With a naturally aspirated V10 engine hooked up to a manual gearbox, the Porsche Carrera GT is a purist’s wet dream. Looking strictly at its specifications and comparing them with today’s four-digit-horsepower supercars, the former flagship from Stuttgart isn’t particularly impressive, but there’s more to this relatively rare mid-engined machine than its output or performance numbers.

Using an engine inherited from the aborted 2000 9R3 Le Mans racer, the Carrera GT is hands down one of the best-sounding production cars ever built. This straight-piped example serves as a reminder of how amazing the car is, not just in terms of the aural experience it delivers, but also as far as its timeless design is concerned.

Let’s keep in mind the Carrera GT was originally intended to remain strictly a concept car, with no production version planned. However, it was so well received at the 2000 Paris Motor Show that a road-going model received the green-light – thanks partly to the huge Cayenne’s commercial success bringing in the money.

Getting back to the video at hand, it doesn’t get any better than driving the Carrera GT with the roof removed on a scenic route. It’s one of the 1,270 examples built by Porsche, and it has apparently been valued at $800,000. It’s not all alone on camera as the CGT is joined by an even rarer Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-2, complete with rear-wheel drive and an ultra-desirable gated six-speed manual transmission.

Porsche aficionados know the Carrera GT was replaced at the top of the lineup by an entirely different hypercar, the 918 Spyder. On paper at least, the Zuffenhausen flagship is better in just about every way, but we know that doesn’t necessarily mean all people would prefer it over the purer CGT.

As for a new range topper, don’t expect to see it anytime soon taking into account Porsche says there must be a breakthrough in battery tech first in order to launch a 918 Spyder successor. When it will eventually arrive, it will likely eschew the combustion engine altogether.

Video: DailyDrivenExotics / YouTube

Top comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
Comment!
Got a tip for us? Email: tips@motor1.com