“The next 911 Turbo will not have a manual. And the GT3 will get PDK”
Head of Porsche R&D Wolfgang Hatz warns CAR magazine that the old order is changing...
“I’m not a professional driver, but it’s easy for me to drive below eight minutes at the Nürburgring with the new 911 Turbo. With the 911 Carrera I do 8, 8:05, 8:10 – there’s at least 20 seconds difference. And the difference from my time to the real professional is always another 15-20 seconds...
It’s unbelievable what we achieved with the 991, but the next Turbo will take the 911 to a new level. We do a lot of comparison tests, with Italian, Japanese and British cars, and we have a good feeling about the new 911 Turbo. And I will be honest, we will not have a manual anymore.
We will have PDK on the new GT3. But don’t worry, because it’s incredible what the new car does. I drive a 997 GT3 RS 4.0 – which is now in the garage because I won’t put winter tyres on it – and although I will take it out next spring, the new GT3 will be really nice. We have some good news for you.
Hans Mezger [Porsche’s legendary engine-builder and father of the race-derived engine in every GT3] was my boss more than 20 years ago, and we have a very good relationship. But with the RS 4.0 the story of his race engine converted for production is coming to an end. Now we are coming from the other side, with a lot of racing experience. The new GT3 is big fun, and a big step forwards.
I speak fluent Italian and found out that Nardo [an industry test track in southern Italy] was for sale, and I convinced the Porsche board to buy it. We will not close it to others. We cannot use it 100%. Some Italian manufacturers were nervous, but I know [Ferrari boss] Amedeo Felisa very well, he’s a friend of mine, and I’ve told him ‘No problem, you can use the track’. It’s a strategic investment, not to make money, but because having such a facility in your portfolio is a big advantage.
The new Le Mans car will not use a flat-six, but I cannot tell you what engine it has because not even Wolfgang Dürheimer [Hatz’s predecessor at Porsche, now head of R&D at Audi] knows. The first race of the LMP1 car will be the first round of the World Endurance Championship in 2014. We are in good shape: we already have 150 people sitting in one building; 20 metres away there’s a new workshop for the engine, transmission, hybrid and other systems. In 30 seconds you can have everyone together.
We have not yet decided when we will start production of the small turbo engine or which car it will be run in. But it will not be in the 911 – the 911 is a six-cylinder, that’s the right engine. On the Boxster a four-cylinder may present an opportunity...”
Wolfgang Hatz, Porsche Board of Management
"Wolfgang Hatz is a member of Porsche AG Board of Management in charge of Research and Development, and is additionally Head of Engines and Transmissions Development for the Volkswagen Group. Prior to assuming his board level position, Mr Hatz was an engineer and project leader in engine development at BMW AG and at BMW Motorsport from 1983 until 1989. He joined Porsche in 1989 and was, among other functions, involved in the development of the Formula 1 engine. As an engineering graduate, Hatz took up a post at Knorr Bremse in 1993, and in 1995 became Technical Director of Motorsport at Opel before taking over as Head of Engines and Transmissions Development at Fiat in 1997. Hatz joined the Volkswagen Group in 2001. Here, too, he served as Head of Engines and Transmissions Development at Audi until 2009, having assumed the same function within the VW Group in February 2007."
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I heard something from someone.............
just kidding 
rumors says until this weekend
