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The 'Porsche Carrera GT' was a supercar manufactured by Porsche in Germany.

Contents

History

Design

Technology

Gallery

Modified Versions

See also

External links

History

The Carrera GT's development can be traced back to a Porsche successor to the 911 GT1-98 and LMP1-98 racing cars that had ended after the 1998, partially due to FIA and ACO rule changes. Porsche at the time had planned on a new Le Mans prototype for 1999. The car was initially intended to use a turbocharged flat-6, but was later redesigned to use a new V10 engine, pushing the project back to planned competition in 2000. The V10 was a unit secretly built by Porsche for the Footwork Formula One team in 1992, but later shelved. The engine was resurrected for the Le Mans prototype and increased in size to 5.5 litres. Unfortunately the project was cancelled after 2 days of testing for the first car, in mid-1999, mostly due to Porsche's wish to build the Cayenne SUV with involvement from Volkswagen and Audi, thus requiring engineering expertise to be pulled from the motorsports division. It was also speculated that VW-Audi chairman Ferdinand Piëch wanted Audi's new Le Mans Prototype, the Audi R8 not to face competition from Porsche in 2000.
Porsche did keep part of the project alive by using the 5.5L V10 from the prototype in a concept car shown at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show, mainly in an attempt to draw attention to their display. Surprising interest in the vehicle and an influx of revenue provided from the Cayenne helped Porsche decide to produce the car, and development started on a road-legal version that would be produced in small numbers at Porsche's new manufacturing facility in Leipzig. Porsche started a production run of Carrera GTs in 2004, shipping the units with an MSRP of $440,000 USD and a dealer invoice price of approximately $414,800 USD. In addition, the delivery charge could be as much as $5,000 USD. The first Carrera GT went on sale in the US on Jan 31, 2004.
Originally a production run of 1,500 cars was planned. But Porsche announced in August, 2005 that it would not continue production of the Carrera GT through 2006. Porsche wisely announced that this discontinuation was due to changing airbag regulations in the US and not highly disappointing sales. However, the diminishing sales volumes, high dealer inventory levels, and dealer discounts below MSRP were widely reported by the automotive press to be the true factors driving an early end to the production run.
As of May 6, 2006, 1,270 GT's had been manufactured, with 604 being sold in the United States and dozens sitting on dealer showroom floors[1].

Design

The Carrera GT is powered by an all-new 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 612 DIN (605 SAE) horsepower (450 kW) whereas the original concept car featured a 5.5 litre version rated at 558 hp (416 kW). Porsche claims it will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 3.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 330 km/h (205 mph), although road tests indicated that in reality the car could accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds and 0-100 mph in 7.0 seconds. The Carrera GT has a basic 5 color paint schemes which include: Guards Red, Fayence Yellow, Basalt Black, GT Silver and Seal Grey. Custom colors were also available from the factory. A traditional six-speed manual transmission is the only available transmission, in contrast to its rival the Enzo Ferrari which is only offered with a computer actuated paddle shifted manual gearbox. Attached to this gearbox is a birch/ash gearknob which pays homage to the wooden gearknob used in the Porsche 917 Le Mans racers. With the Enzo Ferrari priced initially around $660,000, the Carrera GT base price of $444,400 makes the dream of owning a piece of Le Mans inspired technology somewhat more attainable. The Carrera GT is also priced at $515,000 in Canadian dollars, and at 390,000 €.
The Carrera GT has large side inlets and airdams that help cool the large V-10 framed by the carbon fiber rear hood. Fitted with Porsche's latest brake system, the 15 inch ceramic pad brakes make a stunning appearance underneath the 19 inch front and 20 inch rear tires. Similar to other Porsche Models, such as the , the GT includes an automated rear wing spoiler which deploys above 70 mph.
The interior is fitted with soft leather. BOSE audio system and navigation systems are available as options. In typical Porsche fashion, the ignition is to the left of the steering wheel. This placement dates back to the early days of Le Mans racing when drivers were required to make a running start, hop into their cars, start them and begin the race. The placement of the ignition enabled the driver to start the car with his left hand and put it in gear with his right.

Technology

Technology of note includes a pure carbon fiber monocoque and subframe, dry sump lubrication and inboard suspension. The carbon fiber monocoque and subframe were produced and assembled by the ATR Composites Group of Italy. The Carrera GT radiator is about five times the size of a 911 turbo's.
Unlike some of its rivals, the Carrera GT does not feature dynamic stability control, but it does have traction control.
Porsche claims that over 75 technology patents have been filed from development of the Carrera GT.

Gallery

Modified Versions

Modified and aftermarket parts are available for the Carrera GT. Gemballa have begun to offer the Mirage GT, a highly stylized version of the Porsche flagship featuring an aerodynamic kit and completely reworked interior. Despite rumors of a high performance increase, modification only included a complete exhaust exchange with an expected increase of 30 to 40 horsepower. Although a modified twin-turbo version is rumored to be in the works.

See also

★ Enzo Ferrari

★ Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

External links

★ Porsche Official Web Site

★ Final Carrera GT Produced

★ Failed Porsche LMP project which formed the basis for the Carrera GT

★ Porsche Carrera GT in imcdb