Porsche 911 (993) GT (1996)

In 1995 Porsche introduced the new 993. Although they were probably unaware at the time this was to be the last of the iconic air-cooled 911s. In competition, all-wheel-drive had been banned by most sanctioning bodies by the mid-1990s. This was as a result of Porsche's success with the four-wheel-drive 961, Audi's rally wins with the Quattro and the later track success of the Nissan Skyline. This presented a problem for Porsche, whose Turbo was fitted with four-wheel drive; the solution was simple and this was the GT2, which was built with rear-wheel drive only. A side benefit turned out to be significant weight savings, and the GT2 was instantly competitive.

A factor of Porsche's intention to go racing was that they had to build a number of road-legal GT2s in order to homologate the model for racing. At about 430 horsepower the 3.6L twin-turbo flat-six ran higher boost than the standard Turbo model and developed almost as much horsepower as the racers and was mated to a manual six-speed gearbox. The GT2 shared the cutaway wings with the Carrera RS and had removable and replaceable bolt-on flares in order to fit wider wheels for racing and quickly fix crash damage. The Large rear wing provided additional down-force, with air intakes on the sides for the engine. With saving weight in mind the bonnet and doors were aluminium and the side and rear window glass was thinner. In addition, the three-piece, light-alloy Speedline wheels had Stahlgrau magnesium spiders. In fact, the body was lowered by 20mm compared to the 911 Turbo to reduce drag.

As chronicled in the definitive GT2 book; Porsche completed just 194 road-going GT2s as well as a further 78 race cars. Of the road car production figures, just 33 examples were optioned in M003 Clubsport specification.

A no holds barred option, M003 Clubsport option removed all creature comforts from the car. All of the interior trim was removed, the carpets, the flooring, the sound deadening. All that remained in the interior was the body colour exposed flooring, welded in Matter roll cage and door cards.

Porsche went to extreme lengths for an M003 Clubsport car. After completing the shell on the production line, the bodyshell was transported to Matter’s workshop in batches of three. There, the roll cage would be welded in and after, the shell would return to Porsche for paint. As carpeting was absent from the Clubsport, the inside of the shell was full painted in body colour unlike a M002 street version. The roll cage was identical to those used in the race cars, minus one bar in the doors for accessibility.

Fixed back motorsport-eligible Nomex bucket seats were fitted and harnesses installed to keep you pinned in place; their FIA sticker located on the base. Despite sharing its power output with the 993 Turbo, the 911 GT tipped the scales as some 200 kg less. The least noted option of the M003 cars was the removal of the production variant’s dual-mass flywheel, instead was a clutch disc with torsional spring dampers- an upgrade to ensure safety in high-strain motorsport usage.

This example was supplied new to Germany on 19th April 1996 to a favoured customer, and optioned as a Clubsport in Porsche’s iconic Guards Red (G1G1) coachwork. Ticking the M003 Clubsport option from factory, this example has been from new, one of the most focussed, driver-oriented, air-cooled 911s.

By 2005 the car had covered just 18,000 kilometres when it was purchased by a avid Porsche fan and racer from South Africa. The car spent a number of years there, used sparingly and covering less than 1,000 kilometres a year until 2016. The car was used in some club races in South Africa, but was well cared for and received no damage.

Ahead of starting a round the world tour in a classic 911, the Clubsport was sent to the UK where it was imported and registered. Still under South African ownership, the car was placed into the name of Porsche specialist Autofarm. They cared for the car and conducted a sympathetic and superficial clean-up and restoration at the time.

Most recently, this Clubsport has been meticulously restored by Paul Mclean of GT Classics, a renowned marque expert. Taking the car back to bare metal, this 911 GT received a comprehensive overhaul bringing the car up to the standards of its particular and fastidious owner.

The fully documented and photographed restoration highlights the level of detail achieved as well as the focus to ensure accuracy in the completion of the works. A true stickler for detail and very much one to enjoy the process of restoration, this 911 GT presents as you would expect. Freshly treated to full body paint protection film, this M003 Clubsport is on the button, ready to be used and enjoyed and is available to view at our showrooms outside London immediately. Today this example presents with just 30,300 kilometres.