2005 Porsche Carrera GT

Tony’s Take: Back in 2004, our editor Robert Farago reviewed cars for The Robb Report. RF penned the magazine’s first Supercar Showdown: Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Murciélago, Ford GT and Porsche Carrera GT. The Porsche won.

The GT’s staggeringly swift progress is limited by only five factors: sight lines, traffic, common sense, local law enforcement, and the amount of fuel in the car’s tank.

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Clearly, the Porsche Carrera GT’s rep for danger didn’t daunt Farago (quite the opposite). Nor does it ding the carbon fiber Porker’s collector value. We’ll get to that. For now, know this: the Carrera GT is a a technological triumph that will never lose it physical or visceral appeal.

Design

The mid-engined Carrera GT has none of the push-me, pull-you vibe of the Boxster/Cayman. Credit Harm Lagaay – the brains behind the 924, 944, 968, 993, Boxster, Cayenne and 996. The Dutch designer created a car where form follows function like Lassie followed Timmy.

Although the GT’s roughly the same width and just a bit longer than the current 911, it’s an obvious branch of the Carrera family. Thanks to those enormous side air intake and double-bubble perforated stainless steel engine covers, there’s no mistaking the GT for anything other than a supercar. It has as much presence as Santa Claus.

Porsche initially sold the car in your choice of Guards Red, Fayence Yellow, Basalt Black, GT Silver metallic or Seal Grey. At some point in the proceedings, custom colors were available.The car up for sale at Bonhams has been restored to basic black – just as it first emerged Porsche’s new-at-the-time Leipzig factory.

Engine

Behold! Porsche’s only passenger car V10! And, let’s face it, the last.

The powerplant began life as a stillborn Le Mans prototype comprising 5.5 liters. When the GT Concept Car set collectors’ collective hair on fire in Paris, getting the green light from the Porsche Powers That Be, Stuttgart’s engineers enlarged the unit to 5.7 liters.

They fettled it to produce 603 hp at a blistering 800rpm. There’s not a whole lot of torque on offer – but there doesn’t have to be. The carbon-fiber monocoque machine tips the scales at a hair over 3k pounds.

Performance

The Carrera GT hooks up that marvelous mill to a six-speed manual via the world’s most famous clutch – famous for being really difficult to modulate (retrofitted with an anti-stall system). Farago says you get used to it – but never get used to the sound the engine makes at full chat. Like this.

So, how fast is it? Glad you asked!

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Previous Sales prices

Prediction

The auction house estimates this Carrera GT will sell for up to $1.4 million, which is higher than previous sales of similar cars with fewer miles. It’s possible that the additional miles and repaint (in black) may be contributing to the higher valuation. However, in my opinion, this car is more likely to sell for around $1.2 million, including fees.