HARRISBURG, N.C. — Very quietly, a new era in Porsche racing will make its debut this weekend at Grand Am’s finale when The Spirit of Daytona Fabcar driven by Guy Cosmo and Marc-Antoine Camirand rolls onto the track at Utah’s Miller Motorsport Park powered by a water-cooled Porsche Cayenne V-8 engine.
Until now, Porsche representatives have said that there were no plans to develop the V-8 found in their SUV for racing, this even though its basic structure is strong enough for it to put out more than 550 horsepower in turbocharged street form.
Those close to the situation reported that the SUV engine, which required the approval of Grand Am officials to run in the Rolex championship, was at least partially developed for its new role at the German manufacturer’s famed Weissach test center near its factory in Zuffenhausen.
Such involvement by the Porsche factory represents a break with its previous stance that the Cayenne V-8 would not be reworked for racing, and that other than the purpose-built V-8 found in the company’s American Le Mans Series LMP2 division RS Spyders, all other Porsche competition powerplants would be based on the company’s water-cooled 911 flat six cylinder, which currently is run by the Brumos team in its Rileys and by Alex Job’s Ruby Tuesday Crawford.
Perhaps more important than the change in Porsche’s attitude is the potential change the introduction of the V-8 could have on the Grand Am Rolex tour, which previously has used the power output of the German boxer six as the benchmark for the HP settings of the other engines found in the series.
With the potential of the six fairly well maximized, there has been little opportunity to think about raising the overall horsepower ratings of its Daytona Prototype category, and thus their performance level. With the Cayenne clear in its infancy, Rolex officials now have at least the opportunity, if they wish to re-address that performance issue.
In turn, that could increase the promotional attractiveness of the Rolex championship, which, while improving its acceptance with the public, still has not attracted the kind of audience many believe the quality of its competition on the track would normally engender.