Road-going Le Mans car due in 2009?

Porsche looks set to produce a Bugatti Veyron-beater, according to this week's Autocar magazine. The machine will be based on the Le Mans car that Porsche has under development, but will be a road-going version. It's due in 2009.

The 950bhp car, to be called the GT1, will hit a top speed of 254mph -- that's just a shade over the Veyron's 252mph top whack. However, by the time the GT1 arrives, the game may well have moved on, since there are strong rumours of a faster Veyron under wraps. The GT1 will be based on the Carrera GT, using a modified version of its carbon fibre chassis but with a different nose and tail, plus a roof. The dashboard's said to be very similar too.

We don't yet know though where the power is to come from. It could be a modified version of the GT's V10 or a turbocharged V8 -- the engine in the Cayenne -- but bored-out to 5.5-litres.

Written by: Autocar staff
London, UK – 7/6/2006


Porsche is poised to burst Bugatti’s bubble when it rolls out the fastest road car in the world in 2009 — and Autocar magazine has revealed how it expects it to look.

This radical supercar is expected to be dubbed GT1, and will be a 950hp, road-legal version of Porsche’s future Le Mans challenger. According to insiders, the target top speed is 254mph — a crucial 2mph faster than the claimed top speed of the 987hp Bugatti Veyron.

The core of the new car is the Carrera GT’s carbon fiber chassis, fitted with modified nose and tail structures. The interior is also based closely on the Carrera’s distinctive dashboard and center console.

Autocar’s exclusive illustration is drawn entirely from leaked official technical drawings of the car. Sources have also revealed that full-bore 950hp engines are under test, as well as work on weight distribution and aerodynamics, both of which will differ from the competition versions of the car.

One thing that’s not clear at this stage is how the massive slug of power will be delivered. One suggestion is that it would have to come from a turbocharged version of the Carrera GT’s V10 engine. However, other motorsport sources say it will be powered by an enlarged, twin-turbo, 5.5-liter version of the Cayenne’s V8.

In fact, Porsche is already racing a 600hp, normally aspirated V8 engine in the American Le Mans series with the Penske-prepared RS Spyder, and it’s expected to be adopted by Porsche’s own European Le Mans racer. However, Le Mans racers will switch to the closed-coupe format from 2010.
-Hilton Holloway /Autocar