Porsche Carrera GT Concept (2000)

Porsche presented production-ready sports car study at the Paris Motor Show in 2000. Named Porsche Carrera GT, this concept was a racing car for the road.

Porsche Carrera GT Concept

Developed at the research and development centre in Weissach, the design of the Carrera GT was based on pure racing engineering. This applies to both the chassis and the suspension. And to forget the normally aspirated V10 engine and the six-speed manual transmission. The use of carbon fibre as the body’s basic material combined optimal strength and safety with a minimal vehicle weight. The wright of the hypercar was only around 1250 kilograms.

The 5.5-litre, naturally aspirated V10 engine in the concept car provided 410 kW of power and 600 Nm (442 lb-ft) of torque. The car’s performance was staggering. Porsche promised that the Carrera GT could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in under 4 seconds and to 200 km/h in under 10 seconds. Top speed would be over 330 km/h. The engine displacement was increased to 5.7 litres in the production model.

Reaching very high speeds on the road, the Carrera GT required a special spring and damper set-up in order to maintain its driving stability and good grip especially at the rear in all speed ranges. Again, the solution applied for this purpose came from motorsport. The spring/damper elements are fastened to the inside of the chassis structure and operated by stainless-steel pushrods and pivot levers. Firm connection of the springs and dampers to the chassis helped to provide an exact, smooth response, again in the interest of added safety on the road.

Ready for the Production

The Porsche Carrera GT concept looked pretty much production-ready when it made its first public appearance at the Paris Motor Show. But before making the final decision about the production, Porsche wanted to test market acceptance and market size. However, after the very positive welcome from the public, the decision was easy to make. The Carrera GT went into the production in 2003.

Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, chairman of the board of directors of Porsche AG said: “The Carrera GT is 100 percent Porsche and underlines our high expectation of being the perfect example of innovation, fascination and emotion in international sports car manufacturing in the future. If we were to build this super sports car, it will naturally carry the quality seals “Made in Germany” and “Manufactured by Porsche”.

Images by Porsche