Porsche 911 GT1
Encyclopedia
The Porsche 911 GT1 was a car designed for competition in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street legal version for homologation
purposes. The limited-production street-legal version was labeled the 911 GT1 Straßenversion (Street version).
) Porsche expressed interest in returning to top level sportscar racing and went about developing its competitor for the GT1 category. Cars in this category were previously heavily modified versions of road cars, usually supercars such as the McLaren F1
and Ferrari F40
, but when the 911 GT1 was uneveiled in 1996 Porsche had exploited the rule book to the full and stunned the sportscar fraternity. Rather than develop a race version of one of their road going models, what they created was effectively a purpose built sports-prototype, but in order to comply with regulations a street legal version was created, 911 GT1 Straßenversion - literally a road-going racing car.
of the time, however it's frontal chassis was shared with the then (993) 911, while the rear of the car was derived from the Porsche 962
, including its water-cooled, twin-turbocharged
and intercooled
, four valve per cylinder flat-six engine which was arranged in a mid-mounted
position, compared to the rear engined layout of a coventional 911. The engine was making about 600 PS. In comparison, the 993
generation 911 GT2
, which was otherwise the company's highest-performance vehicle, used an air-cooled engine with only two valves per cylinder
.
The new vehicle was an outright success at Le Mans, winning the GT1 class at its debut race, although it lost the overall victory to Joest Racing
's Porsche WSC-95
prototype, still a success in that this vehicle used a Porsche powerplant.
The 911 GT1 made its debut in the BPR Global GT Series
(the FIA championship's predecessor) at the Brands Hatch 4 hours, where Hans-Joachim Stuck and Thierry Boutsen
won comfortably, although they were racing as an invited entry and where thus ineligible for points. They followed up by winning at Spa and Ralph Kelleners and Emmanuel Collard
triumphed for the factory team at Zhuhai.
The '96 GT1 had around 600 PS and was clocked at a top speed of exactly 330 km/h (205 mph) on the legendary Mulsanne Straight in the practice sessions of the 1996 Le Mans 24 Hours Race (presumably on a low downforce setup).
In 1997, the new Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR was successful in the new FIA GT Championship
that replaced the BPR, as it was developed for racing. Mercedes did not enter Le Mans
yet with their new car, though. The Porsche did not prove to be as fast in the FIA series, and failed to win a single race, first against the McLaren F1 GTR
, and then against the new CLK-GTR.
Towards the end of the 1996 season Porsche made revisions to the 911 GT1 in preparation for the 1997 season. The front end of the car was revised including new bodywork which featured headlamps that previewed the all-new 2nd generation (996
) Porsche 911 which would appear in 1997. The revised car was known as the 911 GT1 Evo (or Evolution). As far as performance goes, the car had the same 600 PS turbo-charged engine, but new aerodynamics on the car allowed the '97 car to be considerably faster than the 1996 model - acceleration was better, although the top speed was still around 330 km/h (205 mph) on the La Sarthe Circuit (in the race, the GT1-Evo reached 326 km/h). However, the works cars suffered from reliability problems and did not last the full race distance; a privately entered 1996 specification GT1 managed 5th overall and third in its class, but was beaten by the BMW
-backed and powered McLaren F1 GTR
s.
and Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, the 911 GT1-98 featured bodywork which bore more of a resemblance to traditional sports-prototypes than the previous 2 models while a new sequential gearbox
was installed. As per the regulations a street-legal version of the 911 GT1-98 was spawned, but it is believed that only one variant was produced which was still sufficient to satisfy the regulations.
During the 1998 FIA International GT season the 911 GT1-98 struggled to match the pace of the Mercedes, which also were improved, with the main reason being down to the air-restrictor rules being which were regarded as unfavourable to the turbo engine (the Merecedes being naturally aspirated). The Michelin
tyres of the factory team and especially the Pirelli
of the private Zakspeed
team were also considered inferior to the Bridgestone of Mercedes.
At the 1998 Le Mans however, it was a different story. The BMW V12 LM
retired with wheel bearing trouble, and the Mercedes CLK-LM
vehicles had oil pump troubles in the new V8 engines that replaced the former V12. The Toyota GT-One
, which was considered to be the fastest car, also suffered gearbox reliability problems.
The 911 GT1-98, despite being slower than the Toyota or the Mercedes, fulfilled Porsche's slim hopes, taking both first and second place overall thanks to reliability, giving Porsche its record-breaking 16th overall win at Le Mans, more than any other manufacturer in history.
