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Porsche 911 GT1/98 - Well meant...

Name: Porsche 911 GT1/98 1998
Brand: Porsche

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Created on July 5, 2023

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung: Paul Krüger)

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Porsche Werksarchiv

Porsche AG

Porsche AG / Porsche Schweiz AG

Stefan Fritschi / Automobil Revue

Emanuel Zifreund

Daniel Reinhard

Porsche Werksarchiv

Porsche AG

Porsche AG / Porsche Schweiz AG

Stefan Fritschi / Automobil Revue

Emanuel Zifreund

Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - Studio recordings of the 1998 Le Mans winning car driven by Laurent Aïello, Alan McNish and Stéphane Ortelli

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - The special exhibition "Porsche at Le Mans" at the Porsche Museum in March 2014

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - Without being forced to use parts from series production, the Porsche engineers were able to tailor the new racing car perfectly to the GT1 specifications

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - One of the wind tunnel models: the shape was as flowing and elegant as it was streamlined

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - According to GT1 regulations, a racing car had to be equipped with all the lights required for road approval in the permitted installation position. This drawing explains what sits where

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - The new GT1 regulations only stipulated the construction of a single road-legal vehicle. Here it is, redeemed with Böblingen car number, in one of the development workshops

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - It also has the controversial "fried eggs" headlights, albeit in a different shape to the series. The indicators can otherwise be found on the fenders of the Polo II

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - A celebration in carbon fiber: The interior of the road version doesn't look very comfortable, especially since the seat upholstery is still missing here

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - The McLaren F1 sends its regards: butterfly doors provide access to the interior

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - The car with chassis number 001 as an unpainted advertising medium

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - Chassis 001 was tested as a test car on various race tracks in order to eliminate all possible weak points

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - A look under the skirt: tubular frame with load-bearing drivetrain and horizontal spring/damper units actuated via push rods and rocker arms

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - The dashboard was home to an intimidating number of switches, lights, fuses and relays. Just visible to the right of the steering wheel: the aluminum gearshift lever

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - A mineral: The completion of the first car is celebrated with a small drink. Far left in the picture: designer Tony Hatter

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - The two Le Mans cars: With orange accents the starting number 26 of Aïello/McNish/Ortelli, behind it with yellow accents the starting number 25 of Müller/Alzen/Wollek

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - A rare view from above reveals the teardrop-shaped driver's cab and the air intakes for brake cooling next to its protrusion

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - The car of Müller/Alzen/Wollek with starting number 25 in the dusk of Le Mans

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - The rear is virtually just a single, wide hole. At least the exhaust flames cannot scorch any body parts. The rear lights are from the standard range

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - Le Mans 1998: the later winning car with starting number 26 returns to the race after a pit stop

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - Le Mans 1998: Here the car with starting number 25 is just leaving the pit lane after a stop

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Porsche 911 GT1 (1998) in front of police Porsche 911 in the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart

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Porsche 911 GT1 (1998) - at the 2013 Porsche press event at the Hockenheimring

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - Porsche achieved a one-two victory with this model at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - Porsche 911 GT1 racing version at Le Mans (winning car); Drivers: Allan McNish, Stephane Ortelli and Laurent Aiello.

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Porsche 911 GT1/98 (1998) - rear axle - at the Porsche Sound Night

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Porsche 911 GT1 (1998) - At the French endurance classic Le Mans, the Porsche equipped with a carbon fiber chassis can hold its own against tough competition

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Porsche Cayenne (2002) - Porsche board members inspect the Cayenne at the development center in Weissach

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Summary

...is not always well done. As a completely new design, the Porsche 911 GT1 for the 1998 season was supposed to make up for the two unsuccessful previous years. But even as a pure racing car without any reference to series production, the 911 GT1/98 only managed a single victory - but it was the most important one to be won that year. This article tells the story of Porsche's last Le Mans overall winner from the 20th century.

This article contains the following chapters

A completely new chassis
Purpose-built shape from the computer
A winless season
Le Mans
SUV instead of motorsport

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

On the way back from the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans, Porsche race director Norbert Singer and race engineer Herbert Ampferer were already making their plans for the 1998 season. It was to be a crisis year for the revived Porsche racing program, which was now under heavy fire from Mercedes-Benz. They left Le Mans, where one works GT1/97 had gone up in flames and the other had spun and broken an axle. It was essential to recover from this fiasco. In addition, the wheels were already turning in Zuffenhausen to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its own automobile production in 1998. And the racing department was expected to make its contribution.

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