Porsche 911 GT1: anniversary, technical data, number of units, price

D as the time window in which Porsche has The 911 GT1 built was about the size of that for the 918 Spyder. Porsche put 918 hybrid super sports cars on their wheels between 2013 and 2015 in 21 months. All 887 hp. There are a few copies. But 38 times as many as there are from the Porsche 911 GT1. With its 24 units, the GT1 is one of the rarest Porsches that has ever left the factory premises. It belongs in a row with the Porsche 356 America Roadster (16 pieces), 911 SC /RS (20 pieces), 924 Carrera GTS (50 pieces) and 964 Turbo S (86 pieces). It's as rare as winning a million in the lottery. With the difference that well-heeled ones could buy it.

Three versions of the Porsche 911 GT1

The 911 GT1 is available in three versions. Or to put it another way: it can be divided into model years: 1996, 1997 and 1998. Porsche built the first version, called GT1 /96, twice. The second, easily recognizable by the fried egg headlights on the 996, was made 21 times. Sales price: 1,550,000 million Deutschmarks. The third is a one-off and is in the Porsche Museum. Every GT1 has a million dollar price tag these days. Provided the sports car is not in a terrible condition. At auctions, the owner often changed hands for over four million euros. The one-off, GT1 /98, should be way above that.

The Porsche 911 GT1 was the most radical Porsche ever. This is due to its roots. The GT1 would never have existed without racing. Let alone a street version. This was necessary in order to meet the homologation regulations of the FIA ​​World Motorsport Federation in order to be allowed to participate in top GT racing. The history of the GT1 actually begins in 1991. Five years before the first racing car is parked. After the embarrassing exit from Formula 1, Porsche is left without a global motorsport program. A flagship is missing. Porsche decides to set up a GT program based on the 911. But first the framework conditions have to be created. To do this, you have countless discussions with the FIA ​​and the ACO. There is also a crisis in Le Mans. The starting field is thin. FIA and ACO want Porsche to be the driving force.

Porsche bridged the period up to 1996 with different racing vehicles. Quite successful. With the Porsche 962 long-term Le Mans GT and the WSC Spyder, three Le Mans victories were achieved. None under the name “Porsche AG”. In 1995, Wendelin Wiedeking refusedTrip to Le Mans. Because the black zero should be in the operating result. McLaren dominates with the F1 GTR including the BMW V12. Porsche customers complain: they have no chance with the 911 GT2 Evo. Porsche head of development Horst Marchart and race director Herbert Ampferer speak to the board with the aim of finally putting on the really big GT cracker. The 911 GT1 is born and launched within nine months, between June 1995 and March 1996.

GT1 with the nose of the 993-Carrera

To save time-consuming crash tests, Porsche relies a hybrid chassis. The sheet steel front end is that of the series Carrera, series 993. The engineers flanged a tubular frame behind the cockpit. The GT1 looks like a flattened 911. Not only is it flatter, but also 21 centimeters wider. The wheelbase of 2,500 millimeters is also longer. The revolution is the installation position of the doubly charged 3.2-liter six-cylinder boxer: the power pack with 600 hp sits in front of the rear axle. And it is water-cooled instead of air-cooled. The GT1 is Porsche's first mid-engine 911. Why? Because the arrangement of the engine first, then the gearbox, provides better design options for aerodynamics.

In January 1996, Zuffenhausen delivered the first chassis to Weissach. The first served to standardize the GT1 for the road. License plate: BB-GT-196. The type acceptance took place, writes Karl Ludvigsen in his book “Porsche - Excellence was expected. Perfection goes without saying ”on April 18, 1996. The GT1 is white, has sports seats in the interior, the dashboard and the floor mats of the 911. The doors are practically bare except for the bright red openers. To make it easier to get started, Porsche pulls the tubes of the safety cage down. Porsche did not install the 3.2-liter twin-turbo Wüterrich. But, according to Ludvigsen, an uncharged Carrara six-cylinder with 3,249 cc and 300 hp. When delivery began, however, the street versions had the racing engine. At Le Mans in 1996, Porsche achieved second and third place with the GT1 racing versions. The racing car is being updated for the coming season. The street version is also affected. It now wears the headlights of the 996.

