2007 Porsche RS Spyder Spyder

Porsche won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998 with the 911 GT1 and would not return to La Sarthe for many years. When it did, it was with a new sports prototype racer dubbed the Type 9R6, more commonly known as the RS Spyder. A surprise to many, it was designed to compete in the Le Mans Prototype Class 2 (LMP2), rather than the top category of LMP1. This was strategic, however, as Porsche did not have a diesel model in production, and LMP1 strongly favored diesel-powered machines. Secondly, Porsche wanted to develop a racecar that could be campaigned by privateers and would complement its highly successful 911 RSR and Cup cars. The U.S. market was also instrumental in the decision as the IMSA's American Le Mans Series (ALMS) had rules influenced by the Le Man's classifications and had competition in both LMP categories.

The first RS Spyder, chassis 000, was first driven at the test track at Weissach in Germany in June 2005. It had been developed in just a few months, having gone from the drawing board to reality in a very short amount of time. Design and development inspiration was drawn from the company's road car 918 Spyder program, which used a V-8 engine developed from the championship-winning LMP2 racing car.

Porsche built six updated Evo-specification RS Spyders for the 2007 racing season and this particular example is the second example constructed. It was tested in October of 2006 at Weissach and then delivered to Penske Racing's headquarters in North Carolina the following month. In March of 2007, it made its racing debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring, after setting the fourth fastest time during the January test days.

At Sebring, the car was piloted by Sascha Maassen, Ryan Briscoe, and Emmanuel Collard and wore race number 6. When the checkered flag fell, the car was in 23rd place overall and 8th in class. Later that month, Briscoe and Massen placed 3rd Overall and won the LMP2 Class at St. Petersburg, Florida. In April, they finished 2nd Overall in Porsche's 1-2-3 sweep at Long Beach, California, followed by a 4th Overall, 3rd in Class result at Houston. This was followed by back-to-back overall victories at Salt Lake City in May and then at Lime Rock, Connecticut, in July. At Mid-Ohio in late July, Maassen and Briscoe placed 2nd Overall, followed by a 4th Overall and 2nd in Class result at Road America, and then 3rd Overall and 2nd in Class at Mosport. After races at Detroit and Petit Le Mans, the RS Spyder finished the 2007 ALMS season in 4th Overall and 2nd in Class. The car's primary drivers, Maassen and Briscoe, also tied for 3rd Place in the driver's standings with 186 points each. The DHL Porsche Penske Racing team easily won the LMP2 championship with 251 total points.

This RS Spyder saw little use during the 2008 season. It raced at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October where it wore race number 5 and was driven by Ryan Briscoe and Hélio Castroneves, finishing 1st in Class and 4th Overall. The final race for the RS Spyder took place later that month at the ALMS season finale at Laguna Seca, where Briscoe and Castroneves once again drove it, placing 6th Overall and 4th in Class.

The car was sold to Christian Zugel and remained in his care until 2014, when the current caretaker acquired it. In September 2015, 9R6.702 returned to Laguna Seca to take part in Rennsport Reunion V. It was driven by Jeroen Bleekemolen and won the Group 6 race, setting the fastest lap of the race and the entire weekend.

In 2018, this RS Spyder was shown at Rennsport Reunion VI.

Between 2005 and 2008, Porsche built 17 RS Spyders. Among the accolades they achieved were winning three consecutive ALMS championships, plus an overall victory at Sebring and two class wins at Petit Le Mans. This particular example was an integral part of Penske Racing's back-to-back ALMS championships, capturing two outright wins and four additional podium finishes in 2007.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022

This is one of Team Penske's 500 hp 3.4 liter V-8 Porsche RS Spyders that raced in the 2007 IMSA American Le Mans Series clinching the LMP2 class championship. This Team Penske car raced the full 12-race season schedule logging overall victories at Miller Motorsports Park in the Utah Grand Prix (Salt Lake City) and the Northeast Grand Prix (Lime Rock Park, CT) and scoring nine podium finishes driven by Ryan Briscoe and Sascha Maassen. In 2008 it raced twice in the ALMS championship series winning the LMP2 class at Petit Le Mans driven by Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe with the Team Penske RS Spyders clinching the ALMS LMP2 Championship for a second consecutive year.