The first factory-recommissioned Porsche Carrera GT is spectacular in green
Even 15 years after its introduction, the Porsche Carrera GT is one of the most exciting things on four wheels. Its screaming 605-horsepower V-10 engine, its racy styling, its analog driving experience, and little details like the beechwood shift knob make it an absolute dream car. You’ll still find it on more than a few bedroom walls.
One collector in the United States felt his Carrera GT could be even more outrageous, however, and that’s where Porsche Classic stepped in. Porsche Classic will do restoration work on any Porsche production model that’s more than 10 years old, and the department worked with the collector to “recommission” his Carrera GT with loads of bespoke touches. This is the first Carrera GT that Porsche Classic has recommissioned, and the result is pretty spectacular.
Porsche unveiled the car to the public and its owner for the first time at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, the only place outside of Germany where Porsche does factory restoration.
In conjunction with the RM Sotheby’s Porsche 70th Anniversary Auction, Porsche held a symposium with two executives from Porsche Classic, race driver David Donohue and designer Tony Hatter, who were seated near the car. After the cover came off, the most striking thing was the paint. The Carrera GT was originally available in five colors, and there were a few paint-to-sample cars. Most are GT Silver or Seal Grey, but this one looks resplendent in Oak Green Metallic, a shade that first came about in the 1970s but looks right at home on a mid-2000s hypercar.
Of course, it isn’t all just a nice paint job. Top to bottom, the attention to detail is amazing. The wheels are the original five-spoke magnesium pieces, but in homage to BBS racing wheels the folks at Porsche Classic hand painted and coated them in gold, then capped them with race-inspired center locks. The shiny metallic area around the edge of the wheels isn’t chrome—it’s silver. Pure silver. And to keep that silver plating from tarnishing, there is a clear coat on top. The gold motif carries over to the engine bay, which is clearly visible over the mesh engine cover. Inside are wine red leather seats with Houndstooth cloth inserts, and the top center marker on the steering wheel is a single gold stripe flanked by an Oak Green stripe on either side to match the rest of the car. It looks fantastic.
Uwe Makrutzki, manager of Porsche Classic Factory Restoration, described the process as “not so much restoring as recommissioning,” which makes sense given the fact that the Carrera GT isn’t a very old car and most don’t have more than a couple thousand miles on them anyway. Then again, Porsche Classic did a ton of work underneath the skin of this car as well. For example, the coating on older carbon fiber tends to yellow and fade, so Porsche Classic spent 350 hours hand-sanding and recoating the Oak Green Carrera GT’s carbon fiber pieces.
Pretty much everyone at the unveiling, including the owner, was blown away by this car, which is a great showcase for what the people at Porsche Classic can really do. And as certain well-heeled customers and collectors want another level of exclusivity on top of the limited-production models that Porsche regularly offers, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Porsche Classic commissioned to do plenty more of these special one-off builds.
