Shortly before the first Porsche Carrera GT went on sale stateside in 2004, two-time World Rally champ and Porsche test driver Walter Rohrl remarked that the crazed supe was “the first car in my life that I drive and I feel scared.”
Nearly 20 years later, and that veritable notoriety hasn’t stopped a Bring a Trailer bidder from picking up a 2005 example for $1.78 million—nearly $100,000 more than what even the most pristine Carrera GT is worth, according to Hagerty.
A true driver’s car, the Carrera GT is powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.7-liter V10 that was originally built for a 1992 Formula One racecar. Per Rohrl’s recommendation, output was decreased to a still-potent 603-horsepower and 435 pound-feet of torque sent through a six-speed manual. At the time, the Ferrari Enzo had already brought clutch pedal-less paddle shifters to supercars, a configuration that would also be adopted by the contemporary Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 shortly thereafter.
But as CarBuzz points out, the power and six-speed manual transmission alone aren’t what make the Carrera GT one of the last great analog supercars. It also had no electronic stability control, meaning drivers had to acutely aware of the car’s balance while driving aggressively. The outlet notes that gearheaded comic Jay Leno learned this lesson the hard way during a lap at Talladega when he lifted off the throttle while entering a turn, sending him into a series of uncontrolled spins.
Perhaps most notoriously, the Carrera GT was the car that Fast and Furious star Paul Walker was killed in alongside friend and driver Roger Rodas, who careened it down a 45-mph city street at between 80 and 93 mph.
With the proper racing pedigree, however, the Carrera GT was a treat on the track. Rohrl drove it around the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 28 seconds, which is still ahead of the fastest laps set by modern marvels like the the Lamborghini Huracan and Porsche’s own Taycan Turbo S.
The example that just fetched a pretty penny at BaT had just 601 miles on the odometer, along with a Silver Metallic paint job over a Brown Ascot leather interior, the Carrera’s extensive aero kit (including a electronically actuated spoiler), and a Porsche 917 race car-referencing beachwood shifter knob, among many other goodies.
Hopefully the new owner knows how to drive it.
