Car of the Week: The Carrera GT Is Porsche’s Last Analog Supercar, and Now One Is Up for Grabs
Barrett-Jackson kicks off the 2023 collector-car auction calendar this month at Westworld in Scottsdale, Ariz., with the auction house’s biggest sale of the year, featuring a massive roster of muscle cars, restomods, sports cars and full classics. A highlight of the sale, which runs from January 21 through 29, is a favorite among Porsche enthusiasts and collectors—the Porsche Carrera GT. Only 1,270 examples were built at Porsche’s Leipzig factory during the model’s production run from 2004 to 2006, and of those, just 644 were sold new to the United States with an MSRP of about $440,000.
“Porsche has earned one of the most celebrated histories in motorsports. Developed from their Le Mans championship race-car program, the Porsche Carrera GT is truly an iconic vehicle, and largely regarded as one of the best analog supercars,” says Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson, putting this model in perspective. “Few racing-derived cars carry such a championship mantle and yet also offer such a fantastic driving experience. Rarely available, we are excited to see this special vehicle cross the auction block with no reserve at our Scottsdale Auction.”
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The Carrera GT had an interesting development history. Its engine was initially intended to power the marque’s Le Mans prototype, but Porsche’s all-new 5.7-liter V-10 mill never saw competition, as that program was scrapped. The engine, though, ultimately found its way into the mid-ship rear of the street-going Carrera GT. With 612 hp and 435 ft lbs of torque, the power plant makes a marvelous sound. Robb Report published my first-drive impressions of the Carrera GT in its December 2003 issue, and quickly re-reading that experience brought back vivid memories of barreling down the Michelin test track at 205 mph with Walter Röhrl at the wheel and this writer in the passenger seat—a pile of test equipment between my legs.
The Carrera GT, penned by Porsche’s then-chief designer Harm Lagaay at the company’s satellite studio in Huntington Beach, Calif., succeeded in establishing the ultimate technical and aesthetic standards for the sports-car category of the day. But few at the time would have imagined that the Carrera GT would, nearly two decades on, become the prized collectible and Porsche icon that it is now.
As Jackson notes, this Carrera GT is a special vehicle. Originally finished in black, the example has had no damage to it from new. The consignor commissioned Karosserie in Wayne, Pa., to take the car beyond factory-original standards. Karosserie, the only factory-certified body and paint shop for Pagani Automobili, has also received factory certifications from Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Porsche.
The project was undertaken over a three-month timeframe and with an “open checkbook,” the only realistic approach to such an endeavor involving a valuable collector car. Receiving a full color change to a bespoke red (formulated by the experts at PPG) chosen by the owner, the car was initially stripped to the carbon-fiber tub. Single-use rubber body seals were replaced, along with the windshield, while a cost-no-object conversion of the factory-original hydraulic rear-spoiler actuators to a specially engineered electrical system. Yet the original hydraulic system is included with the sale of the Carrera GT.
Also part of the purchase price is a full set of never-used, fitted luggage. A fresh service has been performed, along with fitment of a new battery and the last set of available factory-specified, date-current tires in the United States. With only 3,310 miles on it, this essentially unique Porsche Carrera GT promises to stir some excitement when it crosses the auction block, especially with no reserve.
Click here for more photos of the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT offered through Barrett-Jackson.
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