Here’s Your Chance to Buy a Road-Registered 993 GT1
Unicorns come in many shapes and forms, but a road-registered 993 GT1 might stand as the rarest of them all.
The 993 Porsche GT1 is something of a legend in its own right. Their performance at Le Mans came at a time when homologation mandated that “production” versions were available for the road. McLaren had the F1 LM; Lotus had the Elise GT1; and there were more from Nissan, Venturi, Panoz, Mercedes, and of course, Ferrari. Silhouettes were only somewhat recognizable from their production-car counterparts, but under the skin they were purpose-built for speed.
Born on the race track, this particular GT1 — #104 — was first piloted in 1997. Klaus Ludwig and Christophe Bouchot performed initial testing under the guidance of Swedish team owner Carl Rosenblad. Carl’s team, Julius Racing, fielded the car, and #104 debuted in April of 1997 at Hockenheim. Le Mans was next on the schedule, however, it was not to be victorious. Early engines for all GT1 models had issues, and forced this car’s retirement. It was to be the only time this 993 entered the famed 24-hour race. Porsche, however, acknowledged the issue, and with a new engine at the next race at Nurburgring, #104 finished 9th.
Daytona turned out to be this car’s highest motorsport accomplishment, finishing 3rd overall at the famed 24-hour race in 1998. Millenium Motorsports then picked up the car from Julius racing, before it exchanged hands again to G-force Racing to compete in the British GT Championship.
Pedigree is important in a car, and this one certainly has it. After it was retired, it stayed in storage for a number of years before being refreshed. Livery on the car was made to reflect the way it looked when it scored its Daytona podium, and was then picked up by a Swiss collector. Original components have been removed to make it eligible for road use, however those components are retained, provided the owner wants to keep it original.
Porsche’s motorpsort icon is now for sale by Mark Donaldson in the United Kingdom. Price? Inquire within.
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Via [Mark Donaldson]
