The Porsche 909 "Bergspyder" was a spyder sports car designed and built by Porsche in 1968. Its purpose was to compete in hillclimbing competitions, specifically the EHCC Sports Car (Gr. P) class of the European Hillclimb Championship. It was a short-lived model, but its basic structure, technical innovations, and overall design became the basis for the successful 908/3.

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Porsche 909 Bergspyder
Porsche 909 Bergspyder photographed in 1981
Overview
Manufacturer	Porsche
Production	1968
Body and chassis
Body style	Spyder
Powertrain
Engine	2.0L Type 771 flat-eight engine
Power output	275 hp (205 kW)
Dimensions
Curb weight	384 kg (847 lb)

History

Porsche had reigned champion with earlier models, the 910, 907, and 908, winning nine European Hillclimb Championship titles out of eleven years of participation. After being defeated two years in a row, Ferrari decided to develop a dedicated hillclimb car to challenge Porsche in 1967. This car was the 212 E Montagna, and was announced to compete in the coming championship in 1968. Despite this initial claim, the car's development was postponed, and was ultimately introduced in 1969. Still, given the shocking news, Ferdinand Piëch and his team of engineers at Porsche urgently developed a model to battle their rival, Ferrari.

Once the car was developed, Porsche driver Rolf Stommelen, drove the 909 Bergspyder in two races in the European Hillclimb Championship and proved its rapid pace. He placed 2nd and 3rd despite recently recovering from an arm injury. Porsche driver Gerhard Mitter preferred the Porsche 910/8, which was older but remained competitive as the Porsche 909 Bergspyder was said to be a handful to drive and could be unreliable. Despite only mediocre success, the pair of cars still dominated the 1968 European Hillclimb Championship, with Mitter's Porsche 910/8 placing first in the EHCC Sports Car (Gr. P) class.

Although Porsche had achieved lots of success, the development of the 917 used in the pursuit of winning Le Mans, the World Sportscar Championship, and eventually Can-Am, took precedent over participation in the European Hillclimb Championship. This allowed the Ferrari 212 E, a heavier but more powerful car, to completely outmatch its peers in the 1969 European Hill Climb Championship. In fact, it didn't just win overall, it won every race it entered and set many course records. [1]

In all, the 909 Bergspyder performed well despite its drawbacks, and above all else, was a radical and invaluable piece of engineering that played a crucial role in informing Porsche's future racing projects.

Construction and performance

This effort resulted in the 909 Bergspyder. It was equipped with the 2.0 L, 275 hp (205 kW) Type 771 flat-eight engine, derived from Porsche's earlier efforts in Formula 1. The power unit was coupled to an extremely lightweight spaceframe chassis made of aluminum. The car also featured non-magnetic, exotic, and even dangerous metals like beryllium, titanium, silver, and magnesium, in the pursuit of shaving weight. No steel was used in the 909. To give an idea of what lengths the engineers went to with the 909, the fiberglass body weighed just 10 kg (22 lb), and the car utilized a pressurized titanium ball instead of a fuel pump in order to save weight. Remarkably, this is only a summary of the long list of innovations that Piëch and his team of engineers made for the 909, as they go beyond saving weight. The car weighed an astonishing 385 kg (849 lb) and was capable of a blistering 0-60 mph time of 2.4 seconds. The car also showcased a body with canards and two holes in the front, presumably for downforce and some form of cooling respectively, as well as a completely smooth front-end.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Porsche 909 Bergspyder.

• International Model Car Association: Porsche 908
• Porsche: Porsche 909 Bergspyder
• Porsche 909 Bergspyder

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