Was out at the track testing new aero on my car and had some good battles with a couple of 997 Cups in the process. The following are laps #3 and #4 back to back. The front car is a 2011 997.2 Cup followed by a 2007 997.1 Cup. Note the nice power slide on the Cup in front of me of turn 2 on lap #4. Pirelli Slicks clearly have the grip advantage on NT01s in the corners. The sequential gearboxes offer seamless power on these cars. Night and day difference from a 996 Cup..

LAP#3

LAP#4

 

Great footage and nice bit of driving there John, you're making us proud.

 

Awesome! That looks like a ton of fun! Have you ever driven a sequential gearbox?

 

+1 very nice

 

ok I'm no racer but why are they able to pull away on the straightaways? i would think with 600+ hp in your car you would run them down on the straights (aren't they only about 500hp?) and they would have an advantage in the corners. but I'm seeing the opposite? you catch them in every corner yet on the long strait they seem to keep the distance.

either way its clear to me your suspension and brakes are working like clockwork!

 

its awesome to see you stay with em, nice driving. if i had to stare at gt3 wings like that i'd want one too !

great vids/driving. thx for posting! ( i want that motor lol )

 

Those cup cars are pretty light. I'm not sure but I think something like as low as 2600 lbs? They are stripped out of everything not essential for track. I looked at one up close and even the rear and side windows were plexi, not glass, no interior at all, one seat only for the driver etc. They may have 100 less hp but 600-700 lbs less weight to move around is huge.

 

2600 #? no creature comforts there. a fire extinguisher and not much else lol

 

Yep! All bare metal in the cockpit.

 

ha ya ive crawled into a cup car before. not that comfy but man.... what a ride its gotta be.

 

Yeah when I envision a car that is say, 500 lbs lighter than another, I imagine taking ten or eleven York Olympic plates and throwing them out of the car to put it in perspective of how much weight reduction that really is. The difference is immense.

 

nice and clean! keep the videos coming

 

With their sequential boxes their gearing is always perfect. When I'm chasing a newer cup on a tighter turn that I'll roll though in 3rd and hold to the next corner a cup will take two quick gear changes. At the end of Miller almost mile front straight a cup will be at the top of 6th gear and I'm still pulling in 5th. Some of the newer ones have now been updated with pneumatic paddles shifting the same box and can get really deep in the corners down shifting. It's amazing what a factory race car can do with 450-500 at the crank. Staying near one no matter who's driving it is a great feat in any car that's still street legal.
Powderhound are you still coming the Miller for the PCA race?

 

That does look like a lot of fun.

Well done!

 

In general things that make Cups different from mere mortals:

Weight: 1150 -1225 kg (996-991, dry, without the driver)
Power: 360 - 460 hp
Ride height and aero
Slicks
Sequential boxes

Least fat street cars weigh somewhere around high 1300 kgs. To get close to 997 or 991 Cup's weight/power ratio they need to have at least 500 Porsche hp. Cups still have the advantage of lesser weigh. Easier to toss around corners...
Cups also enjoy lower ride height which improves aerodynamic grip. Add some sticky tyres to this recipe and you have massive cornering Gs.
Then there's this instant shifting and proper gearing added with normally aspirated engine's ability to deliver instantly on request.

Put all this together and Powderhound's videos are even more respectable. One more thing, dont' let that rubberband effect at corners fool your eye. Only laps/sector times tell the difference in speed.