Wrapping of the Porsche 911 RSR

How to wrap a Porsche race car

From black carbon-fibre bodyshell to sensational racing car wrap

14 August 2023

At Manthey-Racing, Porsche Racing Experience's Porsche 911 RSR is transformed into a true visual masterpiece

Maximum performance, pure driving pleasure

Jörg Bergmeister stands by the brightly coloured race car as it's being covered with transparent film. He smiles as he looks at the yellow-white-blue racer. Even sitting still, it looks fast. As a Porsche brand ambassador, he oversees the visual transformation process up to the final finish of the car.

Car wrapping is done by hand — Like the RSR itself, which was built in the Weissach factory, everything is expertly handcrafted during the wrapping process

When it rolled out of the production hall in Weissach four years ago, it was nothing less than the perfect GT car. Created for the ultimate track challenges. It is considered the most uncompromising GT racing car Porsche has ever built. This second iteration of the Porsche 911 RSR is based on the 991, and it’s been sharpened once again. It’s the result of passion and technology, a fusion of love and expert engineering. No other Porsche racing car boasts as many superlatives as this RSR. The model standing in front of us in the workshop competed at races in Mexico, the Nürburgring, the USA, Fuji and Shanghai… and many more. But first, before it turns a wheel on the race track, it’s time for a wrap (and not of the lunch variety).

The carbon fibre is cleaned before applying foil to it — One very important step in the wrapping process is carefully cleaning all the RSR’s carbon fibre parts. That’s pretty much the whole thing…

The beauty and the beast

Workshop manager Zlatko and his small team were given the job of a full body wrap. Their mission: the vehicle must cause mouths to drop when it roars across the tarmac. But it’s a mission on a tight time frame. The job must be completed in two days. Now that the specialists have received the design from Michelin, the tyre partner of Porsche Motorsport and Porsche Experience, the car wrappers can work their magic.

Foil is peeled off the car body — Team Manthey wraps the Porsche 911 RSR in an attractive racing livery

A distinctive charisma on the track

Bonnets, doors, mirrors, wings, side panels, aerial, roof hatch and sills are dismantled in advance. After all, perfection is in the preparation, and nothing should disrupt the metamorphosis from attractive to jaw-dropping. Motorsport work is team work.

White and yellow base film is applied to the body — During the first steps of applying foil, you really can’t anticipate how the car is going to look in the end. Only Team Manthey can

A white base film is first applied across the entire body, before being gently blow-dried. Then the air bubbles between the carbon and film are carefully removed with a blade. It may look easy. It's anything but.

The iconic Porsche RSR lettering is being wiped clean — The iconic Porsche RSR receives the finishing touch from Team Manthey

Piece by piece, the iconic RSR takes on a new form. Yellow follows white, then the car wrappers pull blue foil from the roll. The pros carefully cut out air intakes with the knife without touching the body of the racing car. The same goes for the logo of the tyre partner, which sits on the impressive rear wing.

Porsche 911 RSR in Werkstatt — After two days, the RSR is perfectly wrapped. Ready for its first outing on the racetrack

Finally, the lettering and finishing details are added before the entire racing car is covered with a transparent protective film. This helps the car to withstand the impact of stones, and also allows it to be wiped down with brake cleaner to remove sticky tyre rubber residue that’s thrown up from the tyres being pushed to the edge. And that' s it! The white-blue-yellow ambassador is now ready for action, designed to ensure drivers’ eyes are locked on the car even in hectic racing traffic situations. Or in rivals' rear-view mirrors. Jörg's little boy also likes the livery. No wonder. The three-year-old is a big fan of the Michelin man. The roll gate opens. All Jörg has to do now is to start the engine.

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