At Petit Le Mans
race in Road Atlanta
, the 911 GT1 '98 of Yannick Dalmas
made a spectacular backward flip and landed rear first before hitting the side barriers, as did the BMW V12 LMR at the same race in 2000, and most infamously the Mercedes-Benz CLR
at Le Mans in 1999.
The GT1 '98 was set up with higher downforce in the race than the previous two years, which reduced its race maximum speed to 310 km/h (193 mph). However, in the 1998 Le Mans 24 Hours test days, the car hit 330 km/h (205 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight on a lower downforce setup.
dominating FIA GT1 in 1998, all other entries including Porsche withdrew for 1999. The GT1 class was cancelled, and the FIA GT Championship was contested with GT2 cars. Porsche could have entered at Le Mans
, but chose not to try to defend the win of '98 against new machines from other factories.
Champion Racing
brought a 911 GT1 Evo to America to race in the American Le Mans Series
, but was only allowed to do so as an LMP (Le Mans Prototypes) class entry, where it proved uncompetitive against actual prototypes such as the BMW V12 LMR.
was used in place of the standard 911 GT1 unit.
However, Champion would instead turn to buying a Lola B2K/10
, so the Gunnar G-99 was temporarily abandoned. The car would resurface in the Rolex Sports Car Series
in 2002, yet would not be allowed to race until it had a roof again. Therefore Gunnar Racing rebuilt the car with a near identical GT1 roof, and briefly competed in 2003. The car would take a best finish of second in class twice before being retired due to lack of funding.
an emissions laws, although its 544 PS and dry weight of 1150 kg (2,535 lb) proved to be more than adequate; the vehicle could accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in 3.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 308 km/h (191 mph).
Homologation
Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...
purposes. The limited-production street-legal version was labeled the 911 GT1 Straßenversion (Street version).
History
With the revival of international sportscar racing in the mid-1990s, though the BPR Global GT Series (which then morphed in to the FIA GT ChampionshipFIA GT Championship
The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South...
) Porsche expressed interest in returning to top level sportscar racing and went about developing its competitor for the GT1 category. Cars in this category were previously heavily modified versions of road cars, usually supercars such as the McLaren F1
McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 is a supercar designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. Originally a concept conceived by Gordon Murray, he convinced Ron Dennis to back the project and engaged Peter Stevens to design the exterior of the car...
and Ferrari F40
Ferrari F40
The Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door coupé sports car produced by Ferrari from 1987 to 1992 as the successor to the Ferrari 288 GTO. From 1987 to 1989 it was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car...
, but when the 911 GT1 was uneveiled in 1996 Porsche had exploited the rule book to the full and stunned the sportscar fraternity. Rather than develop a race version of one of their road going models, what they created was effectively a purpose built sports-prototype, but in order to comply with regulations a street legal version was created, 911 GT1 Straßenversion - literally a road-going racing car.
911 GT1
In spite of its 911 moniker the car actually had very little in common with the 911Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
of the time, however it's frontal chassis was shared with the then (993) 911, while the rear of the car was derived from the Porsche 962
Porsche 962
The Porsche 962 was a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the European Group C formula as the 956 had...
, including its water-cooled, twin-turbocharged
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
and intercooled
Intercooler
An intercooler , or charge air cooler, is an air-to-air or air-to-liquid heat exchange device used on turbocharged and supercharged internal combustion engines to improve their volumetric efficiency by increasing intake air charge density through nearly isobaric cooling, which removes...
, four valve per cylinder flat-six engine which was arranged in a mid-mounted
MR layout
In automotive design, a RMR or Rear Mid-engine, Rear-wheel drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed just in front of them, behind the passenger compartment. In contrast to the rear-engined RR layout, the center of mass of the engine is in front of the rear axle...
position, compared to the rear engined layout of a coventional 911. The engine was making about 600 PS. In comparison, the 993
Porsche 993
The Porsche 993 is the company's internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between late 1993 and early 1998, replacing the 964...
generation 911 GT2
Porsche 911 GT2
The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...
, which was otherwise the company's highest-performance vehicle, used an air-cooled engine with only two valves per cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
.
Joest Racing
Joest Racing is a racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest...
