If you see a Porsche 911 GT1 on the road, you can count yourself lucky, as it is one of the rarest Porsche models. It may look like a race car on the road, and that’s because it is. It was built for racing, but for homologation reasons Porsche had to build road cars as well. Let’s find out what is the Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion?

Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion

The Porsche 911 GT1 has its roots on the racetrack. In the 1990s, Porsche was a strong contender in the endurance racing. Porsche race cars collected wins on GT2 and GT3 classes, but overall victories went to cars racing in the GT1 class. So, Porsche needed a new race car to compete on the highest level of endurance racing. But, there was a little problem. Rules said that the GT1 racer had to be based on a road car, and Porsche didn’t have a suitable hypercar at the moment. So, Porsche designed the race car first, and then made a street version of it. Therefore the name Strassenversion (=street version), is quite descriptive.

There were, in fact, three different versions of the 911 GT1 Strassenversion made. The early prototype 911 GT1 Strassenversion models were based on the 1996 Porsche 911 GT1 race car. It was powered by the same 3.2-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine as the race car. While the race engine had a peak power output of near 600 PS, the street version produced about 544 PS. The engine was mounted in a mid-engine position. The styling of the 1996 Porsche 911 GT1 derived much from the type 993-generation 911. Except the rear end, which resembled the 962 race car. Two prototype versions of the 1996 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion were made for homologation purposes.

The 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion was also available for the public, but only in limited numbers. Only about 20 cars were produced. The front end design of the 1997 version was inspired by the new 996-generation 911. The car’s doors are made of carbon fiber, and its striking rear wing extends the entire width of the body. The car even has a small luggage compartment. The interior features some familiar elements from the 911, such as the three-spoke steering wheel. The 1997 cars have a maximum power output of 544 PS and can sprint from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in about 3.9 seconds. The top speed is about 309 km/h (192 mph).

All the Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion on the road are 1997 models. In 1998, only a single, slimmed-down, more lightweight version was made, only for homologation purposes. So in total just a little over twenty cars were built.

For those few who get to see one on the road, and for those very few who get to drive one, the Porsche 911 GT1 is the closest thing of a Porsche race cars on the road.

Image by Porsche