1995 Porsche 911 (993) "BiTurbo" #54 Pilots: M. Ligonnet, W. Kaufmann, Y. Hanne Team: Freisinger Motorsport Race: 19th overall (GT1 class) at Le Mans in 1995 Spark - S0993 (resin)
Published 10/05/21
In early 1994, Porsche introduced the new 993 series for the 911. To replace the previous 964, Porsche designed the new 993 from the ground up. According to Stuttgart, only 20% of the parts came from its predecessor; everything else was new. The 993 came with an alloy subframe with coil and wishbone suspension that fixed the 964’s lift-off oversteer. It also was the first 911 to have a 6-speed manual transmission. As planned, one year later Porsche introduced the Turbo version of the 993. The 993 Turbo was the first all-wheel drive Turbo, and it also received a new twin-turbocharged engine. The new M64 engine was an air-cooled 3600 cm³ boxer-6 with SOHC and two turbines. Producing 408 hp and a gigantic torque of 540 Nm, it could reach 290 km/h. At the time, it was the fastest factory 911 ever produced.
Freisinger Motorsport is a German company that has been restoring and tuning Porsches ever since its foundation in 1967. In 1992 they also started racing, initially only in the Porsche Supercup and soon after in the BPR Global GT Endurance Series. With the good results, in 1995 they tried their hand at the 24 Heures du Mans. That year they fielded a “993 BiTurbo”, sporting number #54. The BiTurbo #54 only managed a 19th place overall, the penultimate car to finish. Freisinger persisted in racing and came back to La Sarthe a few more times. In fact, the team managed a second place in class in 2001 and 2002. However, in 2004 when they lost their major sponsor, they quit racing. Nowadays they only work with tuning and restoration of classic Porsches.
So, what the heck is a “993 BiTurbo” 🤨? Porsche never produced a 911 called BiTurbo. After all, the new M64 engine was twin-turbocharged on the Turbo from the factory. What I think happened was that for some reason Freisinger Motorsport registered their 993 as a “BiTurbo”. Maybe because they had to swap the all-wheel drive for rear-wheel drive on their Turbo? At the time, ACO prohibited the use of all-wheel drive. Alternatively, maybe it was a Carrera S or RS with a twin-turbocharged boxer-6? I don’t think it was a 993 GT2, since the GT2 was the racing version of the Turbo (rear-wheel drive and two turbos from the factory). That being so, I infer it was some sort of Frankenstein 993. I will list it as a BiTurbo, but possibly it was just a rear-wheel drive Turbo.
Whatever the reason, this is the only 911 to race at La Sarthe referred to as a BiTurbo. Even so, I would love to know the reason for such a moniker. In scale it looks fantastic (Spark-gorgeous) and is a nice addition to the W-143 Garage. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought it twice… Back in December of 2017 I bought one on eBay and to this day it hasn’t arrived yet. Two weeks ago I found one listed locally and here it is. Not a winner, but with a mysterious enough history to entice me and earn its slot 😉.