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Porsche Carrera GT in the test: high-flyer pulverizes lap time records

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Porsche Carrera GT in the super test
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The test of the P orsche Carrera GT at the Nürburgring accompanied the queasy feeling in the stomach - exactly taken from the Wehr motorway exit, when leaving the A61. Well, at the entrance to the Nordschleife, there are even small beads of sweat on your forehead - at four degrees outside temperature. The hands are damp, the expression in the eyes fluctuates between squinted and torn. The ups and downs of the emotional ascent and descent between fear and euphoria now resembles the profile of the Nordschleife.

Porsche Carrera GT was coordinated by Walter Röhrl

How did Walter Röhrl, rally -World champion and co-developer of the Porsche Carrera GT, oracles before the test: 'Without traction control, the serious side of life begins in this car.' The gray asphalt strip of the Nürburgring turns a treacherously glossy black not only behind the section of the Flugplatz, in the fast left curve over the hilltop. Even in the quick left bend in the driveway to Hohe Acht, dark, damp spots suddenly reveal themselves - the remains of the morning dew that habitually covers the Eifel from mid-October and can hardly be displaced away from direct sunlight. But it's not just the eyes that flicker. Also the orange indicator light in the Porsche instrument panel, which indicates the intervention of the electronic traction control of the Carrera GT signals, can't stop blinking.

Nordschleife lap as a test for the driver

During the first two test laps, which are intended to warm up psyche, physique and tires, it becomes clearer with every kilometer That this test on the Nordschleife - on a late October day with a few degrees above zero and with 612 hp behind it - is less for the car than much more for the driver. The responsibility for the 452,690 euro expensive Porsche Carrera GT and the still pronounced oneThere is a strong tension between self-preservation and the self-imposed duty to demonstrate the potential of the technology in the supertest and to present it in a comprehensible manner. This psychological pressure is preferably countered with counter pressure. Due to the low temperatures, it was presented at the Nürburgring in a somewhat more restrained manner and with the traction control switched on. Because what happens behind you when the blockages are overcome and the accelerator is no longer just caressing the pedal, seems out of this world.

The engine of the Porsche Carrera GT screams at over 8,000 revolutions: short, concise, piercing, always in the highest notes and the catchiest frequencies. In the test, it goes to work like a berserk and hangs on the gas as if it had a direct dedicated line to the cerebrum: you just have to think about the speed, and it’s ready. This engine, which was born as a racing engine and whose crankshaft axis is at an extremely low height above the road surface and thus further lowers the center of gravity, seems to be completely free of flywheels. It revs up suddenly while idling and just as abruptly falls back to the previous speed position.

In the Formula 1 paddock, warm-up phases do not sound any different than with this test candidate. Even if the super sports car is not quite as digital when driving: In no other street sports car has there been a similarly pronounced congruence between accelerator pedal position and speed on the one hand and speed and engine sound on the other. The fact that delays in the Porsche Carrera GT, which were recognized as braking performance years ago, are caused solely by suddenly releasing the accelerator, and at high speeds this has to do with the significant downforce generated by the body, including the sophisticated aerodynamic underbody.

Porsche Carrera GT catapults itself to 100 km /h in 3.8 seconds

It actually only takes a few blink of an eye to get around to shoot in the highest speed regions. Assuming that the throttle and clutch are properly coordinated, the completely redesigned Porsche Carrera GT, which is not even remotely related to the Porsche 911, strives from a standstill to 100 km /h in just 3.8 seconds. But even the attempt to start a traffic light with no effort and without incidents fails in more than one case during the acclimatization phase. The technically extremely high-quality carbon clutch, whose minimum diameter of only 169 millimetersThe deep installation position of the V10 engine is only possible and works with a very small lever of just a few centimeters. Even proven veterans manage to stall the engine, which revs up abruptly from idle speed.

After getting started and finding your way around in the elegant and professionally furnished Porsche cockpit made of leather and magnesium was so easy and uncomplicated, the key to being able to test yourself now lies in the willingness to rely on the Adjusting the coupling's working method that takes getting used to. Because everything that follows the act of driving off with the Porsche Carrera GT is either uncomplicated or exciting - or both.

