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15 years after the Carrera GT first appeared, a US collector has commissioned Porsche to reconstruct one to an exact specification.
The GT featured a 612bhp mid-mounted V10, and had essentially race car suspension, delivering a raw driving experience to the skilful. But, as we observed some years ago, it could “make a fool out of you in a frighteningly offhand fashion.” So what’s special about this new recreation?
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Rebuild
The collector wanted a complete, custom recreation of the original car, including completely disassembling the car down to its parts, checking them and refurbishing or replacing them as needed - and then putting it all together again. Not unreasonably on that basis, he thought only Porsche itself was up to the job.
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Oak Green
To set off the completely overhauled engine, transmission, and chassis components to their best advantage, the Carrera GT was also treated to a full refinish. Working with Porsche’s Classic arm, the owner chose Oak Green Metallic paintwork, which was never available for the Carrera GT originally. The colour first appeared on Porsches in 1978 in non-metallic form, before a metallic variant arrived in the ‘90s.
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Wheels
For the wheels, Porsche’s Weissach research & development centre advised on a method to achieve a high-gloss effect on the BBS-inspired magnesium rims without weakening them. Silver was used, applying a layer of it to create a chrome-effect on the surface. To prevent rust and tarnishing however a protective layer of clear lacquer was applied. The spokes themselves were painted in gold to contrast.
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Gold
Gold features elsewhere on the car, including on the brake callipers, in the engine compartment, on the intake housings, and on the interior, where the straightahead marking on the steering wheel is adorned by a single gold stripe flanked on both sides by a stripe of Oak Green.
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Carbon
“Because the coating on older carbon fibre parts tends to yellow and fade, we spent 350 hours manually sanding and recoating all the carbon fibre components, including the monocoque,” said Uwe Makrutzki, Manager of Porsche Classic Factory Restorations in Stuttgart
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Presentation
Porsche Cars North America and Porsche Classic presented it for the first time recently at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta to a group of selected guests, including the car’s owner. A number of Porsche’s staff who were involved in the project were on hand to talk through the design.
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Porsche Classic
Porsche Classic is a Porsche division that focuses on all Porsches that have been out of production for over 10 years, and in 2016 accordingly the arm became responsible for the supply of all official parts for the Carrera GT.