The 959 is the engine that makes the most sense to start looking for the origins of the Mezger engine because it was that engine that utilised water cooling for its single piece, four valve per cylinder heads. It was connected to the motor used in the 956/962 Group C vehicles, an older version with practically independent heads for each cylinder, but less closely than some may think.
The 959 engine was created for the 911 GT1 (a mid-engined car that hardly resembled a 911 at all), which in its final GT1-98 configuration would win Le Mans in 1998, some four years after Mezger had left racing.
As a result, Porsche had to decide between modifying the Mezger race engine and using the watercooled engine already present in the 996 version of the 911 to power a new type of street-legal 911 to be known as the GT3. It may not be all that surprising that Porsche chose the latter option given what we now know.
The Mezger engine would eventually be utilized in every 911 from the 996 and 997 eras (each had two distinct generations), including the 500 horsepower 4-liter engine seen in the 997 GT3 RS 4.0 released in 2011. Additionally, up to and including the RSR, racing variants of the 911 were also using it in the meantime.
Additionally, the Mezger engine was also utilized in the Turbo versions of the 996 and first-generation 997, so purchasing a Turbo offers a guarantee that your 996 or 997 will not have any of the problems that affect the others.
What made this engine so outstanding? We admired its strength, the way it delivered torque, how hungry it was for rpm, and how great it sounded. For its robustness, Porsche adored it. I once questioned a senior official at Weissach as to why they were keeping the Mezger engine when it required Porsche to create two completely unique flat six motors with nearly similar outputs. We are familiar with every aspect of that engine; it was built for racing and is virtually unbreakable. Why not utilize it? Which, I suppose, tells you everything you need to know about this engine and its brilliant designer as well.
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Explaining technology: the “Mezger” engine
First off, the term “Mezger engine” is a little misleading because Porsche engines have been built by famed engine builder Hans Mezger since the 1960s. However, the phrase has recently come to be associated with the GT3 engine in the 911 community (up until the introduction of the 991 generation).
The M96/72 “Mezger” engine uses a true dry sump because of its roots in motorsport, in contrast to the M96 and M97 motors with their “integrated dry sump system” (the two-piece crankcase design is, in truth, little more than a modified wet sump).
Oil is drawn from the GT1-derived crankcase by two scavenge pumps in order to prevent oil surge (and a resulting severe drop in pressure) during heavy cornering. This is because the engine was initially built for the twin-turbocharged 911 GT1 Le Mans racer.
Before being pumped through the different oil galleries, the lubricating fluid is transported to a separate, baffled oil tank (attached to the engine) by oil pumps, one of which is located in each cylinder head.
The M96/72 employs a single head per bank, whereas the flat six found in the 962 prototype had separate cylinder heads for each cylinder. The engines are quite similar in terms of design.
Although a lot of work was required to adapt the four-valve head to the 911 GT3’s cylinder size, it is based on the water-cooled 959.
In contrast to the 996 GT3 Mk1, which had a bore of 100mm and a stroke of 76.4mm, the 997 GT3 RS 4.0’s bore had been enlarged to a maximum of 102.7mm, with the final 200cc of the capacity increase being attained with an 80.4mm stroke.
The motor of the GT3 doesn’t experience IMS bearing issues like those of its M96 and M97 brethren because of its focus on racing. The oil pumps are directly powered by the crankshaft whereas the camshafts are still operated by an intermediary shaft in the engine. Additionally, the block from the GT1 features a unique oil gallery design that guarantees the IMS bearing is always kept lubricated.
The best approach to brush up on Porsche’s increasingly sophisticated engineering is to use our online “technology explained” features. Go here to read them all.
Porsches were powered by Hans Mezger’s legacy until the early 2010s.
Despite the fact that Hans Mezger retired in the mid-1990s, his ideas persisted up until a few years ago. Porsche utilized Mezgers’ two-part aluminum crankcase design for its high-performance engines up until 2011. With a whopping 500 horsepower, the Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 is without a doubt the apex of the legendary Mezger engines.
“One of the most significant engineers in the history of our company is Hans Mezger. Within forty years, Hans Mezger-designed engines in Porsche race cars went on to win races, making the Porsche name synonymous with sporty vehicles worldwide.” Former Porsche Chief Development Officer Wolfgang Durheimer
We submit to a man who seems to have an infinite supply of ideas. Engineer Hans Mezger is known across the world for his powerful, dependable engines that excite every petrolhead. Many people are still inspired to work hard every day by the sound of a Mezger engine in order to realize their dream of owning a Porsche sports vehicle. Thank you Hans Mezger for creating automotive pornography, which will hopefully keep future generations up at night.
