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FAST: Porsche Carrera GT

FAST Issue no.2

Introduction

If you ask a random kid on the street to mention some sportscar brands, sure
enough, Porsche will be named more than once. However Porsche never really had
a sportscar that was over the top, so to speak. Sure, we have the 911 —
add GT3 to the name and you’ve got a pretty neat machine. But, compared
to a McLaren F1, Ferarri Enzo or other asphalt ripping machines Porsche was missing
something. Well, the Germans filled the gap and introduced a supercar extraordinaire:
the Porsche Carrera GT.

Porsche Carrera GT
Porsche Carrera GT
Porsche Carrera GT

Design

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche is undoubtedly one of the most famous car engineer
and designer of the last century. From the Volkswagen Beetle to the Porsche
356, the man delivered some designs that have become classics. The Germans are
wellknown for their superior engineering. If you buy a Porsche – you have reliability,
quality and performance all in one. The Carrera GT looks like a Porsche. Fortunately
the designers didn’t try to come up with some fancy weird sportscar concept
(i.e. something like a Pagani Zonda, or even more odd). It’s a Porsche,
no doubt. This design has elegance yet also stresses performance — with
its large air entrances and aggressive looking front and tail lights. A nice
detail are the curved body parts behind the seats, nicely flowing into the rear
of the car.

The good thing about a Porsche sportscar: it’s a usable machine. It’s
designed as a roadster, but the rollover hoops are glazed, and a pair of carbon-fibre
panels from the front boot complete the roof, making a well-sealed coupé
and freeing up a small amount of luggage space (who needs that anyway?) Overall
the Porsche Carrera GT just looks good. Sure, it hasn’t got some of the
fancy (or odd) details some other sportscar in this segment have, but Porsche
engineers are clever and produced an elegant final product. The only downside
is that it probably could’ve used a bit more spark in the design. Yet,
I don’t think potential Carrera GT owners are looking for fancy.

Designer: Harm Lagaay

Facts & Figures

This item was posted by dhilhorst on Monday, April 19th, 2004.

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7 comments on “FAST: Porsche Carrera GT”

  1. Posted by David on Monday, April 19th, 2004.

    Porsche did produce a car in 1987 that was an “over-the-top” sportscar. This car was the Porsche 959. This car had a 0-60mph(0-100km/h) time of 4.1s and a top speed of 195mph(314km/h).

  2. Posted by Didier Hilhorst on Monday, April 19th, 2004.

    David: good point. From a performance point of view the 959 was indeed what I would call an asphalt ripping beast. But it sure isn’t a sexy car. It basically looks like a 911, yet they changed all the aesthetic good things and replaced it with some odd elements. Of course many were added to improve air flow and performance. I’m speculating here, but the 959 might be one of the reasons Porsche never produced another over the top sportscar until just recently.

  3. Posted by Thomas Baekdal on Monday, April 19th, 2004.

    A nice car indeed. I took some pictures of one at “Copenhagen International Motor Show 2004” this weekend:

    – Front

    – Back

    …oh and the Lamborghini Murciélago and Gallardo was there too (with several other supercars)

    BTW: The Ford GT is still my favorite :)

    The challange with cars like these is that you need to know where the police will hang out – since you will be driving way too fast when you reach second gear :)

  4. Posted by JSF on Monday, April 19th, 2004.

    FYI, there was a Porsche supercar build in 1994. It was the Schuppan 962 CR model. It remains my favorite Porsche supercar to date.

    Some quick stats:

    Top Speed: 214 MPH

    0 – 60: 3 seconds

    Horsepower: 600

  5. Posted by Mondo Dynamo on Tuesday, April 20th, 2004.

    Whats your take on TVR? I own a TVR Tuscan 4.0 and would love to know other peoples opinions of these vehicles. Good points: 400 BHP, 0-60 in 3.8 seconds, top speed circa 200 MPH. Bad points: very bad build quality and shocking reliability. Its fun when its on the road but it spends a lot more time off it. I’ll get rid of it soon (since it is totally unusable as a day to day vehicle), and probably hunt for a 911 Carrera.

  6. Posted by Chris K. on Wednesday, April 21st, 2004.

    Ah, the Carrera GT. The sound is intoxicating.

    Here’s a little treat:

    http://need4speedfr.free.fr/CarreraGT303.wmv

    http://need4speedfr.free.fr/CarreraGT309.wmv

  7. Posted by lolly on Monday, April 26th, 2004.

    This lot make Porsche supercars too:

    http://www.dauer-automobile.com/

    http://www.ruf-automobile.de/