The last great analog supercar.
What it was
The Carrera GT was Porsche's halo supercar of the 2000s. It was launched at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show and entered limited production in late 2003 as a 2004 model. Production ran until 2006. Total production: 1,270 examples.
The car was mid-engine, carbon-fiber monocoque, six-speed manual only. Power came from a 5.7 liter naturally-aspirated V10 producing 612 horsepower at 8,000 rpm. Curb weight was approximately 1,380 kilograms. 0-100 km/h took 3.5 seconds. Top speed: 330 km/h.
It was, in 2003, the most expensive Porsche ever sold — $440,000 in the United States at launch. It was also the last Porsche supercar with a manual transmission. Every flagship that came after — the 918 Spyder, the 911 GT2 RS — used dual-clutch transmissions.
The engine
The Carrera GT V10 had an unusual lineage. Porsche had developed the engine for a Formula 1 program with Footwork-Arrows in the early 1990s. The F1 project was cancelled before the engine ran in a race, but Porsche kept the design and adapted it for the LMP1-98 prototype Le Mans car. That car was also cancelled before competition.
The engine sat idle until the Carrera GT program in 2000. Porsche reactivated the design, displaced it to 5.7 liters, and detuned it slightly for road use. The result was an engine that revved to 8,400 rpm — almost unheard of for a road-going V10 — with a naturally aspirated power delivery completely different from the contemporary turbocharged supercars of the era.
The sound is the car's signature. The V10 has a flat-plane crankshaft (more common in Formula 1 than in road cars) and produces a high-pitched, mechanical wail that's distinctly different from any Ferrari V8 or Lamborghini V12 of the same era. It is, in person, one of the loudest road-legal cars ever sold.
The chassis
The Carrera GT used a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic monocoque — Porsche's first production application of carbon-fiber for a structural chassis. The subframes were also carbon-fiber. The body panels were a mix of carbon and aluminum. The result was extreme rigidity at low weight.
The transmission was a six-speed manual mounted longitudinally behind the engine. The clutch was a ceramic composite unit roughly six inches in diameter — much smaller than a conventional steel clutch, allowing the engine to sit lower in the chassis but making the car notoriously difficult to drive smoothly at low speeds. Stalling the Carrera GT in traffic was a documented problem for new owners.
Brakes were ceramic carbon composite. Suspension was double-wishbone all around with inboard-mounted spring/damper units operated by pushrods — Formula 1 architecture adapted for the street. The result was a car that handled like a race car and required the driver's full attention.
The Paul Walker accident
In November 2013, actor Paul Walker died in a single-vehicle crash near Santa Clarita, California, while riding in a Carrera GT driven by his friend Roger Rodas. Rodas, an experienced driver, also died in the crash. The Carrera GT had struck a tree and a light pole and burst into flames.
The accident received international media coverage because of Walker's celebrity. The subsequent investigation found that the car was traveling at approximately 90 mph in a 45 mph zone, and that the tires were nine years old and had degraded — degraded tires having lost their grip explained why a car that should have been controllable lost adhesion in a relatively simple curve.
The Walker family later filed a lawsuit against Porsche alleging that the Carrera GT had design defects related to fuel-tank rupture and stability control. The case was settled in 2017 for an undisclosed amount. Porsche has consistently maintained that the car was not defective and that the accident was caused by driver error and degraded tires.
The Walker incident permanently affected the Carrera GT's public reputation. The car's reputation for being demanding to drive — which had been part of its enthusiast appeal — became part of a broader narrative about the car being "dangerous." Both characterizations are partial.
Values today
A clean Carrera GT now brings $1.5 to $2.5 million at auction. The car's status has been steadily climbing since the 2010s, partly because of its rarity (1,270 examples), partly because of its position as the last analog supercar, and partly because the naturally-aspirated V10 with manual transmission has become a category of one. No subsequent supercar has been offered in the same configuration.
Specific spec combinations bring premiums. Carrera GTs with light colors (Fayence Yellow, Guards Red) tend to bring less than darker colors (Basalt Black Metallic, Seal Grey). Cars with the optional "Hartung" interior — leather and carbon trim — bring premiums over the standard cloth-and-leather interior. Cars with documented matching-numbers history and complete service records bring substantial premiums.