In 2005, Porsche returned to sports prototype racing after a six-year absence, debuting its RS Spyder in the American LeMans Series LMP2 class. In 2006, its first full season, the Porsche RS Spyder dominated the ALMS LMP2 class, easily taking home the class championship.

The car was so good that it repeated this feat in 2007 and 2008, and also took home class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008 and 2009. As if that weren’t impressive enough, RS Spyders claimed the first two podium spots in the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring, beating the  Audi R10 TDI (in the faster LMP1 class) in the process.

Sadly, 2011 rule changes to the ALMS LMP2 class made the car obsolete, and it retired at the end of the 2010 season after racking up a lifetime record of 13 wins and 10 pole positions over 63 outings, according to Wikipedia.

While you can no longer see Porsche RS Spyders in wheel-to-wheel competition, the automaker was kind enough to put up this video of an RS Spyder lapping the famed Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.

The car is driven by Jeroen Bleekemolen, who picked up a 2008 class victory at  Le Mans behind the wheel of a Porsche RS Spyder. Enjoy the video, which gives you a good idea of how fast the RS Spyder was and how challenging the Bathurst circuit is.