Porsche Carrera GT: The Best Sounding Car Ever?
Watch as EVO Magazine founder, Harry Metcalfe, walks us through the iconic V10-powered supercar.
Would it be sufficient to describe the Carrera GT as an icon? This mid-engine sports car brought automotive engineering to a level that previously we had never seen in a production car. It was a lot of first for the brand and for cars in general. We have to say that its existence is pivotal in how performance cars are shaped today and without it the world would be a sad place to be. Is it the rarest Porsche ever made? Far from it. From the years 2003 to 2007, around 1,270 of these beautiful vehicles were produced.
However, unmistakably, the heart of this vehicle was the engine. People loved the design, craved the exclusivity, but stayed enamored because of how special the V10 powering the Carrera GT was. From the first time this engine was heard by the public at an invite-only event before the 2000 Paris Motor Show, the engine lingered in the minds and hears of journalists lucky enough to be there. One of these said journalists was Harry Metcalfe, founder of EVO magazine. Thanks to his YouTube channel, Harry’s Garage, we get to see one of these rare vehicles up close and hear some exclusive stories about its release.
There is honestly so many things that Metcalfe covers about this vehicle, it is hard to know where to start. He has knowledge to a lot of details that we would otherwise not be privy to. Such as the fact that the Carrera GT initially was intended to be a sequential paddle shift car and designed so by the Porsche head of design at the time. However, senior test driver for Porsche and racing legend Walter Rohrl disagreed and stated that it couldn’t be a driver’s car without a 6-speed manual. Considering the Carrera GT was only produced with a manual gearbox, you can guess who won the argument.
Metcalfe, driving number 0146 Carrera GT, states that his first impressions of the car when driving it is that it is noisy in the cabin because of the carbon fiber monocoque. However, he quickly wanders back to a time when all the manufactures would have secret testing events at the Nurburgring only for employees and all the manufacturer’s would drive each others cars for comparison. He recalls that of all the cars there at that time, the Carrera GT was the one with the most inconsistent lap times throughout the field. He equates this mainly due to the first-generation tires, which were “unpredictable”.
Where else would we be able to find this information? While hearing about the performance figures and this and that is great usually, Metcalfe brings forth a kind of understanding about a car that can’t really be explained. He has lived these vehicles in ways that very few people have and his insight is truly great to listen to. Thus, if you have a couple of minutes of free time and have some appreciation for this legend, check out the full video.