Porsche 911 (993) GT (1996)

In 1995 Porsche introduced the new 993. Although they were probably unaware at the time this was to be the last of the iconic air-cooled 911s. In competition, all-wheel-drive had been banned by most sanctioning bodies by the mid-1990s. This was as a result of Porsche's success with the four-wheel-drive 961, Audi's rally wins with the Quattro and the later track success of the Nissan Skyline. This presented a problem for Porsche, whose Turbo was fitted with four-wheel drive; the solution was simple and this was the GT2, which was built with rear-wheel drive only. A side benefit turned out to be significant weight savings, and the GT2 was instantly competitive.

A factor of Porsche's intention to go racing was that they had to build a number of road-legal GT2s in order to homologate the model for racing. At about 430 horsepower the 3.6L twin-turbo flat-six ran higher boost than the standard Turbo model and developed almost as much horsepower as the racers and was mated to a manual six-speed gearbox. The GT2 shared the cutaway wings with the Carrera RS and had removable and replaceable bolt-on flares in order to fit wider wheels for racing and quickly fix crash damage. The Large rear wing provided additional down-force, with air intakes on the sides for the engine. With saving weight in mind the bonnet and doors were aluminium and the side and rear window glass was thinner. In addition, the three-piece, light-alloy Speedline wheels had Stahlgrau magnesium spiders. In fact, the body was lowered by 20mm compared to the 911 Turbo to reduce drag.

As chronicled in the definitive GT2 book; Porsche completed just 194 road-going GT2s as well as a further 78 race cars. C16 specification was of course rare and is now hugely desirable. The standard paint palette was limited and evolved over the production run of the GT2, with Arctic Silver replacing the earlier Polar Silver and so on. As such, whilst just 25 or so cars received the rare Paint to Sample option, a number of these were optioned with previous colours including shades of black, white and silver. Fewer than half a dozen cars built received a unique paint scheme. This is one such example.

In December 1996, the sole keeper of this car flew to the factory where he would collect a completely unique, Paint to Sample 911 GT. No doubt a challenging decision; the resulting hue was the striking shade of Turquoise Green Metallic. As confirmed by the definitive book, this is the only car built - road, race, left-hand drive, right-hand drive - to be finished in this colour.

The car was then driven to the UK and registered in 1997. Since then, it has remained in the care of a single individual and just 19,900 miles. The car saw limited use and was stored for much of its life, corroborated by its MOT history. In 2017 after several years of limited use, the car was subjected to a mechanical overhaul including overhauling the turbochargers. Most recently the car has been inspected and serviced by Porsche specialists, JZM.

An exciting and unique proposition, this example really must be seen to be appreciated, this stunning and completely unique ‘GT2’ is available to view at our showrooms outside London immediately.

The sole example in this colour, this car has remained with its first owner since his factory collection in December 1996 to date and has covered just 19,900 miles.