30.09.2023Porsche 911 GT1: A classic of GT-Racing

While production-based racing cars used by customer teams competed in the GT2 class, the GT1 category was reserved for pureblooded racing cars, which only had to be based on a production vehicle and were usually looked after by factory teams.

The Porsche 911 GT1 was just such a racing car. Originally designed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans based on the 993, Porsche later sold a limited edition of the 911 996 GT1 EVO as a road version for homologation purposes, which enabled participation in the FIA GT Championship.

The water-cooled six-cylinder boxer mid-engine with bi-turbo produced around 554 horses, which were able to accelerate the lightweight CFRP body to over 310 kilometers per hour. The GT1 got its appearance from the Porsche 993. Both the front and rear headlights are strongly reminiscent of the road version.

In the newly founded FIA GT Championship in 1997, the two former French racing drivers Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Jean-Michel Bouresche and their racing team JB-Racing, founded in Nice in 1995, dared to compete in the GT1-class against the factory teams from Porsche, AMG and Co . to compete. They received support from their main sponsor, the cigarette brand Marlboro. This made the design of the car unmistakable. Decorated in red and white, the checkered shapes left no doubt as to which brand was in charge, even without the famous lettering.

The red and white Blitz was piloted by the experienced German Porsche driver Jürgen von Gartzen. Before his start in the GT1-class, the former Renault 5 Cup champion had already made a name for himself in Porsche brand cups such as the Carrera Cup and the Supercup. His teammate, the Frenchman Emmanuel Collard, also moved from the Porsche Supercup to the FIA GT Championship and also brought with him extensive experience and success from single-seater racing.

The two competed in the first five races of the championship together, unfortunately without any resounding success. The factory teams were too strong and there were also failures, which ultimately led to only two finishes in five starts.
This led the team to restructure the racing schedule in 1997 during the current season. So Collard continued to drive in the FIA GT Championship with changing teammates, while von Gartzen concentrated on the Le Mans Series and the use of the GT1 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Porsche 911 GT1 with starting number 17 released by WERK83 is a scale 1:18 replica of the racing car in which Collard and von Gartzen competed in their last race together in Spa-Francorchamps on July 20th, 1997. The model is manufactured in the usual high quality and comes with decals for individual attachment.

Porsche 911 GT1 #17 FIA GT Spa 1997 von Gartzen, Collard 1:18 WERK83, RRP €79,95, item-no.: W18013006

Products

Porsche 911 GT1 #17 FIA GT Spa 1997 von Gartzen, Collard 1:18 WERK83

39,95 €