's Porsche WSC-95
Porsche WSC-95
The Porsche WSC-95 was a Le Mans Prototype built for Porsche by Tom Walkinshaw Racing and run by Joest Racing, yet can trace its origin to a Jaguar sports car designed in 1991...
prototype, still a success in that this vehicle used a Porsche powerplant.
The 911 GT1 made its debut in the BPR Global GT Series
BPR Global GT Series
The BPR Global GT Series was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997...
(the FIA championship's predecessor) at the Brands Hatch 4 hours, where Hans-Joachim Stuck and Thierry Boutsen
Thierry Boutsen
Thierry Marc Boutsen is a former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One.-Career:thumb|left|Boutsen driving for [[Arrows]] at the [[1984 Dallas Grand Prix]]....
won comfortably, although they were racing as an invited entry and where thus ineligible for points. They followed up by winning at Spa and Ralph Kelleners and Emmanuel Collard
Emmanuel Collard
Emmanuel Collard is a French racing driver. He is a member of the Porsche Junioren factory team, but drives also for other marques....
triumphed for the factory team at Zhuhai.
The '96 GT1 had around 600 PS and was clocked at a top speed of exactly 330 km/h (205 mph) on the legendary Mulsanne Straight in the practice sessions of the 1996 Le Mans 24 Hours Race (presumably on a low downforce setup).
911 GT1 Evo
FIA GT Championship
The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South...
that replaced the BPR, as it was developed for racing. Mercedes did not enter Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
yet with their new car, though. The Porsche did not prove to be as fast in the FIA series, and failed to win a single race, first against the McLaren F1 GTR
McLaren F1 GTR
The McLaren F1 GTR was a racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It is most famous for its overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it...
, and then against the new CLK-GTR.
Towards the end of the 1996 season Porsche made revisions to the 911 GT1 in preparation for the 1997 season. The front end of the car was revised including new bodywork which featured headlamps that previewed the all-new 2nd generation (996
Porsche 996
The Porsche 996 is the internal designation for the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between 1998 and 2005. It has since been replaced by the Type 997...
) Porsche 911 which would appear in 1997. The revised car was known as the 911 GT1 Evo (or Evolution). As far as performance goes, the car had the same 600 PS turbo-charged engine, but new aerodynamics on the car allowed the '97 car to be considerably faster than the 1996 model - acceleration was better, although the top speed was still around 330 km/h (205 mph) on the La Sarthe Circuit (in the race, the GT1-Evo reached 326 km/h). However, the works cars suffered from reliability problems and did not last the full race distance; a privately entered 1996 specification GT1 managed 5th overall and third in its class, but was beaten by the BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
-backed and powered McLaren F1 GTR
McLaren F1 GTR
The McLaren F1 GTR was a racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It is most famous for its overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it...
s.
911 GT1-98
For the 1998 season Porsche developed an all-new car, the 911 GT1-98. Designed to match the also new Toyota GT-OneToyota GT-One
The Toyota GT-One was a racing car initially developed for grand touring style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype. It raced in the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.-History:...
and Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, the 911 GT1-98 featured bodywork which bore more of a resemblance to traditional sports-prototypes than the previous 2 models while a new sequential gearbox
Semi-automatic transmission
A semi-automatic transmission is an automobile transmission that does not change gears automatically, but rather facilitates manual gear changes by dispensing with the need to press...
was installed. As per the regulations a street-legal version of the 911 GT1-98 was spawned, but it is believed that only one variant was produced which was still sufficient to satisfy the regulations.
During the 1998 FIA International GT season the 911 GT1-98 struggled to match the pace of the Mercedes, which also were improved, with the main reason being down to the air-restrictor rules being which were regarded as unfavourable to the turbo engine (the Merecedes being naturally aspirated). The Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
tyres of the factory team and especially the Pirelli
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.Founded in Milan in 1872,...
of the private Zakspeed
Zakspeed
Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and nowadays run by his son Peter Zakowski. Their home town of Niederzissen is located not far away from the Nürburgring race track.-1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing:...
team were also considered inferior to the Bridgestone of Mercedes.
BMW V12 LM
The BMW V12 LM was a racing car built for sports car racing in 1998. The car was built using a combination of WilliamsF1 engineering and construction and a BMW powerplant...
retired with wheel bearing trouble, and the Mercedes CLK-LM
Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is a sports car and race car that was built by Mercedes-AMG, performance and motorsports arm of Mercedes-Benz. Intended for racing in the new FIA GT Championship series in 1997, the CLK GTR was designed primarily as a race car, with the road cars necessary in order to...
vehicles had oil pump troubles in the new V8 engines that replaced the former V12. The Toyota GT-One
Toyota GT-One
The Toyota GT-One was a racing car initially developed for grand touring style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype. It raced in the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.-History:...
