During the recent 991.2 Porsche GT3 launch, Porsche flew in one of its most respected employees. Walter Röhrl is not only known for his huge success in the world of rally, but he has also given input, set lap times and assisted with R&D of Porsche’s road cars for decades.
I had the opportunity to sit next to him at dinner and asked him a few questions…
What is the most enjoyable Porsche in your opinion?
The Carrera GT supercar. I like it very much. On the current new generation of tyres, it is easier to drive and it also handles better. The improvement in tyre technology is so big, that it makes a huge difference in the performance of older supercars.
How did the various rally cars you raced compare?
First we had two-wheel drive with Porsche, then we had four-wheel drive with Audi. The four-wheel-drive system in the Audi was really revolutionary.
The Porsches had really good traction. I was driving Fords, Opels, but the Porsche had better traction, although owing to the weight in the back it was a little bit more difficult to drive.
The first time I drove the Audi, I was very impressed. But this early system didn’t have a mid-differential, so the system was very rigid, which effected the steering of the car. It understeered on tighter corners, but on faster corners it was good.
How did you feel when Group B rallying was terminated?
I was very upset. For me, it was the best time of my career. Not because I was a better driver, but I had a good memory of the road. If you couldn’t remember and visualise the stage, you couldn’t make the most of the race.
Of course, the cars were dangerous; they were so fast. The Audi Quattro had an acceleration time of 0-160 km/h in 6,9 seconds … on gravel!
I’ve done the Monte Carlo rally in 1986 with 400 kW and in 1987 with 170 kW and I told them it is like a sleeping pill!
Are you still involved with the developing of Porsche’s road cars?
I was involved with the development of new Porsche cars until last year. Before a car is finally signed off, I will make a trip to the Nürburgring and do an evaluation of the car. However, my home is 600 km from the ‘Ring and with the amount of traffic on our roads I decided to end this involvement.
What type of feedback were you giving in terms of new cars?
I focused on handling. Being a racer, I would obviously like it to handle like a race car, but the aim is always to make it driveable and set it up for normal people. This means make the transition to over-the-limit smooth. A race car is quick, but over the limit it is tricky.
I don’t develop cars for me, I develop [them] for the customer. Of course, I also give feedback on the throttle, braking, steering, oversteering and understeering. The engineer then needs to make decisions following my feedback.
There is a lot of hype regarding Nürburgring lap times, yet there is no real authority that manages the process. What have been your experiences?
When we did the original 996 GT3 lap time of 7:56 seconds, we were busy in the workshop 5 km away. The engineer said we should take it out to see what it can do. We put four new tyres on the car and my colleague stood next to the track with a stopwatch.
I did one warm-up lap and then the flying lap. Today it is a different story. Companies set aside a number of days to prepare for a potential record, different fuels are used, special tyres and the amount of time you have to set the record is really short.
These new cars achieve over 300 km/h on the track. In the 997 GT2 RS I had to turn in at 307 km/h after Pflanzgarten. Now I think to myself, it is enough!
