Porsche Carrera GT: The lost art of taming a beast

The Porsche Carrera GT has been sold. No one had betrayed it until now, you would have had to own it do that, and who owns a GT after all? Strictly speaking, you cannot “own” a car of this breed, in the sense of breaking its will. If you so happen to be one of the rare owners, you face the challenge of taming the two-humped beast that is spitefully crouching in front of you. You the lion tamer. It a tiger.

The driver of a Porsche Carrera GT shouldn’t be afraid of grabbing the tiger by the tail, fleeing inside and quickly closing the cage. Then he may be able to deal with this ferocious feline, but he won’t own it. Some 1,500 people have invested about 450,000 euros each to “own” a Carrera GT, and we wish them all the happiness on this earth. Sitting on this low-riding two-seater makes you feel high and mighty, like Old Shatterhand riding his steed Hatatitla. This GT is surrounded by the frosty nimbus of solitude, and pandering to others is anathema to it.

A story of simplicity

The automotive history of Porsche is a story of simplicity. The company’s perennial goal is not terrestrial locomotion per se, but giving you pleasure while en route. Not the kind of pleasure you get from a comfortable ride. True, Porsches can be comfortable – as comfortable as a proper bed feels after sleeping rough for weeks in the wilderness. No Porsche is really comfortable, but that’s not what Porsches are designed for anyway. This even applies to the bulky Cayenne, whose gurgling fuel pipes assault the ear, especially on German roads.

Porsche has always flouted the rules of bourgeoisie and yet abided by them. For all that, no definition of middle-class mobility is able to capture the GT, as its essence is that of a racing car, which, on the eve of its career, is allowed to prowl the public roads. That’s why we won’t write a classic review and bore you with specs such as acceleration times and fuel economy. We’ll only touch on such metrics if they serve to elucidate the GT’s inner demon.

Or maybe technical developments do catch up, but the fascination of driving always dwells within a Porsche. And this fascination has never appeared purer and more challenging, will affect you physically, and make you cry one way or the other.

This realization dawns at first sight. To be sure, automotive beauty is in the eye of the petrolhead. The GT laughs in the face of people fond of bonnets stretching as far as the sunset, or who like harmoniously flowing shapes and a balance of proportions. The car doesn’t even try to be attractive (it already is); its message is that of a thoroughbred racing machine that exhales the heat of its passion through all vents.

If beautiful design is a function of speed, then this GT is more marvellous than ( … )

The article about the Porsche Carrera GT was written by journalist Wolfgang Peters – not yesterday but in 2006, the year in which production was discontinued. We found his declaration of love to this very special car to be so wonderfully written that we decided to print it again. Regardless, the Carrera GT’s road performance and handling remain nothing short of brilliant, making it an example for all eternity. There aren’t many sportscars that can say that of themselves.

→ You can read the full text in ramp #42: "Into the Blue."