Iconic Porsche 911s to race on the streets of Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Sure, you'll see purpose-built race cars at the upcoming Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, but you'll also see very familiar cars on the track.

One of the six events is the Porsche Cup, where competitors race a version of the iconic 911. The GT3 Cup makes for a very good racecar, but it's very, very similar to the 911 GT3, a street legal car anyone can buy.

"One good thing that Porsche's good at is that the street cars are so raceable. We as racers have a great platform to build race cars from," said Volker Holzmeyer, President and CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America.

How similar? The flat-six engines are basically the same, making over 500 horsepower without the use of turbocharging, and everywhere you look, the street version and race version are essentially the same Porsche.

"The cup car and the street car are built on the same production line. The engine is basically exactly the same engine that we run in the race car and the GT3 street car," noted Holzmeyer.

Of course, the racecar has modifications, namely safety equipment for track use. The street GT3 has some luxuries, like automatic climate control and a nice sound system. You can also spec fixed-angle carbon fiber bucket seats for a race car feel, though their steep sides do make climbing in and out a bit of a challenge.

Once you're strapped in, for the most part, you're driving the same car you'll see on the streets of Long Beach, and at other venues during the eight-race season. With Porsche being so popular in California, many Porsche enthusiasts can cheer on their favorite car brand from the stands.

Porsche says that a fair number of their sports car customers actually take their cars out to the track.

Some get so into it that they want to upgrade to the ultimate street-legal track car and then some want to take it even further.

It just takes money.

The Porsche 911 GT3 is not inexpensive, at sticker prices approaching the $200,000 mark. Want a cup car? Its sticker price is nearly $285,000.

Then there's the cost to go racing, which really add up, but the company is happy to help.

"Porsche Motorsport North America is a customer-pleasing company. So anyone can come up to us and ask to buy a car," said Holzmeyer.

Again, with the substantial funds necessary to do some actual racing in the Porsche Cup.

Of course it doesn't cost much to watch the cars going around the track and it's fun knowing that they're something identifiable, which you may see out on the road.