1998 Porsche 911 (996) GT1-98 Pilots: A. McNish, S. Ortelli, L. Aïello Team: Porsche AG Race: 1st in GC (GT1 class) at Le Mans in 1998 Altaya - PBV 041 / 100 ASA19 (diecast)
Published: 05/16/17
The usual car for the GT category in the mid 1990’s was basically a heavily modified version of a road car. When Porsche got back in the game, they didn’t follow the norm. Instead of developing a race version of one of their road going models, Porsche simply created what was effectively a purpose built sports-prototype. For 1998 Porsche went one step ahead and developed the all-new GT1-98. It had a full carbon fiber monocoque chassis, a first for Porsche. The engine was a 3198 cm³ flat-6 with 24 valves and DOHC, delivering 536 ponies to the tarmac.
At Le Mans that year Porsche enrolled two cars, and they would face Toyota’s GT-One and Nissan’s R390 GT1. Even though small problems required lengthy pit stops, both cars managed to finish on top and only one lap apart. The GT1-98 is one of my favorite prototypes, and I think Altaya did a very good job on the model. I can even say it’s possibly my best Altaya. Still, this is a car that I I’ll have to upgrade, just because it’s really high on my favorites list. So it is quite good, and for the price it would be a great buy for a non-grail model.
11/09/18: The W-143 Garage now has a better version of this model.