Editor’s Note: There are so many amazing automobiles that have been manufactured over the years. Porsche has a storied history in auto racing and in designing and manufacturing ground shaking supercars for daily driving duties, occasional jaunts out on the town or track day heroics on the weekends. RM Auctions sold a sweet ’96 Porsche 911 GT2 (993) at the company’s October 2012 London Auction that had low miles and accordingly garnered high Pounds. We appreciate RM allowing us the opportunity to share this Teutonic masterpiece with our readers. Thanks for the words and photos, RM Auctions.

Photo Credit: Tim Scott ©2012 Courtesy of RM Auctions

Lot 155
1996 Porsche 911 GT2
Sold for £324,800

Chassis no. WPOZZZ99ZTS392099

Series 993. 430 hp, 3.6-litre twin-turbocharged air-cooled horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine, six-speed manual transmission, independent front McPherson Strut suspension, multi-link rear suspension, and four-wheel cross-drilled and ventilated hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 105 in.

• One of 57 homologation 993 GT2s
• Delivered new to Switzerland; only two owners and 16,000 km from new
• Totally unmodified with original 430 horsepower engine and drivetrain

When Porsche introduced the new 993 in 1995, it was to be the last of the great air-cooled 911s. The new coupé retained only the roof and front deck lid from the preceding 964 model. New items included body work, poly-ellipsoid low-beam and variable focus high-beam headlights, and a six-speed transmission. A new multi-link rear suspension carried upper and lower A-arms with transverse links. Both the front and rear sub-frames were now so strong that if they were bent in a crash they had to be replaced, they could not be straightened. There were new wheels, and the brake discs and pads were enlarged.

Porsche’s success with the four-wheel drive 961, Audi’s rally wins with the Quattro, and the later track success of the Nissan Skyline had led to all-wheel-drive being banned by most sanctioning bodies by the mid-1990s. This presented a problem for Porsche, whose Turbo was fitted with four-wheel drive; the solution was the GT2, which was built with rear drive only. A side benefit turned out to be significant weight savings, and the GT2 was instantly competitive.

For example, Dave Maraj, of Champion Porsche in Pompano Beach, Florida, bought s/n 393062 in January 1995, and it proved to be a constant threat in IMSA in the hands of Hans Stuck Jr., Derek Bell, Thierry Boutsen, and Bill Adam. In its Champion DayGlo colours, the car was Second in Class at the 1995 Sebring 12 Hours, Second in Class at Watkins Glen, it won its class at the 1996 Sebring 12-Hours, and it placed Second in Class at 1997 Daytona 24 Hours.

A side effect of all this competition success was that Porsche had to build a number of street GT2s in order to homologate the model for racing. At about 430 horsepower, they ran higher boost than the street Turbo model and developed almost as much horsepower as the racers. They shared cutaway fenders with the Carrera RS and had removable and replaceable bolt-on flares in order to fit wider wheels for racing and quickly fix crash damage. The street GT is highly prized by 993 collectors.

The car on offer is a factory built road-going GT2 with excellent provenance. Delivered new to Switzerland and supplied by the Porsche main agent in Zurich, it was finished in Polar Silver with black leather interior and has enjoyed only two owners from new. The vendor purchased the Porsche in 2005 from respected Swiss Porsche specialist and 1979 Le Mans class winner Angelo Pallavicini, with only 3,000 kilometres accrued. The odometer now indicates 16,000 kilometres and has been used sparingly, maintained without regard to expense by Porsche main agents in Switzerland and Monaco.

This original and unmodified Porsche GT2 is offered in perfect condition and is accompanied by detailed records of its full dealer service history, with the most recent major service conducted in 2012, less than 1,000 kilometres ago, by Porsche in Geneva. Offered with French registration, road-going GT2s very seldom come to market, and those that do seldom have a more sparkling resumé than the example offered here today. Many road cars were converted to race cars in period, so the opportunity to acquire a totally unmolested low mileage and low ownership example is one not to be missed by the discerning Porsche collector.