1999 Porsche 911 vs. 2016 VW GTI Drag Race – Project Porsche Ep. 6 [Video]

In this special episode of Project Porsche, it is old vs new. Can an old 1999 Porsche 911 keep up with a new 2016 VW Golf GTI? The 911 may have more power, but is it quicker than a turbocharged GTI one mile above sea level where normally aspirated cars struggle in the thinner atmosphere. Watch this episode of Project Porsche to find out the answer.

hp loss = (elevation x 0.03 x hp @ sea level)/1000

The venue for this test was Bandimere Speedway near Denver, Colorado, which sits 5,800 feet above sea level. Using the equation above and the factory horsepower rating for a ’96 911 Carrera, the horsepower loss is approximately 51. This handicaps the Porsche to roughly 245 horsepower versus the GTI’s turbocharged 2.0-liter engine rated at 210 horsepower.

The ’96 Carrera weighs 2,901 pounds, which gives it a power-to-weight ratio of 0.8 horsepower per 10 pounds. The 2016 VW GTI weighs 2,972 pounds with a manual transmission and is calculated at 0.7 horsepower per 10 pounds. On paper, the older 911 still has the power advantage — even one mile above sea level. But can it hold off the turbocharged GTI at the finish line?

If you want to see more performance results of the Porsche, watch episode 5 of Project Porsche to find out which is the better car on the road course and in a flat-out, straight line drag race against other Porsches.

Thanks to Adam Jaspers at Rennstall Classic Cars for technical assistance and TFL test car driver, Paul Gerrard for is pro-driving advice.