The 911 GT1: A Different Breed of Porsche
Daily Slideshow: Once upon a time, Porsche gave up the 911's historic rear-engine design to create a Le Mans-winning racer. Here's the story of the amazing 911 GT1.
Sports Car Racing
In the mid-1990s, as the passion for sports car racing was on the rise, Porsche gave in to their itch to get involved in the FIA competition World GT Championship. In order to compete with the best in the world, they needed to put together a mighty race car. There was a catch, however, as the company needed to produce a street-legal version of the race car in order to qualify for the competition.
Born a Racer
Hence, the Porsche 911 GT1 was born. Unlike the traditional layout of the 911, this race car was designed with a mid-engine package to maximize weight distribution for optimal performance on the track. Interestingly, rather than taking a road car and turning into a GT-spec racer, they started out building the race car from scratch to derive the street-legal version from.
>>Join the conversation about the Porsche 911 GT1 right here in the Rennlist Forum!
As Fast as Possible
The goal of the 911 GT1 project from the start was to build a race car with as much performance as physically possible, while still maintaining the 911 DNA. As the head of the project, Norbert Singer basically put a 911 (993) face on an otherwise completely race-oriented body that resembled that of the 962. The result was the car pictured above. And with the 3.2-liter water-cooled flat-6 turbocharger engine capable of producing 592 HP, the carbon-bodied Porsche was a formidable GT racer.
>>Join the conversation about the Porsche 911 GT1 right here in the Rennlist Forum!
Evolution
Having dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1996 with second and third place overall rankings as well as first and second in the class, Porsche looked to '97 and a new challenge to overcome. The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR was on the rise, and Porsche had to react. And they did so with a new version of the 911 GT1 entitled the Evolution.
>>Join the conversation about the Porsche 911 GT1 right here in the Rennlist Forum!
The Update
For the new and improved 911 GT1, Porsche decided for the 996 face to give the car a visual revamp. Performance upgrades included improved suspension elements and aero features. Thanks to these upgrades and the addition of a complete carbon-fiber chassis, the 911 GT1 took first and second place at Le Mans in 1998.
>>Join the conversation about the Porsche 911 GT1 right here in the Rennlist Forum!
Street Car
The Porsche had the upper hand in in-race reliability over the competition. Many attribute their success to their durability as the GT1 was not the fastest sports car in the competition. In 1997, we finally saw the 911 GT1 manifested into a road-legal automobile called the 911 GT1 Straßenversion which translates to "street version" in English.
>>Join the conversation about the Porsche 911 GT1 right here in the Rennlist Forum!
Ready for the Road
Those who were lucky enough to buy one of the 23 street-legal 911 GT1s actually got to drive a tamed race car. The Straßenversion (street version) was simply a more drivable iteration of the FIA GT World Championship competitor. And even with a detuned engine and the addition of a whole host of creature comforts, the road car was a 536-HP monster capable of a 0-60 acceleration of only 3.6 seconds, and a price tag of $912,000. All told, the story of the 911 GT1 has to be among the most legendary in the brand's motorsport history and it was in many ways, a look into a new era of Porsche.
>>Join the conversation about the Porsche 911 GT1 right here in the Rennlist Forum!
For help with service and maintenance of your Porsche check out the how to section of Rennlist.com.