One of Porsche’s Most Legendary Road Cars Just Came Full Circle

Before the turn of the millennium, Porsche started a project known internally under the name LMP 2000. As the German automaker had taken first at Le Mans in ‘98 but neglected to defend its title in ‘99, the open-topped racer was its effort to reclaim the throne.

Despite tipping scales at less than 2,000 lbs and packing a specially developed 5.5-liter V10 making nearly 600 horsepower, the LMP 2000 never saw competition. Porsche built just one example before putting the kibosh on the whole thing due to financial reasons.

Porsche

Now, the car’s screaming V10 did eventually see the road (albeit with a few tweaks and a larger displacement) in the Carrera GT. As test driver Roland Kussmaul put it best, “The LMP 2000 was our vision for the future. The Carrera GT put our ideas on the road.”

Honoring a Le Mans legend

It’s precisely on account of this motorsport DNA that Porsche’s latest Sonderwunsch project is so special. In addition to speaking to the car’s racing origins, it honors one of the brand’s all-time Le Mans legends.

Porsche

That’s because, as part of his commission, owner Victor Gómez had his 2005 Carrera GT painted in the Salzburg design of the car that took Porsche’s very first overall Le Mans victory.

Decked out in eye-catching red and white, it recalls the 917 that Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood raced in 1970 – one of a pair that secured Porsche’s decisive 1-2 win that year.

Porsche

It’s a result that Steve McQueen not only later immortalized on the silver screen in the aptly named film Le Mans, but it’s also one that kick-started an era of Porsche’s racing dominance at La Sarthe.

As such, it’s incredibly fitting that Porsche’s iconic Le Mans-bred road car is flying its ancestor’s colors. While it technically owes its V10 to the unrealized LMP 2000, not even that prototype would’ve had the chance to exist without the success of historic vehicles like the 917. 

Porsche

Rolling everything back to zero

Now, Gómez’s Factory Re-Commission project wasn’t just a simple re-spray. 

As part of the Sonderwunsch program, Porsche completely disassembled the vehicle, overhauling some components (like the V10 engine) from the ground up and refinishing other parts (like those made from carbon fiber) in their entirety. Even the odometer was rolled back to zero.

Porsche

What’s more, Gómez had the cabin completely re-upholstered to complement the car’s newly refinished exterior. From the dash and the door panel inserts to the steering wheel and the center console, nearly everything is shod in bright Indian Red Alcantara.

In combination with some subtle matte carbon fiber accents in the seat shells, air vents and instrument cover, it makes for a racy look. While it’s far from subtle, it works on a car like the Carrera GT.

Porsche

Besides, it’s all the more fitting because the interior incorporates the same flame-retardant FIA-approved textile as found in the car’s successor, the 918 Spyder.

When you consider that endurance racers like the 917 also had to run a pair of seats back in the day, this particular Carrera GT really has come full circle — inside and out.

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