Porsche 911 GT1 with 544 hp

There are hardly any in-depth data sets from the road model GT1 /96. The Porsche Museum, for example, didn't have any. But there are even more data sets from the 97 version, which Porsche built 21 times and delivered from May 1998. Fortunately, auto motor und sport was allowed to test a GT1 /96 in 1997. We were able to collect test data.

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That's why we can choose between the original version and the Evo model to compare. They are both 544 hp strong. The performance poursthe over-911 at 7,000 rpm on the rear axle. The biturbo stuffs a maximum of 600 Newton meters into the six-speed gearbox at 4,250 rpm. The limited slip differential has an effect of 40 percent under load. And an effect of 60 percent in push mode. Further insights into the drive train: two overhead camshafts per cylinder bank, four valves per cylinder, electronic fuel injection, 172 hp /liter, dry sump lubrication, 12 liters of oil.

The GT1 /96 accelerates in our test you in the edition 'The sporty Porsche' can read in 3.9 seconds to 100 km /h. He cracks the 200 mark after 10.5 seconds. Porsche specifies the performance of the GT1 /97 as 3.7 seconds and 10.4 seconds.

The GT1 /96 and GT1 /97 are the same length at 4,710 millimeters. With a width of 1,980 millimeters, the Evo model is three centimeters wider. They are separated by three millimeters in height (GT1 /96: 1,170 mm, GT1 /97: 1,173 mm). Even little tots can look over the GT1. The mid-engine Elfer catches 380 millimeter steel brake discs. 8-piston calipers at the front and 4-piston calipers at the rear. The GT1 has 18-inch BBS rims with Pirelli P Zero tires. Porsche tuned springs and dampers softer. The chassis was put a little higher. The tank size shrank from 100 liters (racing car) to 73 liters. In our test, the GT1 /96 tipped between 16 and 29 liters of Super Plus into the six combustion chambers. An inspection is due every 10,000 kilometers.

Little data on the GT1 /98

Because they failed at Le Mans in 1997, Porsche turned the concept inside out. The engineers radicalized the GT1. You clear out the hybrid chassis and switch to a carbon structure. It is the GT1 that makes the lightweight material socially acceptable in series Porsche. From the bulkhead backwards, the cane continues to exist. The racing version is longer in favor of aerodynamics, becomes wider, but crouches deeper. The data sets for the only road version GT1 /98 are extremely sparse. Porsche names engine (6-cylinder boxer twin-turbo), displacement (3,163 cm³); Power (544 hp) and top speed (310 km /h). Externally, the differences to the predecessor are clearly visible: The GT1 /98 has gills on the front wheel arches, new rocker panels and aprons. The front hood integrates a ventilation slot. The rear wing is different. The rear-view mirrors remain large. Because there is no rear window.

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Unique: Porsche 911 GT1 from 1998.

The GT1 /98 is not just a one-off and a secret agent. And a Le Mans winner: in 1998 Porsche celebrated a double victory with him. Matching the 50th Ferry Porsche's 356 Roadster was registered in Austria on June 8, 1948. After the triumph, Porsche leaves the long-distance stage. Sometimes for cost reasons. The project manager at the time, Norbert Singer, remembers: “The cost explosion was the horse's foot of GT racing. On the one hand, they wanted to keep costs low; on the other hand, a road car had to be homologated. At some point it got to the point where you built a racing car and then spent a lot of money to get a single car approved for road use. It took a tremendous amount of effort. And what for? Then you can build a prototype right away. ”

The end of the GT1 is, so to speak, the beginning of the Porsche Carrera GT. Former Porsche race director Herbert Ampferer said: “I spoke to Wendelin Wiedeking after the Le Mans victory in 98. He turned down Le Mans one more time. He asked me: “Who are we anyway?” I answered: “The largest sports car manufacturer in the world.“ Well then, he replied, let's prove it. ”The motorsport department was allowed to work on a racing car that never drove at Le Mans. It was powered by a 5.5 liter V10. The basis for the V10 of the Carrera GT. The motorsport department helped develop the super sports car.

For a detailed review of the racing GT1, in our current issue of sport auto, which you can buy here.