The Austrian city of Salzburg is known for its old town, for the festival, for Mozartkugeln – and for a special racing car design: in 1970, Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood clinched the first overall victory for Porsche at Le Mans in the eye-catching red and white 917 short-tail with the starting number 23. Motorsport fans know the striking look of this prototype for the Sports Car World Championship as Salzburg Design. The "Porsche Alpenstraße" car dealership located in the south of the city prepared two 917s for the endurance race on the Sarthe, including the winning car.
A unique Factory Re-Commission project is now following on from its paintwork in the Salzburg colours of red and white: Porsche enthusiast Victor Gómez had his Carrera GT, model year 2005, redesigned as part of the Sonderwunsch programme. The vehicle was completely disassembled, technical components such as the V10 engine were overhauled from the ground up and the carbon parts were recoated. Subsequently, the originally silver-coloured youngtimer was given the famous Salzburg Design at the customer's request. A challenging project: because the geometry, dimensions and gaps of the Carrera GT are completely different from those of the 917. Therefore, the design had to be elaborately adapted to the shape.
Exterior: Salzburg Design and matt black carbon
First, sketches were created, which were followed by renderings. In order to check the dynamic course of the lines, designer Grant Larson and his colleagues taped the Carrera GT with tape before they could finally produce templates for the paintwork. The hand-painted finish in Indian red and white – and the famous starting number 23 – is protected by a transparent foil, because Victor Gómez wants to drive the Carrera GT on the roads of his Puerto Rican homeland. The managing director of a large automotive trading company has been to Porsche in Germany several times to accompany the project. Gómez: "The Sonderwunsch experts worked with great passion and attention to detail. Now I own a Carrera GT in new condition, with zero kilometres on the odometer, and outside and inside according to my personal ideas."
The individual look also includes matt black carbon, which contrasts with the red and white paintwork. It is used, among other things, for the roof halves, the A and B pillars, the caps of the exterior mirrors, the air duct in the front section and the diffuser at the rear. The grilles of the engine cover are black matt anodized. The black-painted light-alloy wheels in the original five-spoke design bear a coloured Porsche crest.
Interior: Alcantara in Indian Red
The interior of the Carrera GT also bears Goméz's signature: at his request, the Porsche upholstery department has covered many surfaces with Alcantara Indian Red. This includes parts of the dashboard and door panels, the steering wheel rim and the center console. Even the front luggage compartment trim and the luggage set bear this haptically pleasant, suede-like material in eye-catching Indian red.
As in the exterior, matt carbon is also used in the interior as an exciting contrast. This is the case, for example, with the seat shells, the cover of the air vents in the dashboard and the instrument cover. For the center panels, sidecars and headrests of the seats, the interior specialists have used black FIA textile from the 918 Spyder, i.e. a non-flammable motorsport fabric. Incidentally, the 917 design model already had two seats – they were mandatory for endurance racing cars at the time.
About Factory Re-Commission
The so-called Factory Re-Commission is an exclusive offer from Porsche as part of the Sonderwunsch programme. On behalf of customers, the sports car manufacturer's experts carry out comprehensive technical revisions for vehicles already in their possession, including classic models. During this overhaul in the factory, the vehicle is practically put into a "zero kilometer condition", which is also documented accordingly. In addition, the colour concept for the exterior and interior will be redesigned. There is also the option of retrofitting the Porsche with individual colour and material options.
In close cooperation with Porsche designers and developers, the customer can turn his special wishes into reality. The experts check the customer's ideas for feasibility and work out the details together with them until they are technically approved. This ensures that the result meets Porsche's quality standards in every detail. The current vehicle data is transmitted to the company archive so that all changes can be traced transparently.
About the Porsche Carrera GT
When the Carrera GT was launched on the market in 2003, it was one of the fastest production vehicles in the world with a top speed of 330 km/h. The carbon fiber chassis and the centrally located engine are based on thoroughbred racing technology. Porsche originally developed the naturally aspirated V10 engine for use in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the Carrera GT, the displacement is 5.7 liters. Its output of 450 kW (612 PS) meets a curb weight of only 1,380 kilograms.
