Description
The 996 GT3 we are offering here is the number 1292 from the first batch built for the FIA homologation purposes. It was used in 1999 by Weissach and sold in April 2000, recording 1400 km to the President of the Paris Porsche Club. During his ownership the car was kept as a collector’s item extremely cherished and cautiously driven, he sold it to its second owner in 2007 with a mere 17 000 km for the same use. Now this beautiful GT3 only records 25 000 km and could only be described as being in immaculate condition. The car was never used on the track or damaged, therefore it still retains its original paintwork, front brakes and Michelin Pilot tyres. It has been recently serviced and the book records an excellent Porsche service history. For sure further to the buyer’s inspection it will be sold with a new set of tyres. This amazing car shouldn’t be compared with most of the other GT3s which had quite a hard life even with low kms on the clock. This is a real collector item, at the moment the 996 GT3 MKI is very low in value and will soon raise thanks to its real racing roots and the major footprints it left in the sport cars history.
Model history
After an area of Sport Prototypes in the 80s, the 90s saw the endurance motorsport dominated by the GT cars, many manufacturers developed GT1 and GT2 racers with the aim of winning Le Mans 24h race and the FIA–GT Championship. Porsche anticipated the creation of the GT3 category and launched a new sport version from its all new “996” in 1999. The new sport 911 was named “GT3” as a direct reference to its racing roots, its debut was at Geneva show where the first batch of about 1500 cars ( FIA requirement for 2000-GT2 regulation ) was immediately sold. The press was elogious, most of the connoisseurs electing it as the best sport car in the world. With only 360HP for it 3600cc engine it was capable of 302km/h and ran the standing km in only 23,3sec. The car was built around a 996 chassis lowered by 30mm, using rigid suspension joints, with height adjustable shocks and sway bars. Basically most of the chassis elements including the braking system were common to the Cup version. The engine is the most interesting part from the car being actually based on the 911 GT1 unit with separate crank case and cylinders. Indeed the engine is totally different from the 996 one, which uses common crankcase with the cylinders. The gearbox was an evolution from the 993 GT2 and received fantastic gear ratios. The 996 body was revised into the wind tunnel and fitted with a new bumper, sills and rear wing. The GT3 is a lovely car to drive extremely quick and friendly it is also a very efficient on small roads with the narrow track. In 2000 an additional batch of about 300 cars were built and received a few modifications to be more civilised. In total only 1838 “MKI” were reputably built and it should be noted that these are the only 996 and 997 to have ever been built at Weissach at Porsche Motorsport, the next generations being assembled on the production line in Stuttgart. Driven by the great Walter Rohrl it scored 7,56 sec at the Nordschleif being the first production car to run below the mythical 8min. Just as the 2,7 RS did in 1973, the 996 GT3 in 1999 sat new standards into the history of sport cars.
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