Since 1990, the Porsche 911 has provided the basis for the sports car manufacturer’s one-make cup racing series. What began at the time with the German Porsche Carrera Cup and expanded three years later to include the Porsche Supercup as part of selected Formula 1 Grand Prix races has long since developed into a global success story. In the current season, Carrera Cup competitions are taking place in more than twelve countries around the world: from Japan and Asia to Australia and the Middle East, from North and South America to Europe. In addition, there are 23 Porsche-sanctioned Sprint and Endurance Challenges and Trophies, which also use the 911 GT3 Cup for their races. This is also reflected in the production figures: with 5,381 units now built, the 911-based one-make cup cars are among the most produced racing cars in the world.
Interesting fact: The Cup cars are produced side by side with 911 series models at the main plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. The current model, which debuted in the 2021 season, alone has been produced 1,130 times. The production of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of the 992.1 generation took just under eight hours.
Dynamic development phase on three demanding race tracks
Work on the new competition vehicle began at Porsche Motorsport in Weissach in January 2024. Like its predecessors, the 911 Cup once again combines series production technology with high-calibre motorsport attributes, transforming it more than ever into a thoroughbred racing car. Among other things, development focused on improving the aerodynamics of the front end, which has a positive effect on drivability. In addition, there are numerous improvements in areas such as safety and electronics, brakes, power transmission and the six-cylinder boxer engine, as well as vehicle handling. Michelin is once again the tyre partner.
“We are already operating at a very high-performance level with the current 911 GT3 Cup,” says Jan Feldmann, Project Manager for GT racing cars at Porsche Motorsport. “This has allowed us to focus more on feedback from the global one-make cups and develop a racing car that has been refined in many areas compared to the current Cup 911.”
For the development of the new 911 Cup, including all test bench runs, Porsche Motorsport exclusively used the eFuel blend the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (PMSC) is using. Real-world test drives took place on the Italian Grand Prix circuit in Monza, at the Lausitzring in Brandenburg and on the in-house track at the Weissach development centre. Two former Porsche juniors took turns at the wheel: Bastian Buus from Denmark, Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup champion in 2023, and Klaus Bachler. The Austrian won the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 drivers in 2024, among other things. Laurin Heinrich, 2024 IMSA champion in the GTD Pro class, and Marco Seefried, a very experienced racer also took the wheel of the prototypes.
Test programme with eFuel blend from the Supercup
The eFuel blend used in the 2025 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (PMSC) technically meets the new Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Appendix J requirements for renewable (“Advanced Sustainable”) fuel and, with all combined CO₂ reduction measures*, corresponds to a total CO₂ equivalent reduction of 66% compared to a fossil fuel equivalent. The proportion of renewable components in this performance-specialised racing fuel blend is 79.7% by volume. The largest proportion of the components is renewable synthetic raw petrol, known as MtG (methanol-to-gasoline). Other blending components include renewable, waste-based or residual-based ethanol, which is used to increase the oxygen content in the fuel and the octane rating, among other things. The octance rating is 100.5 RON. The racing fuel blend was developed specifically for the boxer engines used in motor racing and combines high performance with the highest possible proportion of renewable blending components.
* HIF, the manufacturer of the raw fuel used for the racing fuel blend, is taking several measures at its Haru Oni pilot plant in Chile to keep CO₂ emissions from production as low as possible. Among other things, the electricity required for grid connection and control room stabilisation is sourced exclusively from renewable wind energy. At the same time, CO₂ emissions from transport are offset by CO₂ certificates from South American renewable energy plants for the provision of biogenic CO₂ for eFuel synthesis. This means that, as far as possible, all elements in the supply chain can demonstrate a reduction in CO₂ emissions. HIF has set itself the goal of obtaining the CO₂ required for the synthesis process from a direct air capturing (DAC) plant in the future. Development is being driven forward in collaboration with partners. To minimise the need for grid stabilisation, HIF is also integrating a dynamic battery storage system to act as an energy buffer. This will enable HIF to transfer important findings from the pilot plant to potential series production plants.