2008 9ff GT9 - Speed King

2008 9ff GT9 - Speed KingIt should have been bar talk from the lush wearing the beer-stained shirt, talking to imaginary friends. But this is 9ff boss Jan Fatthauer, standing in front of the GT9, which could and should be the fastest production car in the world before these words dry on the page."Last night we hit 386 kph on the autobahn," he says. "Tonight, if it's dry, we'll go for 400. Want to come?"Truthfully, I hesitate. A few mental sums reveal that Fatthauer pounded the left lane at 239 mph in the dark and is aiming to break that figure with me on board. It's wet outside and part of me is glad.Because just a few minutes after being posted through the roll cage into the hot seat of the GT9, its racing clutch fires me down the road in a stabbing, jumping judder before my internal organs punch through the racing seat and never catch up. Healthy respect for life and a mild intimidation keep me within sane limits, but even that's relative.The Driftbox pressed to the screen scrolls around like an out-of-control Telethon counter as I pick holes in autobahn traffic and the big-band clash of a 987-hp, four-liter twin-turbo screaming to a 8000-rpm redline, and wastegates that belong on flood defenses do their best to draw blood from my ears. I can only breathe during gear changes (via a meaty, manual six-speed gearbox) then, with a nudge on the throttle, oxygen is again blown from my body as the car leaps down the road. Firm instructions not to drop below 3000 rpm (to keep the engine running through every change) bring fresh waves of wheel spin.There's no traction control-not yet, anyway. There will be-and it will save lives. Pushed hard, this car will spin those fat rears in fifth gear, possibly sixth. One sneeze and you'll land in tomorrow, dead. 'Violent acceleration' is an overused term, but not even my kidneys taking time to catch up can describe the feeling of 711 lb-ft of torque kicking in. Only the numbers do it justice-a 2,923-pound car that hits 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds and outpaces a Bugatti Veyron to 300 kph (186.4mph), hitting that landmark number in just 17.6 seconds and 2,854 feet on a cold day. And it doesn't slow down, it just tugs toward the horizon like the apocalypse is nipping at its heels. A swift nudge on the tactile ceramic composite brakes sheds speed like a leper sheds skin, then it's on to the next short gap, the next eye-burning blast.It was always going to be brutal in a straight line. The spec sheet reads 987 hp because Fatthauer "hates these 1001-hp claims" and he made his name creating 910-hp 911 Cabriolets and the record-setting Vf400 hard-top that could bend time, space and laws in a heartbeat.The GT9 is 10 years of solid thinking, three years of build time and 1,000,000 of Fatthauer's own money, plus countless man-hours. To dismiss it as a straight-line missile would be to miss the point; Jan won't even sell one of the 20 he'll build if he feels horsepower and Veyron-killing are all the customer cares about."I had gone as far as I could with the 911. Beyond 300 kph, I was fighting against lift," he says. "It was time for a new car and this shape evolved in my mind for a long time. I also wanted to take the company to the next level and create an antithesis to the Veyron, which is too perfect, too easy. I wanted a car my customers could use on a Sunday afternoon and one which would give them a little fight, a little fun."It does. Push too hard in the corners and the back end will step out on this monster slab of car. It takes a real driver to manhandle it at the speeds Fatthauer dreams about, even with a mysterious and "very special" limited-slip differential. And that six-speed is a big selling point, as nobody has asked for the optional sequential box that he's happy to fit. But the weird thing for a palpitation-inducing rocket like this is that it's comfortable. A rough PASM equivalent will make the finished car even better.It's louder than Spinal Tap, but with 3.9 inches of suspension travel (thanks to the good folks at H&R), it skips off bumps like a perfectly weighted stone on a marble-flat lake. "All the staff have been surprised that, at 150 mph, it feels like a Golf," says Fatthauer. And while that might point to his engineers working too hard on this car and not hard enough on their VWs, it's still mightily composed considering its potential.Power steering makes it fingertip-light and precise. Only the racing clutch prevents this from being the clichd supercar-your-grandmother-could-drive. It would snap her leg. That aside, this really is simplicity itself-until that last slice of performance that separates men from boys.Visually, form has given way to function at every step of the process in a car that looks like a 911 flattened with a steak mallet. But Fatthauer has worked with Porsches for years and while this is a 9ff, it's basically the best of Porsche, heavily modified and then some.The chassis is inspired by a stretched GT1 racer, the block and gearbox casing come from a 996 Turbo (which were a living nightmare to fit into the mid-engine position without ending up with six reverse gears), the ratios from a 'special edition' 993, the crash structure from a GT3, special components from RSR racecars, and a whole host of other Porsche goodies. Those familiar with 911s will find everything eerily familiar, from lights to ignition, even the handbrake, passenger airbag, seatbelts-and, yes, a stereo.That open rear really is finished, although there's a closed-back option that looks a million miles better than this configuration for the airflow. Then there's the intake manifold coated in 24-carat gold-officially for heat insulation, but I have my doubts. Even Fatthauer suggests it's as much about aesthetics.Which are found wanting on the inside. This vivid blue, race suit-inspired idea came from Fatthauer's wife. It's a little over-the-top for my tastes. Luckily, this is a bespoke car and anyone paying the $800,000 entry fee can ask for whatever they want.With that in mind, it's almost ironic that the whole car sits on a flat plywood floor, as Fatthauer couldn't match the weight and rigidity with all the carbon fiber in the world. But protecting the car with wood seal would be a bizarre moment at this price.Such things don't matter, though-it's all about having the fastest car in the world. When the GT9 hits 258 mph and takes the record from the SSC Ultimate Aero, which itself overturned the Veyron just a few months ago, four sales will turn into 20 before the braking zone and Fatthauer can set to work on his next world-beater. Though he might have time for a beer-soaked chat in the bar first.2008 9ff GT9*LayoutLongitudinal mid-engine, rear-wheel drive*Engine4.0-liter flat six, dohc, turbocharged and intercooled*TransmissionSix-speed manual*SuspensionH&R MacPherson struts (f), five-link axle, H&R pushrods (r)*BrakesSix-piston monobloc calipersPCCB carbon-ceramic rotors, 15-inch (f), 13.8-inch (r)*Wheels and TiresThree-piece forged centerlock alloys, 8.5x19 (f), 11.5x19 (r)Continental ContiSportContact Vmax, 235/35 (f), 325/30 (r)*PerformancePeak Power: 987 hp @ 7850 rpmPeak Torque: 711 lb-ft @ 5970 rpm0-60 mph: 2.5 sec. (est.)Top Speed: 258 mph (est.) Photo Gallery: 2008 9ff GT9 - 987 Horsepower - European Car MagazineRead More | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us