Written and Photographed By: Brian Rozar
When you think about Porsche in 2017 the first thing that probably comes to mind is Porsche’s latest and greatest release of the Porsche GT2RS. For the most part it has been the most highly anticipated “road” car of the year. It nearly broke the internet when the first press images were released, was featured on the cover of Grand Turismo, and let’s not forget smashing the Nurburgring rear-wheel drive record at 6:47.3 in mid September. This is without a doubt one of the biggest production wins for Porsche in recent history. With only 1,000 being made and already sold out it will absolutely be one of the classics of this generation.
But where would Porsche be today without the GT production series that has lead up to all the hype with GT2RS? GT production started in the mid 1990s when Porsche was looking to enter the newly established GT2 racing class which required rear-wheel drive production cars as the platform. They had one problem: they didn’t have a production car that met the GT2 requirements. The 993 Turbo was all-wheel drive so that was out as a contender. Porsche’s solution was to build a new production car to homologate for the racing series. The end product was lighter and with rear wheel drive, bigger fenders, big wings, upgraded KKK turbos, as well as upgraded suspension and more braking power. Hence the GT2 was born and continued to 996, 997 and now with the 991.
In the same time of constructing the GT2 masterpiece, Porsche also needed a contender for the GT1 series which spawned the most powerful production car – GT2 EVO. This pushed the envelope with 600hp (with the help of even bigger turbos,) a higher wing, and wider fenders. The GT2 EVO was short lived with only 11 produced and was replaced by the famous GT1 in late 1996.
Today we are proud to offer a very special GT2 EVO owned by the late Steve O’Rourke (Pink Floyd’s Manager). He raced this GT2 in 24 hours of Daytona, Le Mans, and the FIA Championship race. This would be a great addition to any collection consisting of GT cars.
