An exceptionally rare 1998 Porsche 911 GT1
Strassenversion has sold for US$ 5.665 million at Gooding & Company’s auction
at Amelia Island.
Just 20 units of the GT1 Strassenversion were
produced for the street to meet homologation requirements to allow the GT1
Evolution to race at the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours. As a result, the car really is
a racing car for the road, not simply a road car with a roll cage and
lightweight wheels.
The 911 GT1 Strassenversion
features a twin-turbocharged 3.2-liter water-cooled flat-six engine delivering
544 hp at 7,000 rpm and 600 Nm of torque at 4,250 rpm. While those figures may
not be extraordinary in 2017, the do allow the street racer to hit 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds and a 310 km/h top speed.
The example in question is chassis number 005 and
was reportedly just the second example produced. It was originally delivered to
a German customer and during his ownership, driven a total a 4,400 km.
In October 2003, the GT1 was sold to Don Wallace
from Florida where it remained until 2009 when another Florida collector
purchased it. It was ultimately purchased by a German and returned back to its
motherland before coming back to the U.S. in 2015 where it underwent a
meticulous detail.
At the time of sale it had 7,900 km on
the clock. Porsche 918 Spyder eat your heart out.
