Porsche Cars Great Britain enters Rallye Transsyberia
Porsche Cars Great Britain will once again enter the gruelling Rallye Transsyberia in 2008. This is the second year that a UK team will participate in the event with the Cayenne S ‘Transsyberia’. The car will begin this extraordinary journey from Red Square in Moscow on July 11, and drive over 4347 miles, crossing the Ural, the Altai Mountains and passing the Gobi desert to finish in Ulaanbaatar – the capital city of Mongolia – on July 25.The Porsche Cars Great Britain Cayenne S Transsyberia was the first to reach Mongolia in 2007, and to build on this record, the UK will be represented by professional rally driver, Martin Rowe (37) from Deddington, Oxfordshire, who will be joined by fellow rally driver and automotive engineer, Richard Tuthill (34) also from Deddington, as co-driver and navigator.
Over the course of the Rallye, teams will drive on both tarmac and gravel surfaces, as well as sand and rugged off-road terrain, while the weather will also present tremendous challenge with every likelihood of flooded river crossings, high-altitude snow blizzards and scorching sand storms.
The sheer variety of terrain and climate that drivers will experience during the Rallye presents a formidable test and, in response to this, Porsche has further developed the special Transsyberia version of the Cayenne S. The upgrade for 2008 is mainly concentrated upon improving the off-road capabilities and optimising the suspension set-up. This includes an even stronger sump–guard, and front and rear panel modifications to allow a larger approach and departure angle when driving up and down slopes. The Cayenne S Transsyberia is also now fitted with new specification off-road tyres – BFGoodrich 265/65 R18.
Under the skin, the driver-oriented chassis of the Porsche Cayenne has been designed to combine sports car handling on the road with the added versatility of extreme agility off-road. The engine features direct petrol injection to provide more power and performance on less fuel, cutting petrol consumption by up to 15 per cent. Another highlight is Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) featuring two active anti-roll bars to almost completely eliminate body roll when cornering. The PDCC also delivers maximum axle articulation when driving off-road, serving to further improve the already superior traction offered by the electronically-controlled Porsche Traction Management (PTM) all-wheel drive transmission.
The Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia model epitomises this breadth of ability. Built in a small series, each car comes with a variety of modifications including those specific all-terrain tyres, a safety roll cage, a shorter transmission final drive ratio, a transverse differential lock, a larger reinforced under-body protection, and strengthened track control arms on the front axle. At 385bhp (283kW), output of the 4.8-litre eight-cylinder petrol engine remains unchanged.
In total, more than 35 teams from 22 nations will be competing for the coveted prize of being the fastest to reach the chequered flag in Mongolia.
The UK team’s progress, as well as that of the Rallye, can be followed via porsche.com/uk/transsyberia2008.
