It’s special. Widely regarded as the pinnacle of analog supercars, the Porsche Carrera GT was a true anomaly when introduced. Its specification stood in stark contrast to the big-price, big-performance rivals of its era. The Carrera GT’s debut was memorable: Porsche’s Walter Röhrl piloted the concept down the Champs-Élysées in Paris the night before the 2000 Paris Auto Show, dazzling onlookers. Yet, Porsche’s decision to equip the car with a six-speed manual transmission bucked the growing trend of paddle-shifted, two-pedal hypercars.
When production began in 2003, the Carrera GT stayed true to its prototype’s carbon fiber construction, housing an engine with a story as unique as the car itself. Originally developed for Formula One in the early 1990s, Porsche’s V10 engine was shelved when the company exited F1. Later, plans to adapt it for Le Mans were short-lived, as Audi took precedence within the VW Group’s motorsport hierarchy. Finally, the V10 found its destiny in the Carrera GT, re-engineered to 5.7 liters and producing a healthy 612 horsepower.
The production car launched in January 2004 as an analog masterpiece in a digital world. Its high-revving, naturally aspirated V10 paired with a manual transmission was a defiant nod to tradition. Porsche intended to produce 1,500 units, but changing U.S. airbag regulations curtailed production at 1,270. With its low production numbers, racing-inspired backstory, and distinct character, the Carrera GT became an icon. But for some, even icons leave room for improvement.
Background
Swiss rally driver and Carrera GT owner Ernst Berg thought exactly that, believing the Carrera GT’s styling could do with some enhancement. He would approach Italian coachbuilding company Zagato to do so, with the company tasked with restyling the plateau-styled rear of the production car with something more flowing and elegant.
The famous Milanese company might be more commonly known for its work with Italian and British brands. Still, Berg’s approach wasn’t without parallels with that of a French Porsche racer Claude Storez, who in 1957 sent his 356A Carrera Speedster to Zagato to re-clothe it in a lighter, more streamlined body, creating the Carrera Zagato Speedster, which Storez raced with some success. Berg’s idea decades later might have been more about the aesthetic than the athletic, but what Zagato would produce in 2013 would be a one-off that created exactly what the rally driver had requested.
The Carrera GT Z’s changes would be, for Zagato, relatively subtle, but they’re undeniably effective and transformational. Concentrating on that rear deck, at Berg’s request to create a more Gran Turismo look, Zagato would raise elements of the engine cover to connect with the rear of the passenger compartment, their shape blending into the existing roof, when fitted, which conveniently already formed a double-bubble outline that Zagato is famed for. Replacing the vented elements of the engine cover with bodywork creates a far more elegant rear, balancing the otherwise expansive rear under which that incredible V10 resides.
Zagato’s collaboration with the Carrera GT didn’t stop with Berg. The coachbuilder went on to create five production Carrera GT Zs, designating Berg’s prototype as #00. Among the five, today’s car—build number four—awaits not just inspection but something far more thrilling. A key is in hand, and a private test track beckons.
It’s good to build up to such things, not least because, here, now, the Carrera GT Z looks absolutely sensational. Zagato nailed that original brief, doing so in a manner that’s beautifully considered, to the point that it looks entirely like it should have always been formed this way. There’s no clash between the Teutonic and Italian styling, the GT Z’s form adding elegance, the convergence of that longer rear working fantastically with the shapely rear wings, and better intersecting with the passenger compartment.
There are C-pillars featuring glazed elements that sweep around to join those longer, flowing buttresses, between which the engine still plays a starring role. There’s the open mesh that you’ll see on a regular Carrera GT, only here it sits across the center of the engine, within, rather than on the outer banks of the vee. On it, there’s Porsche lettering, bright here in red, that contrasts with the green bodywork that was specified by number four’s owner.
There’s nothing changed along the car’s sides, though the visual trick that the new rear plays does lengthen, lower, and enhance, to pleasing effect, Zagato’s only real addition being a Z badge fore of the rear wheel. There are other changes, again so subtle as to be all but invisible to all but the well-informed in relation to a standard Carrera GT, and even then, you’d really need to be looking. The rear styling was changed to compliment the unique oval Zagato exhaust tips poking through a differing rear bumper. Flat, red reflectors complement those tips on either side; these, like the exhaust tips, are in contrast to the round elements of the original, the effect softening and widening the rear, which works fantastically with the differing visual above it.
Even more subtle is the small lip under the standard raising rear wing, which helps improve airflow and works in conjunction with Zagato’s treatment at the front of the car. Again, you’d need to be a Carrera GT savant to notice, but the Milanese atelier has reshaped the front to present a moderately different face to the world; the slightly raised lower edge is actually beneficial in relation to clearance when approaching driveways, the increased height balanced by a slightly greater width, with the shape forming on the outer edges picking out the shape of the inner line of the Carrera GT’s distinctive headlights when viewed front on.
Car four is unique to the series; it is the only one where the owner has added not just Zagato’s revisions to the exterior but also commissioned a new interior. Slipping over the sill, into the clutch of the seat it’s familiar Carrera GT, with a Zagato twist; its trimmers have refinished the leather seats—complete with a Z prominent on the headrests—as well as re-covering the central tunnel, gearstick gaiter, lower dashboard, door cards, A-pillar and sun visors in soft, exquisitely finished green leather.
The Drive
Beautiful as it is in here, there’s the threat of rain, this being the UK, after all. Turning the key on a Carrera GT is always something to savor, the starter whirring with a brisk immediacy before the V10 rouses with a flare then a settled, exotic-sounding idle. The effect of the bespoke Zagato exhaust is difficult to ascertain without another Carrera GT to compare it with directly, but what’s not in question is the quality of the note coming from it; the Carrera GT’s V10 is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest sounding engines ever to be put in a road car.
Pushing the gearstick into first is almost as enjoyable as waking that V10, the action light and short, though before releasing the clutch you need to be mindful not to bleed in the throttle; the Carrera GT’s notoriously tricky clutch works best when you lift off the clutch in a measured manner and allowing its anti-stall to work, only pushing the accelerator when the clutch is fully engaged.
What’s immediately apparent is Zagato trim aside inside and a slightly differing view out the rearview mirror, the Carrera GT remains as beguiling and engaging a car as it ever was and every bit as exciting and interesting as its reputation suggests. It feels stiff, light, and decisive. The steering is alert, quick, light, and accurate. The gearshift is an absolute delight—its movement so quick that, aided by its relatively high position, it is close to the wheel, which means your hand barely needs to move to select the next gear. Do so, and the V10 will devour it with an eagerness that delivers an eye-widening, ear-tingling pace, the ease of its speed backed with a sound that’s so intense you experience it differently.
The Verdict
There’s a physicality and resonance to the Carrera GT that’s as addictive as the pace it brings. Its engagement is so much more than just its manual transmission and the V10 it orchestrates; it’s the entire package that’s thrilling, incredibly absorbing, and special. And here, thanks to some input from Zagato, it’s even more special. It’s a reminder that even the exceptional can be elevated further.
