Highlights from the Event:

• The ONLY car to score 5 Stars in Driveability & Durability 2 years in a row!
• The fastest car through the Road Course during the event.
• Best Braking from 150-0 mph!
• Entire event run on standard Michelin Pilot Street Tires!
• The ONLY car to drive 11hours from Virginia to Michigan for the event, and then 11 hours home getting 25 mpg!
• "The Autothority Porsche was my favorite car to drive!"
  - Car & Driver Reporter
• "I knew your car would be the one we would have to beat!"
  - John Lingenfelter

After finishing 4th Place last year, with one of our customers cars, we were more than happy to re-enter one of the most challenging street car events there is. Last year we were not given enough notice to take one of our own cars to the challenge. Instead we contacted a customer, Melvin Baggs, who has one of our Stage III 993's. He was more than willing to take his car and represent Autothority for the event.

This year we were contacted in advance by the nice folks at Car & Driver. It was decided that we would in fact enter the challenge again this year, but this time we wanted to bring our own car. The development of our Stage V Porsche 996 Twin Turbo got put into over drive.

After reviewing statistics from last year, we knew that we had to bring a car that was putting out well over 600hp. We also knew that the car would have to handle well. The motor was removed and disassembled, the suspension was taken apart, and various body panels were removed. We decided to upgrade the look of the car with a GT2 Style Carbon-Kevlar front bumper and wing combination. The improved aerodynamics of the GT2 Styling, we felt, would be a big advantage when getting the car to achieve the speeds the test required. The suspension consists of an H&R Coil-Over kit that has been re-valved and had the spring rates changed to custom specs. Tires were also a major factor considering the event required the use of D.O.T. approved street tires. Our choice was the Michelin Pilot Sport. Last but not least was our motor, and oh what a motor it turned out to be!

Every aspect of the motor was taken apart and inspected. Many hours of fabrication and test fitting would go into producing a car that put out close to 750hp! To obtain this type of power, the internals of the motor had to be strengthened. The critical part of this equation would be the connecting rods. It was determined that to run the amount of boost we wished to run, and produce a motor with over 700hp, we would require a rod like no other. The decision was made to use rods made out of Titanium. Not only does this help in handling the power, but the weight savings of rotating mass inside the motor were tremendous. The next line of focus would be the turbo chargers, intake piping, intercoolers and cams. Our motor now utilizes custom fabricated charge piping, larger turbo's, hi-flow intercoolers, and more aggressive cams. The final key factor of the project came in the way of ECU tuning. In conjunction with tuners TTP of Germany, the car was put back together and was off to the dyno for testing. At the dyno, the car would make over 60 pulls and run for over 3 hours without stopping. When the tuning session was finished, our 996 had put down 630hp to the wheels on 92 octane gas, which converts to right about 750 crank horsepower!

With the car complete, it was challenge time. After reading the article from last year and seeing how much the Car & Driver staff loved how streetable our car was, the decision was made that we would drive the car from Virginia to Michigan. We were the only tuners that would not tow the vehicle in a trailer. When we arrived in Michigan, we were pleased to see a parking lot full of trailers and super cars. Registration began promptly at 8am. There would be 15 cars that would enter the challenge. There were numerous high-powered Corvettes and Dodge Vipers. There was also a full carbon fiber bodied car that weighed in at only 2100 lbs. This first event would be the drivability test. At least 4 members of the Car & Driver staff would drive each car around town for at least 10-20 miles. The purpose was to see how drivable the high-powered monsters were on the street. It was no surprise to us that at the catered lunch, we over heard a few of the Car & Driver staff commenting that they liked our car the best. We made sure that we left the radio on for them when they went on their drive!

The next day is when the real fireworks began. The event would be a true test of handling, acceleration, and braking. The course consisted of the following in a single timed run: 0-60, quarter mile, road course, run to 150 mph, 150-0. Each car would get a total of 5 runs. We were very excited when after the first run we were in second place with a 3 second advantage over third place. After run 2, however, things would change. We leaped into first place taking an advantage of 1 second over second place. Our car would only vary tenths of a second over the next 3 runs. Our Stage V car was the most consistent out of any other car in the competition. It would take the good fellas at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering their very last run to try and beat our time. The tension was over whelming. Out of the 15 cars, we would go 11th. Again, we posted a great time, the best of the event. It would go down to the wire, as the defending champions of the event had yet to go. The Lingenfelter 800hp Twin Turbo Corvette had one last shot, and what a shot it was. Their car would squeak us out by 8/10 of a second. The margin of victory was so little that if you blink, you missed it. Our hats go off to the the entire Lingenfelter crew for making the event a run to the finish.

The honor of being invited to such an event is one that we are very proud of. We left the event with our heads high. Our 750hp Autothority Stage V 996 Twin Turbo finished Second place out of 15 cars. We were the only car to receive a 5 star rating in drivability. Our car was the fastest through the road course and had the best braking. We drove our car 11 hours to the event, and 11 hours home, and managed to get 25 mpg. There is not much more we could have asked for, but next year we plan to leave with the title!

If you would like more information on the Stage Kits we offer, please feel free to contact us by e-mail at sales@autothority.com or by phone at 703.323.6000 ext. 405

* All test were performed on Michelin Pilot Sport D.O.T. Approved Street Tires.