Porsche 911 GT3

The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car primarily intended for racing. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3 is named after the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Group GT3 class in which it was designed to compete.

A number of variations, designed for road and track duty, have been introduced since its launch in 1999. More than 14,000 911 GT3 cars have been produced.

The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national Porsche Carrera Cup series, and the international Porsche Supercup. It has won championship and endurance races, including the GT class of the American Le Mans Series seven times, first overall in the 24 Hours of Daytona, and first overall at the 24 Hours Nürburgring six times.

Road cars

996 GT3

996.1 GT3

The "GT3" nameplate was introduced in 1999 as part of the first generation of the Porsche 996 model range (commonly known as 996.1). As with Porsche's previous 911 RS models, the 996 GT3 was focused on racing, and so was devoid of items that added unnecessary weight to the car. Sound deadening was almost completely removed, as were the rear seats, rear loud speakers, sunroof, and air conditioning, although automatic air conditioning and CD/radio became no-cost optional add-ons.

Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 (pronounced Nine Eleven or German: Neunelf) is a two-door, 2+2 high performance sports car made since 1963 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted six cylinder boxer engine and all round independent suspension. It has undergone continuous development, though the basic concept has remained little changed. The engines were air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998, with Porsche's "993" series, produced in model years 1995-1998, being the last of the air-cooled Porsches.

The 911 has been modified by private teams and by the factory itself for racing, rallying, and other forms of automotive competition. It is among the most successful competition cars. In the mid-1970s, naturally aspirated 911 Carrera RSRs won major world championship sports car races such as Targa Florio, Daytona, Sebring, and Nürburgring, even against prototypes. The 911-derived 935 turbo also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979.

In the 1999 international poll for the award of Car of the Century, the 911 came fifth. It is one of two in the top five that had remained continuously in production (the original Beetle remained in production until 2003), and was until 1998 a successful surviving application of the air- (now water-) cooled opposed rear-engine layout pioneered by its ancestor, the Volkswagen Beetle. It is one of the oldest sports coupé nameplates still in production, and 820,000 had been sold by the car's 50th anniversary in 2013. "Around 150,000 911 cars from the model years 1964 to 1989 are still on the road today."

Research and development

Research and Development (R&D), also known in Europe as research and technical (or technological) development (RTD), is a general term for activities in connection with corporate or governmental innovation. R&D is a component of Innovation and is situated at the front end of the Innovation lifecycle. Innovation builds on R&D and includes commercialization phases. The activities that are classified as R&D differ from company to company, but there are two primary models, with an R&D department being either staffed by engineers and tasked with directly developing new products, or staffed with industrial scientists and tasked with applied research in scientific or technological fields which may facilitate future product development. In either case, R&D differs from the vast majority of corporate activities in that it is not often intended to yield immediate profit, and generally carries greater risk and an uncertain return on investment.

Background

New product design and development is more often than not a crucial factor in the survival of a company. In an industry that is changing fast, firms must continually revise their design and range of products. This is necessary due to continuous technology change and development as well as other competitors and the changing preference of customers. Without an R&D program, a firm must rely on strategic alliances, acquisitions, and networks to tap into the innovations of others.