9 minutes and 11 seconds isn’t a long time to tell a single story, much less five. Despite that, Porsche has taken on the challenge of telling five unique stories each month with their 9:11 visual magazine. This month, the theme is water- mostly rain, but also the indomitable force of the sea itself.
The Passage du Gois seemingly has very little to do with the 911. This ~2.5 mile causeway floods twice each day with the coming of high tide. Though it has twice hosted the Tour de France, and annually holds a foot race against the rising tide, it is not a motorsports venue. What it is, however, is nearly-continually wet.
This is key, as the latest 911s incorporate a new wet weather mode. Uniquely, this new mode senses the severity of conditions with acoustic sensors in the wheelwells. In addition to the long-standing modes included with PASM, the new wet mode makes a variety of tweaks for optimal wet-weather performance and safety. The new system opens the cooling vents, raises the rear spoiler, and softens throttle response, but retains the full power and performance of the car.
This theme of wet-weather capability pervades the video. The R Gruppe is visited in the rain, with black sheets of rain sloughing off the surfaces of a variety of air-cooled Porsches. Hans Joachim Stuck’s 1987 appearance at Le Mans is highlighted, drawing attention to both the varied and went conditions, and to to his legendary 9-star crash helmet.
We know that Porsches thrive in the wet, but it takes someone perhaps less-than-sensible to drive so swiftly in the rain. Fortunately, the current crop of Porsche GT drivers have proven they have Ickx-style mettle.
The video closes with Porsche’s triumph at Spa, where the Porsche GT team clinched the manufacturer’s championship a full round prior to the end of the season. Even though the team didn’t claim a GT-class victory at Le Mans, they closed the season a full 94 points ahead of Ferrari in the manufacturer’s standings.