This car is the second version of the 911 GT1 to be produced by Porsche, and was first raced in the 1997 GT1 category of the World Sports Car Championship. To be eligible to race, at least one roadgoing street legal version of the race car had to be made, and the silver car here is the result. Only one had to be built, so very few were made (I'm not sure of the exact number) and offered at a huge price to regular Porsche customers. One car just like this model was shown on the BBC program "Top Gear" when they visited Singapore 2 years ago. Race driver and presenter Tiff Needell drove a silver GT1 '97 which belonged to an exceptionally wealthy Singaporean, but only on the Porsche dealers lot. All 911 GT1's are left hand drive, which means the car cannot be legally driven in Singapore! The country is an ex-British colony and hence drives on the left (with right hand drive cars) and the strict local laws forbid the use of LHD cars! A very expensive mistake for the owner of that particular Porsche! The car resembles a 996 series 911, but that's about as far as the similarities go! For starters it is mid engined, as opposed to rear engined, and apart from the front and rear lights, every other body part appears to be unique to this car.
McLaren, their main rivals in 1997, thought Porsche were not playing in the spirit of the GT1 rules, even if they were following them to the letter. Mercedes too fielded a GT1 car which like the Porsche was designed as a race car first, with a road going version as an afterthought, so McLaren decided the only way to compete was to produce a longtail version of their GT1 car. 1997 was the GT1's first full season in GT1 racing, and it proved successful (a few races were contested in 1996 by the first version of the GT1, which was styled on the 993 version of the 911). In the big race of the year LeMans, the factory 911 GT1's were doing very well, holding the lead for some time, but ultimately retired from the race, giving victory for the second year in a row to a Porsche sports prototype fielded by the privateer Joest team. In second place (and 1st in the GT1 category) was a McLaren F1 GTR long tail.
This model is made by UT Models (who have now been phased out by it's parent company Gateway Global, who also make AUTOart and Gate, and re-born as "AUTOart Contemporary", a lower priced AUTOart range) and has nice paint and a good level of interior detail. The tires and wheels are well made also. By undoing 2 screws the rear engine cover can be removed (the whole of the rear bodywork in fact) and the engine exposed. It is not that detailed (the engine) and lacks such details as plug wires and so on. The fit of the doors on this model are good, unlike those on the white 1996 version which is also in my collection. Overall I like this model and it deserves 7/10 marks, a high average score!
I saw the real thing at the 2002 Goodwood Festival of Speed (held every July in West Sussex in the south of England) and I've included a photograph of the 1:1 below.
