In case you’ve not noticed (a long period spent in a cave, perhaps) Porsches are hot right now, making millions upon millions at auction.
And nowhere is this more pronounced than in the limited-run racing versions, where performance – and price – are pushed to the extreme.
Even if you don’t have enough raw talent to exploit what these things can do, they’re still some seriously desirable bits of kit.
And, in this kind of condition, with so few miles on the clock, they’re truly wallet-busting. But hey – at least looking is free. Check out a few of the __cars on offer at Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island auction in March. Then, like us, weep with envy.
Photos: Mathieu Heurtault / Gooding & Company.
2011 GT3 RS 4.0 – estimated selling price: £535,000 to £615,000
When it was launched in 2011, the RS 4.0 was easily the greatest version of the 997 generation. The RS 4.0 was home to the largest engine ever fitted to a road-going 911 – a stroked version of the dazzlingly good 3.8 from the ‘regular’ GT3 RS – which was, as you may have gleaned by now, a four-litre.
2011 GT3 RS 4.0 – estimated selling price: £535,000 to £615,000
It was also capable of 493bhp at a screaming 8,250rpm, making it one of the most power-dense (most power per cubic capacity) naturally aspirated engines ever fitted to a production car.
2011 GT3 RS 4.0 – estimated selling price: £535,000 to £615,000
And, thanks to a body weight of just 1,370kg, the RS 4.0 could jet from zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 193mph.
2011 GT3 RS 4.0 – estimated selling price: £535,000 to £615,000
But that was really only a fraction of the story. The RS 4.0 was a blend of hard-edged racing kit – from the rose-jointed racing suspension to the Metzger-developed racing engine – and showed it, as we found out.
2011 GT3 RS 4.0 – estimated selling price: £535,000 to £615,000
The limited run of 600 __cars was only ever available to loyal Porsche GT3 customers, one of whom ordered his in black, without a radio (to save weight) and then travelled a grand total of 130 miles in it.
1993 964 Turbo S Leichtbau – estimated selling price: £1m to £1.3m
In case you were wondering, ‘Leichtbau’ translates as ‘Light build’, which might give away the reason why this car is so important.
1993 964 Turbo S Leichtbau – estimated selling price: £1m to £1.3m
This isn’t so much Genesis – Porsche had lightened its cars in the past – but this marked the first time that the company had combined turbocharging and weight shedding in a production model. A pretty significant first, we’re sure you’ll agree, and the spiritual successor of the manic GT2. And that’s quite a pedigree.
1993 964 Turbo S Leichtbau – estimated selling price: £1m to £1.3m
One of just 86 built in Porsche’s ‘Exclusive Department’, the Turbo S was about 20 per cent more powerful than the regular 964 Turbo it was based on, with 381bhp on offer in an early ’90s 911. Which would have been exciting.
1993 964 Turbo S Leichtbau – estimated selling price: £1m to £1.3m
A zero to 62 time of 4.7 seconds and a top whack of 180mph are down to more than the tower of power, mind. A severe diet claimed most of the sound deadening and the rear seats, as well as the power windows, power locks, power seats and aircon. This was bolstered by fibreglass and carbon composite body panels, as well as thin-gauge glass, for a total kerb weight of just 1,290kg – 180 less than the regular Turbo.
1993 964 Turbo S Leichtbau – estimated selling price: £1m to £1.3m
Predictably, being light, fast and rare, it’s also chuffing expensive. But how much is a slice of history worth? A lot. Obviously.
2011 997 GT2 RS – estimated selling price: £450,000 to £535,000
Without being too indelicate, the GT2 RS is basically insanity in the shape of a Porsche 911. With 611bhp on offer from its twin-turbo, 3.6-litre flat six, it could easily crest the 200mph mark. But, like so many hot 911s, this was only the headlines.
2011 997 GT2 RS – estimated selling price: £450,000 to £535,000
Delve a little deeper, beyond the twin-turbo tower of power (that had more grunt than the famed, and lethal, Carrera GT V10), and you’ll find that another 70kg had been stripped from that already welterweight frame of the ‘standard’ GT2. That meant a kerb weight of 1,370kg – a full 200kg lighter than the 911 Turbo – and a power-to-weight ratio of 435bhp per tonne.
2011 997 GT2 RS – estimated selling price: £450,000 to £535,000
A far more pressing fact, for those behind the wheel, is that the GT2 RS spent most of its time bucking like a bull with BSE, making it all but uncontrollable unless you had seven umlauts in your name and the reaction speed of a mosquito on Red Bull.
2011 997 GT2 RS – estimated selling price: £450,000 to £535,000
Porsche added a raft of carbon-fibre aero modifications for more downforce and control, which really only resulted in a faster crash when raw physics took over and the GT2 RS became a 1.3-tonne turntable.
2011 997 GT2 RS – estimated selling price: £450,000 to £535,000
The limited run of 500 cars were offered up for £164,000 a pop – an absolute steal considering what they’re worth now. That is, if you lived long enough to turn a profit…
1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion – estimated selling price: if you have to ask…
And finally, here it is: the daddy of all 911s. It’s the single greatest and most extreme 911 on offer. And why? Well, it’s because Porsche exploited the rules of the GT1 – which said that everything that raced had to be a production road car, modified to race – and built something very different indeed.
1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion – estimated selling price: if you have to ask…
In essence, Porsche built a race car – tube frame, carbonfibre body, push rod suspension, sequential manual, the lot – and built a pretty successful race car that took 34 poles and 47 wins in its three-year run from 1996 to 1998, including a first-place finish at the 24 Hours of LeMans.
1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion – estimated selling price: if you have to ask…
And, to make sure it was race-legal (in the loopholiest possible definition of the phrase), Porsche stuck a number plate on 25 of them.
1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion – estimated selling price: if you have to ask…
These street-legal GT1s – or Straßenversions – are the result. And what a result. Pre-sold to Porsche’s top customers (there’s a theme), each GT1 SV was capable of zero to 124mph in 10.5 seconds and a top speed of 191mph, thanks to its 1,150kg kerb weight and turbocharged, 3.2-litre, water-cooled flat six.
1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion – estimated selling price: if you have to ask…
Of course, the road car’s engine had to be detuned slightly to pass emissions; even so, 540-odd bhp was on offer through a proper, gated six-speed manual.
1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion – estimated selling price: if you have to ask…
Later on, Porsche built a further 20 ‘GT1 Evo’ models with the new, 996-style ‘fried egg’ headlights, which is what’s on offer here. With just 5,000 miles on the clock.
1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion – estimated selling price: if you have to ask…
Considering a faster, lighter ex-racing GT1 recently went for £2.3m, you might even be able to pick it up for less than two million. Bargain.
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