The LMP1 car that became the Carrera GT.

The last Carrera GT was sold just 10 years ago - And that felt like a great anniversary that should be acknowledged by Mulholland Racer.

4y ago
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Let’s start at the beginning. Back in the late 1990’s, Porsche was competing at Le Mans with the fabulous 911 GT1 and LMP1-98; with the latter taking out-right victory in 1998. Due to the rule changes in that year, both designs would no longer be eligible at La Sarthe, so Porsche planned a new replacement for 1999 and in to the new millennium.

The still-born Porsche 9R3 LMP900.

The still-born Porsche 9R3 LMP900.

This replacement car was initially planned to be a turbocharged Flat-6, but was later redesigned to take an all-new V10 naturally aspirated engine. This change pushed the project back to ensure it would not be ready until 2000.

Whilst the V10 NA engine was essentially new, it was developed from a secret unit built by Porsche for the ‘Footwork’ Formula One team in 1992. This meant the engine was lightweight and relatively small so it was a great starting point for an LMP1 car. This new project - Porsche 9R3 LMP900 - was cancelled with just two days of testing the new car in 1999. The test drivers at Weissach were Alan McNish and Bob Wolleck and they reported very positively about the cars potential - so it would’ve been quick, but alas we’ll never know how quick.

The Porsche 9R3 LMP900 would only be tested twice at Weissach.

The Porsche 9R3 LMP900 would only be tested twice at Weissach.

Why it was stopped is not completely clear, but two thoughts are that VW Audi Chairman, Ferdinand Piëch, did not want any competition from Porsche for their new R8 Le Mans LMP1 car. It is also understood that Porsche had to re-allocate expertise from the Motorsport team in Weissach to help on the new Cayenne SUV project. A decision that would help fund the Carrera GT production...

The Carrera GT Show Car at the 2000 Paris Motor Show.

The Carrera GT Show Car at the 2000 Paris Motor Show.

After such an incredible amount of development time on the engine and initial designs, Porsche decided to keep the project alive by showing a Carrera GT concept car at the Paris Motor Show - but the main purpose of this car was to draw people to their stand. Porsche had not anticipated the response that the car received - and with the new funds available after the success of the Cayenne, they decided to build it.

The car went on sale in 2004 with a price of $448,000.

A production run of 1,500 cars was planned, but they later announced that they would stop production at 1,270 cars - 644 in the United States and just 49 in the United Kingdom. That makes this an incredibly rare car, especially UK spec models (even though all cars are LHD). The fact that production was stopped before all cars were sold was attributed to a change in USA airbag regulations, but interest in the car had certainly wained by the 2006 cease in production. Lord knows why.

Okay, so it has got a one-off LMP1 spec V10 NA engine, but why else is this car so special? Well a lot of the Le Mans Prototype thinking was carried over to the road car - it has a pure carbon fibre monocoque and subframe; dry sump lubrication and inboard suspension. An Italian composite company was tasked with the chassis production and assembly - ATR Composites Group. It was also fitted with Porsche's latest Carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide (C/SiC) ceramic composite brake system, the 15-inch (380 mm) SGL Carbon disc brakes make an impressive appearance underneath the 19 inch front and 20 inch rear wheels.

Club Mulholland Members car, photographed on Italian Grantour.

Club Mulholland Members car, photographed on Italian Grantour.

The naturally aspirated V10 produces 558 horsepower from the 5.5 litre capacity with 442 lb ft (600Nm) of torque - yet only weighs 214kg. The all-important Top-Trumps numbers stack up well for a car produced at the turn of the century - 0-62mph in less than 4 seconds; 0-125mph in under 10 seconds and a top speed of 205mph+. Still impressive numbers today.

Porsche RS 718 served as design inspiration for the Carrera GT.

Porsche RS 718 served as design inspiration for the Carrera GT.

The design is supposed to echo that of the RS 718 from the early 1960’s, with a very cool manual beechwood gearknob which pays homage to another successful Le Mans racer, the Porsche 917. It was only available in Guards Red, Fayence Yellow, Basalt Black, GT Silver and Seal Grey - though you can see them in other colours now as they’re very simple cars to paint - as all panels bolt on/off. My personal choice would be Basalt Black please. Black interior.

The engine is a true masterpiece, and Porsche Motorsport were always disappointed that their development work on the powerplant never saw the competitive race track - so in 2004 a V8 derivative of the engine was developed for the LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder. This car first raced in 2005 in North America with the ‘Factory’ Penske team and continued to compete until 2010 with privateer teams. The car was so competitive that it even beat the LMP1 Audi R10 TDi at 12 Hours of Sebring in 2008. In fact, the RS Spyder quite frequently beat the LMP1 Audi’s for overall victory… Another special car that we’ll do a feature on soon.

In Club Mulholland, we have quite a few Carrera GT owners and I think it’s a bout time we tried to organise an event to get some Carrera GT’s together in 2017. If you own one and want to be included - let us know in the comments section below.

#CarreraGT #Porsche #PorscheMotorsport #LeMans #24Hours #RSspyder #RS

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Comments (3)

  • Nice write up on the CGT - V10 was enlarged to 5.7ltr producing 612HP/590NM. Yes to a gathering of the CGTs - Would love to get them on the Le Mans at next years Classic meet or Silverstone full GP circuit.

      4 years ago
  • Love this story

      4 years ago
  • I wanted to congratulate you and your tribe on your golden award. Our Small Tribe Focus enjoyed visiting this week and would like to say thank you for being gracious hosts. We can be a little messy but you should be able to resume normal activity now. Always feel free to delete anything you wish not to have posted at your tribe.

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    Ben

      4 years ago
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