Few things captivate the imagination of a true gearhead more than watching a crew member zing off a center locking wheel nut during a pit stop. Just about every guy dreams of jumping the wall with one of those monster air guns and blasting his way through a tire change. This obsession goes way back to the early days of racing, when wheels were beaten on and off with a heavy mallet. Too cool.

With a long and storied racing history, Porsche obviously understands how cool this is and have developed the new RS Spyder rim for modern 911 Turbo models. Based on the same design as used on the RS Spyder race cars, these unique spoked wheels use a cartridge system to keep things locked in place.

These rims can be purchased for existing 911 Turbo models and will be available as an option beginning in January 2009.

See more images and read the Porsche press release after the break
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It’s a little bit funny hanging out in the lobby bar of a hotel in one’s home town, but here I am as it was the only place I could find wireless and a cool pint. So why am I wandering downtown Tdot? Simple: I’m spending the evening at Roy Thompson Hall with the folks from Porsche Canada, Pfaff Porsche and Penske Racing. Oh yes, don’t forget the ALMS LMP2 class winning RS Spyder and drivers Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard.

All these cool people are getting together to show off the new technical package on tap for this weekend’s Grand Prix of Mosport. You can be sure that I’ll be sharing some stories and a bunch of photos later tonight or tomorrow.

The shot above was taken in the paddock at Lime Rock Park earlier this summer.