Porsche Carrera GT sprints to 200 km /h in 10.2 seconds

If you have made it in the Porsche Carrera GT with the ASR switched off, which also deactivates the automatic Torsen differential, the Getting over the speed ranges of the first three gears without excessive slip losses is rewarded with a time that is considered a magical hurdle in the sprint discipline to 200 km /h - around ten seconds. Fully filled with 92 liters of fuel and the obligatory witness on the passenger seat, the electronic 2D measuring system registered a value of exactly 10.2 seconds in the sport auto super test in Hockenheim - with deactivated anti-slip control (ASR). If you - like the Formula 1 drivers - want to invest less commitment and effort, do the exercise with the electronics switched on, thus avoiding failure and still reach your destination only marginally later Carrera GT straight ahead as well as for the limit tests in the test on winding terrain: According to Walter Röhrl, the time loss with activated traction control on the 20.6 kilometer Nordschleife is less than ten seconds - obviously combined with a considerably increased chance of reaching the finish. In view of the downright breathtaking speed that the 612 PS strong and 590 Newton meters of torque heaving 5.7-liter V10 shakes out of its sleeve, so to speak, singing the highest notes, the driver is grateful for any help and relief. The lightness that the Porsche Carrera GT transports into consciousness through the force of its motor and that achieves an unprecedented level of perfection via steering and readiness to react even gives the impression that it is dealing with considerably less than the actual mass.

The Porsche Carrera GT weighs 1,473 kilograms when fully fueled in the testScale, which still results in a power-to-weight ratio of just 2.4 kilograms per horsepower. The Carrera GT is not one of those types that dictate conditions to its driver, for example in the form of ergonomics that take getting used to or annoying quirks that are often encountered in the environment of personalities with strong character. For example, head and leg room are sufficient. The fact that the right elbow inevitably ends up in the ashtray on the center console because of the clumsy hinged lid is a small alibi error.

The Porsche Carrera GT differs from the competitor Ferrari Enzo

Except for the - for obvious reasons - somewhat limited clarity in the Porsche Carrera GT towards the rear and the mentioned sensitivity of the clutch So Porsche doesn't have the slightest argument for degrading it to a collector's item. Just tearing through the aisles with the short wooden knob perfectly positioned at steering wheel height is a process that guarantees goose bumps and lets you get over the absence of an automated switch box - such as the one offered by Ferrari Enzo, for example. The transmission takes place via so-called Flexball shift cables, 2.5 meter long stainless steel bands, which thanks to ball bearings work completely free of play and thus allow the shifting movements to take place without friction losses. The driving behavior is clearly borrowed from the world of racing for all the tolerance and concilience that this super sports car shows in the test.

The 612 hp racing car changes direction in a jagged staccato style without allowing itself the slightest pitching or rolling movements via the push-rod suspensions. With the exception of the very hard blows that are conducted over the backlash-free joints of the wheel suspension into the carbon fiber monocoque when driving slowly on transverse joints, further complaints in terms of comfort are hardly justified. The long wheelbase of the Porsche Carrera GT of 2,730 millimeters has a very calming effect on straight-line stability at high speeds. The vertical movements on uneven road surfaces also lose their penetrating power as a result of it and with increasing speed. In addition, in the test, the GT substance shows a stability in all of its extensions that could not be more impressive and solid.

Porsche Carrera GT reveals two weaknesses in the test

The super-light, individually upholstered carbon shells with leather cover accommodate the crew in the border area as if they were firmly glued in them. The maximum lateral acceleration in the test of 1.35 g only pulls in this waystill on the muscles of the neck, but violent there. The fact that the ground-based high-flyer sometimes leaves the impression of walking in the wrong film is actually only evident through two unpopular circumstances: the Porsche Carrera GT likes to kiss road surfaces and garage exits with its flat lower lip. And the backlash of its six-speed transmission rattles louder than the engine can howl in city traffic at low engine speeds. Neither he nor the crew really enjoy that - both basically want to scream from their hearts.

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