Porsche Carrera GT

Porsche Carrera GT

The Porsche Carrera GT is a sports car and a supercar automobile manufactured by Porsche in a new manufacturing plant in Leipzig, Germany.



History



The Carrera GT was developed from a sports car racing design that was abandoned, officially due to rule changes. The real reason was that Audi had entered sports car racing in 1999, and competition from Porsche was not desired. With Ferdinand Piëch being both the CEO of Volkswagen and Audi as well as being a grandson and major share holder of Porsche, the Carrera GT was denied a racing career, most notably at LeMans. In addition, Porsche manpower needed to focus on the development of the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg SUV twins.

Instead, the Carrera GT was shown to the world in 2000 as a road car concept. It took some years to actually develop it into a road-going car. In 2004, production of 1500 cars started. It costs $440,000 USD.

In August, 2005, Porsche announced that it would not continue production of the Carrera GT into 2006, reducing the total production estimate to 1,250.

Design

The Carrera GT has a 5.7 litre V10 internal combustion engine that produces 605 SAE horsepower (451 kW). Porsche claims it will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 330 km/h (204 mph), although road tests indicated that in actuality the car could acclerate from 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds. With 605 hp, the car weighs 1,380 kg (3,042 lb). The Carrera GT is only offered with a six-speed manual transmission, in contrast to its rival the Ferrari Enzo that is only offered with sequential manual transmission. Also the Carrera GT is significantly less expensive than the Ferrari Enzo. The Ferrari Enzo is priced around $660,000 to the Carrera GT's $440,000. The Carrera GT is known for its high quality and reliability.

Technology

Technology of note includes a pure Carbon fiber monocoque and subframe, dry-sump lubrication and inboard suspension. The main innovation on this vehicle however is the use of a ceramic clutch. This is the first appearance of this race car technology in a road car. The clutch although difficult to master allows the engine to sit lower in the chassis than in any other super car, both improving its aerodynamics and lowering its center of gravity.

Despite a seemingly difficult clutch, Porsche incorporated computer management of the clutch when the car is on an incline. Drivers are able to lift completely off the clutch and not stall the car.

Unlike its rivals the Carrera GT eschews cutting edge driving aids such as dynamic stability control. Instead Porsche engineers have placed their faith in a communicative chassis and the ability of the driver.

Other supercar rivals include the Enzo Ferrari and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.


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