Ok so it has finally arrived. God knows how I paid for it. Ebay has really been a saviour for getting rid all my automotive memorabilia and special engines to pay for the car. It really better be worth it – and it is.
With only 4 hours training at Milbrook proving ground at unbearable speeds and sideways action followed with a test track day at Leipzig with the whole test track closed down for the GT and me, not only was I taught how to pull G loads, but also how to get it sideways and to fix driving actions if it all went wrong. This car is the closest I have been to a race car for the road. Every moving component when you sit in the car is found below your waist level, go-kart like (but much more refined). The engine sounds exactly the same as an F1 car, but most interestingly it revs really freely when you start the engine. Ok let me explain. When you turn the car on and press the accelerator just a little bit the engine leaps to 4000 rpm like a motorbike engine, then if you rev it to 6000 rpm it starts to howl like an F1 car. Turn the engine off and there is immediate silence due to the tiny clutch preventing inertia. Quite unique. In contrast, when you then get into a Gallardo the spin is slower, so you press the loud pedal and it gently rises in revs (another nice sound). Having the ability to compare most sports cars, at this point, I realised how amazing the Carrera GT engine is and how very unique. It’s amazing at traffic lights…but in this car there is absolutely no need to prove a point.
The interior on my car is Ascot brown and silver, the seats are fantastic and the finish is unbelievable – like a road going F1 car. All the carbon glistens and all the pipes and ancillaries are perfectly mounted, protected, bracketed and fitted. I really love the familiar dials as I have spent 8 years driving a 911 996 with pleasure and then to get into a supercar with similar easy to understand dials was a pleasure for me.
The luggage space is crap, you can stow your roof in the front and then you have no space for any luggage – so basically leave it at home or in the hotel room. The luggage set you get is great, lovely design – fits into the car in all sorts of nooks and crannies, even the doors have secret holders for specially made leather pouches to fit keys, and small items. The radio is ok and simple, the CD player is annoying as you can’t play cds and have the sat nav disc in. There is a telephone system too, but I haven’t worked this one out yet. With so much there and such an engine note I haven’t really got around to playing the radio.
My car was delivered in black but I changed my order half way through from black to silver as I thought it would hold value more. Thank goodness they delivered it in error in black as black is a rare colour for the Carrera GT and it looks amazing. Porsche have given me loads of services and support as a result of the colour change error. They even offered to repaint the car – that’s what I call service. In Leipzig I saw a white with red interior car – absolutely stunning – destined for the Saudi world – those guys really are lucky and will have fun with it too.
The car is really easy to drive even though it is a LHD car. The gear stick is so close to the steering wheel, the clutch is quite light and the gear change is super smooth. The chassis is lemans….absolutely fantastic, it skits high speed round corners and never rolls.
The only problem is that the cabin is very noisy at high speeds. When you answer the mobile you say ‘hang on mate just turning down the music volume’, then you start to reach to find the volume control to turn down the interior cabin noise- shit no button for that! The tyres do transmit a lot of noise and the massive engine in the back is really quite close to your ears and spleen. No worries that’s the whole experience of driving a house priced racing car to work – cool eh.
You never feel out of control with the car even at nutter speeds, it drives like a go cart, turns heads and is a great fun machine to drive down tight Cambridge streets with the engine blaring – you’d think you’re in Monaco. Its definitely a head turner. People give the thumbs up and even take photos! I thought my yellow Murcielago was the king of that but this car even in black does seem to have an incredible reaction on people. Even motorbike riders try and catch up, to take pictures on their mobile phones, almost killing themselves in the process.
On the A roads and Motorways you suddenly turn into some 18 year old hooligan, the car handles so well and is a dept hand at quick overtaking, you just have to calm down after a while – again everything is so easy to do.
It really made sense to deal directly with the factory to buy the car. You kind of go through a journey of spec, test drive, pr involvement, saving money till the last minute, the Germany trip and finally collection. I was so tempted to get a second hand car from a dealer or independent but I would have missed out on the whole historical experience and going to Porsche in Leipzig.
Recently I was in Mohlsein testing the Veyron. – a totally different car to the GT. In the GT you are thrilled from the moment you open the door to the engine note to the styling to the interior. The Veyron is an elitists toy – the refined daddy of all cars. Super comfy and quiet – monster engine. Its so easy to drive that you might as well be doing Project Gotham 3 on your Xbox. In contrast the Carrera GT is a fun-filled involving drive from the greatest sportscar people in the world. We are now in the times where we can buy a hypercar and enjoy it. The crash hasn’t happened and the house prices are still rising.
