Nick Twork, portavoce di Porsche AG, ha dichiarato che Porsche sostituirà tutti i motori installati sulla produzione della 991 GT3.
La decisione arriva dopo i recenti casi di esemplari andati a fuoco in Europa e la decisione di correre ai ripari. bloccando le consegne e invitando i proprietari a non mettere in moto il loro esemplare ma di attendere un intervento diretto del Centro Porsche più vicino.
“Stiamo attualmente verificando le parti sostituite sul motore della 911 GT3 e sostituiremo tutti i motori prodotti fino a oggi“. Twork non fornisce dettagli sulla tempistica ma preferisce porre l’attenzione sull’operazione di totale trasparenza attuata dalla Casa Madre.
Sul noto forum di discussione RennTeam viene riportata una lettera a firma di Tim Quinn, Vice Presidente After Sales di Porsche North America, che indica specificamente la causa del problema in una vite di biella difettosa che danneggia irreparabilmente il blocco motore:
“As advised previously, engineers at Porsche AG have been conducting technical analysis of the Porsche 911 GT3 engine in order to find a solution to the problem which led us to recommend you stop driving your car.
This analysis is now completed, and we would like to inform you about the cause of the problem and the planned remedial actions.
As already communicated, two vehicles in Europe suffered engine damage, causing the vehicles to catch fire.
Analysis has revealed that in both cases the engine damage was caused by a loosened piston rod screw connection which damaged the crankcase. In order to avoid this in the future, an optimized screw connection is currently being tested. For the final validation of this solution, Porsche AG is currently carrying out extensive tests.
At Porsche we are rigorous when implementing an engineering solution, therefore, after the successful testing and validation we will be installing new engines with optimized piston rod screw connections in all 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 vehicles.
Due to the complexity of the necessary arrangement, we are currently unable to provide you with a specific workshop date for your Porsche 911 GT3. We will be arranging an appointment with you individually, as soon as the logistics planning is finalized. We will be providing you with additional information within the next three weeks.
We continue to remain committed to supporting your individual needs during this time.
Your personal contact person will make contact with you within the next days to discuss individual solutions to bridge the gap until you are reunited with your Porsche 911 GT3.
Thank you very much for your patience and your loyalty to the Porsche brand.”
Gli utenti del forum fanno notare come questo tipo di dichiarazione rappresenti solo una “mezza verità” poiché non dice se il problema affligge anche la stessa biella del pistone. In altri termini, parlare di “vite di collegamento” della biella, secondo alcuni, equivale a chiamare in causa la biella stessa.