Porsche 993 GT2: Ultimate Guide
Porsche’s motorsport history is truly legendary. Let’s face it, they’ve now won the Le Mans 24 Hour race a record 17 times and on this occasion they had our very own Nick Tandy at the wheel, so there’s plenty to celebrate at Zuffenhausen and Weissach these days.
Part of the reason that they’ve been able to dominate in so many motorsport disciplines is the ability to adapt – to meet changing regulations and the needs of those that sat right at the top of their respective sports.
In the 1990s, that would lead to the development of the 993 GT2. Designed to compete in the new GT2 class, it would go on to be a huge success on track and form the basis of a very special homologated road car.
Soon granted the dubious ‘widowmaker’ tag, the GT2 appeared at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show being nothing more than a thinly disguised racer – and nowhere was this more apparent than on the outside.
The 993 Turbo formed the basis of the new car, which adopted the same hot-dip galvanised steel body but with added stiffening, including a front strut brace. However, from there the appearance took on a far more brutal slant compared to the smooth lines of the original Tony Hatter design.
At the front was a deeply sculpted bumper made from polyurethane, which fed air to the twin oil coolers mounted in the nose and featured a prominent air dam, complete with wing-like extensions at the outer edges to aid airflow around the front wheels.
Purposeful sill extensions added to the hunkered down look, and while the rear bumper was a smooth and fairly simple affair, the spoiler that sat above it was anything but. The biplane wing sat atop a plastic engine cover and not only was it adjustable, but it was also the biggest yet to be seen on a 911.
It also featured a pair of distinctive air intakes, one on each side, that helped feed air to the glorious flat six – we’ll come to those details in a moment.
To read our Ultimate Guide to the Porsche 993 GT2, Weissach’s original widowmaker, in full, pick up your copy of Total 911 issue 131 in store now. Alternatively, you can download it straight to your digital device for an immediate Porsche fix.
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