Here's What a 992 911 GT1 Might Look Like
Remaking Porsche's race car for the street was the main goal of this French designer.
Recreating a Legend
The road-going Porsche 911 GT1 is still one of our favorite cars of all time, because honestly, who doesn't like a race car built for the street? That car backed up its incredible looks with incredible performance from its 3.2-liter flat-six as well, rocketing from 0-62 mph in just 3.9 seconds. We've often wondered what a newer version of this amazing racer might look like, and now French transportation designer Guillaume Lerouge has an answer for us.
Photos: Guillaume Lerouge
Finding Inspiration
The result of Lerouge's work is a car that takes styling inspiration from a number of places. The rear end, for example, looks like it came straight from a Turbo S. There's also the requisite giant wing back there, along with some massive air intakes and the kind of aggression you'd expect the competition to be staring at regularly.
Photos: Guillaume Lerouge
Race Look
A roof scoop helps pull cool air in, but otherwise the side profile is quite recognizable. There's also a lip spoiler up front, a louvered hood, and some yellow-tinted headlights to make this look like a proper race car. The same goes for the visible lettering on the tires, of course.
Photos: Guillaume Lerouge
Track Record
It's a cool take on a very cool past model in Porsche's lineup, one that was quite different from the regular, road-going 911. It featured a steel-tube frame in place of a unibody structure, as well as a sequential transmission. The race car went on to win Le Mans in 1988 and won 47 out of 135 races that it entered. Pretty good "track record," we'd say.
Photos: Porsche
Limited Production
Of course, very few 911 GT1s were ever produced, just enough to satisfy homologation rules. So we wouldn't expect a 992 version to be built in large numbers, though Porsche could make it a limited-edition special model like the latest 935. That 991.2 Moby Dick is more of a hardcore racer, which is exactly what the 911 GT1 reboot could be, too.
Photos: Porsche
Celebrating the Past
Or, Porsche could opt to make it street legal like the original, which would make more sense. Give it enough amenities to make it livable, like the original, and produce just enough of them to make a profit. We'd certainly love to see it, and it would fit right in with Porsche's love for celebrating its own past.
Photos: Porsche
Pipe Dream
But alas, this is nothing but a pipe dream at this point. Porsche is currently focused on building its next hypercar and winning in Formula E. Hybrid and all-electric cars are likely the future, but with any luck, we'll still see plenty of hardcore petrol models like this in the years to come.
Photos: Porsche
For help with keeping your Porsche in racing, trim see the how-to sections of RennList.com.