RARE ROAD LEGAL 1996 911-993 PORSCHE GT2 COULD FETCH CLOSE TO R30MIL AT AUCTION
We love Porsche here at SXdrv, we make no excuses about giving them the spotlight with a little more joy than we do for other brands. The Porsches of the 90s were amazing, the amount of power that could be extracted from an air-cooled motor is mind-blowing, especially seeing cars with these motors being thrashed to within an inch of their lives without overheating or seizing almost doesn’t make sense. The best of these was the very last of the air-cooled Porsches, which makes sense, the timeless and iconic 993-series Porsche 911 Turbo. The top-spec was the GT2, a literal monster of a car and is considered by many who know about these things as the ultimate air-cooled 911. When it comes to Porsche cars, even the most ardent fanatics can have a hard time identifying them, but that’s not the case for this Porsche thanks to the freaking awesome bolt-on flared wings fitted to accommodate the car’s increased track and those ridiculously meaty Speedline wheels - that cost a pretty penny themselves. Bigger tyres and a wider track resulted in much better grip and traction, and to take advantage of that the Porsche engineers also outfitted the car with a revised front splitter and an oversized rear wing that looks so damn good that replicas can be found on loads of track-prepped Porsches. The changes to the underpinnings and aero, along with that superb twin-turbocharged flat-6 helped the car to secure two class wins at Le Mans at the time. The roadgoing version of that racecar, which is what you see here as it heads to auction with RM Sotheby’s in Paris, was produced in limited numbers with just 194 units being made available, and that makes them rather sought-after to collectors. Back in 1996, these cars sold for the equivalent of R2,500,000, which was quite a chunk of change back then. This example here that underwent a full restoration by marque specialist Christian ABT Classic of Kempten in Germany is expected to fetch as much as R1,500,000 - which is close enough to a cool R30,000,000. Talk about an investment.
This car was already well looked after, and when it was given a birthday it was on 136,000 km. That’s high for a classic Porsche of any kind, and it’s part of why the ABT Classic had to redo the car. When it was acquired by the current owner in 202, the car was in pieces from an abandoned restoration. Christian ABT Classic was commissioned to carry out a comprehensive nut-and-bolt rebuild, stripping and chemically dipping the bodyshell to prep it for new paint, while also rebuilding the 3.6-litre engine and fiddling a little with the KKK K24 turbochargers along with the suspension using new Bilstein shock absorbers and Eibach springs. Every part of the GT2 received some attention, all worn components were either being refurbished or replaced. There were also some upgrades like replacing rubber axle mountings with strong and lightweight aluminium. One thing we wouldn’t have done was to give the car that Black Metallic paintwork. The car’s original colour was Porsche Polar Silver which is our favourite Porsche colour ever. To add to the fresh bodywork, the interior received a refresh too. All the bits were retrimmed in black leather with yellow stitching to match the yellow instrument cluster, the seat backs and also the calipers. The engine was tweaked a bit before assembly so instead of the stock power of 320 kW of power, this example has slightly more at 335 kW. It should then be slightly quicker than the stock 0-100 km/h of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 295 km/h. The finished product is stunning, the black over black works great (almost as good as the Polar Silver) and will be an amazing addition to any car collection anywhere in the world.
Take a look at the YouTube video that also shows off one of these rare 90s classics, except this 991-993 is seen in silver paint, online the metallic black one that's headed to auction. Being a Porsche fanatic, we don't care what colour it is, it's simply amazing. Don't take our word for it, check out what proper driver and car reviewer thinks of the car from when he had one in his possession a couple of years back: Chris Harris Introduces the Ultimate Air-Cooled 911. Porsche 993 GT2, now live for bids! | Collecting Cars
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