, which was considered to be the fastest car, also suffered gearbox reliability problems.
The 911 GT1-98, despite being slower than the Toyota or the Mercedes, fulfilled Porsche's slim hopes, taking both first and second place overall thanks to reliability, giving Porsche its record-breaking 16th overall win at Le Mans, more than any other manufacturer in history.
At Petit Le Mans
Petit Le Mans
The Petit Le Mans is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.The race was...
race in Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta is a 2.54-mile road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, USA. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams...
, the 911 GT1 '98 of Yannick Dalmas
Yannick Dalmas
Yannick Dalmas is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 49 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 18 October 1987, but qualified for only 24 of them. His best result in F1 was a 5th place at the 1987 Australian Grand Prix, but he was not eligible for World Championship points at...
made a spectacular backward flip and landed rear first before hitting the side barriers, as did the BMW V12 LMR at the same race in 2000, and most infamously the Mercedes-Benz CLR
Mercedes-Benz CLR
The Mercedes-Benz CLR was a Le Mans Prototype built by Mercedes-Benz for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans. It became infamous for spectacular crashes during its only competitive outing.-Racing history:...
at Le Mans in 1999.
The GT1 '98 was set up with higher downforce in the race than the previous two years, which reduced its race maximum speed to 310 km/h (193 mph). However, in the 1998 Le Mans 24 Hours test days, the car hit 330 km/h (205 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight on a lower downforce setup.
1999
With MercedesMercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
dominating FIA GT1 in 1998, all other entries including Porsche withdrew for 1999. The GT1 class was cancelled, and the FIA GT Championship was contested with GT2 cars. Porsche could have entered at Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
, but chose not to try to defend the win of '98 against new machines from other factories.
Champion Racing
Champion Racing
Champion Racing is a sports car racing team based in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA. Founded in 1994 by Dave Maraj as the motorsport wing of the Champion Motors car dealership, the team has campaigned various Porsches and Audis in North American road racing series...
brought a 911 GT1 Evo to America to race in the American Le Mans Series
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC...
, but was only allowed to do so as an LMP (Le Mans Prototypes) class entry, where it proved uncompetitive against actual prototypes such as the BMW V12 LMR.
Gunnar G-99
Following Champion's purchase of a 911 GT1 Evo for 1999, Gunnar Racing offered a custom race car to the team with intentions to race in 2000. The car, known as the Gunnar G-99, was a custom-built 911 GT1 with an open cockpit. The chassis was made from scratch yet remained nearly identical to the 911 GT1 mechanically, even using the bulk of the bodyparts. A large rollbar was put over the open cockpit to help protect the driver. A 3.6 litre flat-6 from a Porsche 911 GT3Porsche 911 GT3
The Porsche 911 GT3 is a higher performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is the latest in a line of high performance models, beginning with the 1973 911 RS...
was used in place of the standard 911 GT1 unit.
However, Champion would instead turn to buying a Lola B2K/10
Lola B2K/10
The Lola B2K/10 was a Le Mans Prototype developed in 2000 by Lola Cars International for use in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series, Grand American Road Racing Championship, and Sports Racing World Cup...
, so the Gunnar G-99 was temporarily abandoned. The car would resurface in the Rolex Sports Car Series
Rolex Sports Car Series
The Rolex Sports Car Series is the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship...
in 2002, yet would not be allowed to race until it had a roof again. Therefore Gunnar Racing rebuilt the car with a near identical GT1 roof, and briefly competed in 2003. The car would take a best finish of second in class twice before being retired due to lack of funding.
Street-legal version
Regulations for the GT1 category stipulated that to be eligible, a total of 25 cars must be built for road use. Porsche developed a fully road-legal version, dubbed "911 GT1 Straßenversion", and delivered one in early 1996 to the German government for compliance testing, which it passed. The engine had to be slightly de-tuned to meet EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an emissions laws, although its 544 PS and dry weight of 1150 kg (2,535 lb) proved to be more than adequate; the vehicle could accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in 3.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 308 km/h (191 mph).