The masterpiece by Mezger is once more on the move.
Hans Mezger always wished he could have driven his 911 Carrera 3.0 again, but he didn’t survive to see his wish come true. His son Oliver carried out his wish a year after his passing.
Oliver remembers hearing his father enter the house before he did as a child. The family’s home was located on a hill with an 18% inclination. The small youngster simply required the sound of the six-cylinder boxer engine to fall asleep when Hans Mezger had worked late at the office and was still awake in bed. His father had designed the engine. “I would be dozing off by the time he ascended the hill. Even though my father worked a lot during the week, Sundays were a special day for our family “Oliver Mezger is recalled. Occasionally, a Formula One race would take place on a Sunday, and on those occasions, he would bring his kid along. “My sister and I never experienced a sense of being left out. He was always there for us while our father was at home, “He claims. His children had many pleasant recollections of Hans Mezger’s career at Porsche because he was an extremely calm and down to earth person. The 57-year-old, who was periodically permitted to visit the test track in Weissach, recalls how thrilling it was when he brought home assessments of test bench runs. “My father worked closely with 20 to 25 individuals in small teams, and they were a tight-knit group. Its reputation as the “Porsche family” is not unjustified. They frequently remained there into the night, deliberating.”
At Porsche, Hans Mezger was the undisputed engine expert. He created the air-cooled six-cylinder boxer engine for the 911 as well as the Le Mans-winning 12-cylinder 917 engine. He first tested the turbo engine on the racetrack before putting it into mass production. With the help of his TAG Turbo, Niki Lauda and Alain Prost won the Formula One World Championship. He purchased a 911 Carrera 3.0 in Grand Prix White in October 1979, a car that had been used at Weissach as a test vehicle. For the rest of his life, he retained it.
Porsche stopped utilizing the Mezger engine when?
By the time the 997 GT3 RS 4.0 of 2011 came out, the last genuine Mezger engine had already been retired for almost two decades.
Which vehicles use Mezger engines?
When Mezger started installing blowers on 911s in 1974, he became heavily involved in turbocharging. The turbocharged flat-six that would power the 935, 956, and 962, among other vehicles, and deliver Porsche many, many race victories was influenced by the Can-Am 917s and 911 RSR. This in turn led to the road-going 911 Turbo.
When Porsche enthusiasts refer to the “Mezger engine,” they typically mean the water-cooled flat-six engine built for the 911 GT3, GT2, and Turbo models from the 996 and 997 model years. Although Mezger retired years before these cars were produced, this engine can be directly linked to his race-winning flat-sixes from the 1970s. The legendary 997 GT3 RS 4.0 was the final 911 to employ this engine.
Despite this, Mezger claimed that the 1.5-litre turbocharged V6 Porsche engine created for the McLaren Formula One team in the 1980s was the work of which he was most pleased. It won 25 races, two constructors’ titles, and three drivers’ titles (Alain Prost won two in 1985 and 1986 and Nicki Lauda won one in 1984).
Porsche’s head of R&D and motorsport, Michael Steiner, said: “We are grateful to Hans Mezger for his outstanding engineering accomplishments, which he made for Porsche and motorsport in general. His improvements to our line of sports automobiles will never be forgotten.”
The most recent Mezger engine?
The final example of this class was the 997.1 Turbo. The 911 GT1 is the basis for the 3.8-liter flax-six engine, which has 473 horsepower and is the final turbocharged Mezger engine. That alone makes it distinctive, but the particulars make it even more so.
Is the Mezger engine M97?
Up until the very end, the 997 GT cars (997 GT2 and 997 GT3) utilised Mezger design engines. The M96. 7x and M97. 7x engines are Mezger designs and are unrelated to the “M96” and “M97” Carerra engines, so don’t be misled by the engine numbers.
The fastest Porsche model?
It comes as no surprise that the 911 Turbo is among the top 5 quickest Porsche models now on the market. This type has been in production for many years. It debuted in the 1960s and was powered by an air-cooled flat-6 that produced 130 horsepower for the rear wheels. The first turbocharged vehicle didn’t take long to appear, in 1975.
The quickest and most potent Porsche 911 to date is the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S. It handles even better and is just as quick as a supercar. It has a 3.7-liter flat-six twin-turbocharged engine that is capable of 640 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. A quarter-mile at 137 mph can be completed by the Porsche 911 Turbo S in an impressive 10.1 seconds.
Car and Driver said that when testing the Porsche 911 Turbo S from the 992-generation, it took only 2.2 seconds to reach 60 mph, despite the fact that the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S can sprint from 0 – 60 mph in 2.6s!