we have all the experience on that. Le Mans is an integral part of the testing procedure of the car. We do not make special engines for the LMS three or 12-hour races, they’re all for 24 hours. This is, as far as I know, the only sportscar V8 revving to more than 10,000rpm. It could run for more than 30 hours under race conditions [and indeed customer team Dyson Racing did run an engine for more than 30 hours] and all the mechanicals of the car are also prepared for Le Mans.

‘We did a lot of engine testing on the dynos – 24-hour testing as well. So, in effect, the whole car did a lot of 24-hour testing, on the dyno at least. And of course we have an aero specification with less downforce. We are prepared so the customer can get the kit that fits the circuit. There is no doubt it will be faster than an LMP1 at Le Mans.’

The carbon chassis and bodywork are products of Porsche’s design team and are constructed by Carbotech in Austria, while assembly takes place in the recently revamped Porsche Motorsports facility at Weissach, Germany.

Fully dressed, the RS Spyder weighs in at an IMSA minimum of 783kg, but Porsche has built the car sufficiently underweight to allow the strategic use of ballast – of which approximately 15kg is used, depending upon the addition of on-board cameras and the like.

With the driver positioned in a right-hand drive location, the steering column enters the cockpit from the left side, crossing over to the right near the driver’s knees. The pedal box and driver’s legs are also rotated to the left to keep weight closer to the chassis centreline. Insights into the choice of left or right side seating was also, as you might expect, carefully evaluated. ‘As we have more clockwise circuits we decided, like all Porsche prototypes, to have the driver on the right side for weight distribution advantages. Logically, that meant we had to place the steering rack on the other side,’ noted Dieter Steinhauser, head RS Spyder engineer.

Aerodynamic refinement, rather than a littering of flow-disrupting appendages, marks the visual presence of the 2007/2008 RS Spyder. Where its LMP2 rivals, particularly the Acura ARX-01, work hard to bend and contort the air against its natural flow path through a complex array of dive planes and deepening splitter solutions, Porsche has produced a car that, but for a few limited options at the front of the car, races as it came out of the wind tunnel. Like a boxer that has had to shed every unnecessary ounce to make a weigh-in, the ‘07 RS Spyder doesn’t appear to extend 1mm in any direction more than is absolutely required.

The RS Spyder's sleek shape contrasts the sharp, angular profiles of many other ALMS prototypes. (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos

The 2007 RS Spyder employs a strong laminar flow aerodynamic philosophy, making every attempt to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted passage for the air traveling over its skin. While this philosophy might seem like a natural one for all designers to follow, the sharp body transitions many other prototypes feature serve to quickly distinguish the thousands of hours Porsche aerodynamicist's have invested in CFD and wind tunnel work on its 2007 challenger.

In contrast to the 2005/2006 car, the narrowed nose inlet for brake cooling has reduced the frontal area, while the lowered engine air intake box has allowed a lower, longer and softer transitioned engine cover providing cleaner airflow to the rear wing.