Rare Japan-Spec 1997 Porsche 911 GT2 Could Be an Insane $2.2 Million Christmas Gift

That's the number of sports and race cars made by Porsche that will go under the hammer at the beginning of December from under the same roof. Included in a group that will forever be known as the White Collection, all 56 of them come with an exterior in white, interiors as luxurious as you'd expect, and many layers of rarity.

We've set out last week to cover as many as possible of these rare vehicles, and our hope is that by the time the hammer drops we'll get to go through as many of them as possible. So far, we had a look at just two of these amazing vehicles, the 2015 Porsche 918 Weissach Spyder and the 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.8 RSR.

Both are highly collectible and have their owner hoping they'll fetch as much as $3 million for one and $2.5 million for the other. That's way over the original price of either of them, but an increase we often see when it comes to such machines.

We're not entirely sure how much the 1997 Porsche 911 GT2 we're here to discuss today was originally worth but at this time the guy who has it is hoping to snatch at most $2.2 million for it. And he has good reasons for that.

First up, it's the kind of Porsche this is. Based on the platform many in the industry consider the most impressive air-cooled, turbocharged 911, the 993 generation, the GT2 was purpose-built as a homologation special for GT2 class racing.

The car was technically in production from 1993 to 2009 (it soldiered on until 2019 as the GT2 RS), and that means it covered the 996, 997, and 991 as well, but it's the original one that still gets fans' blood pumping.

We know only 194 cars of this breed were made by Porsche, with the early one badged simply as the 911 GT. They spread out to cover the needs of buyers all over the world, like many Porsches each of them fitted with unique appointments. Just 17 of them landed new over in Japan, and our star here is part of that select batch.

We're told the car, chassis 2077, was specced by and for a Japanese executive with a passion for skiing, and that probably explains the Glacier White exterior color of the car. The man used it, but not that intensively, until the mid-2000s, when he sold the car to Europe. It traveled to Germany and then Italy, only to end up in the Texan White Collection in 2015.

Despite more or less traveling the world, the GT2 is still mostly in its original condition. That description applies to the car's 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged engine and six-speed manual transmission as well.

The engine was and still is rated at 430 horsepower, sent to the Speedline RS wheels and handled by means of an electronically controlled locking differential and power steering. The wheels have only spun during the car's lifetime for a little over 15,000 km (9,400 miles).

The inside of the Porsche is suitably black, and it offers all the appointments one would expect from such a car, except for one. The GT2 does have air conditioning, black leather everything, and a radio, but only comes with manual windows.

It's our understanding that ever since it arrived in the U.S. the Porsche remained largely unused. It was kept inside a garage alongside the other white Porsches, being started and run to operating temperature on a monthly basis. Regular cosmetic treatments have been performed starting in 2016 using OEM parts.

The only body parts that may be considered as not being fully original are the hood and fender flares, which have been repeatedly repainted.

The rare, Japan-spec 1997 Porsche 911 GT2 will be placed on the auction block by RM Sotheby's with hopes it will fetch anywhere between $2 million and $2.2 million. That makes it the third most expensive Porsche in the White Collection.

The amount of documentation and additional items selling with it is not as impressive as say in the case of the 2015 Porsche 918 Weissach Spyder, but this GT does come accompanied by the original owner's manual and service documentation. There is, of course, a U.S. title thrown into the mix.

Like we'll do with the entire collection, we'll keep the 1997 Porsche 911 GT2 under our eyes all the way until it sells as the perfect Christmas gift. We will then update this story with the appropriate numbers. In the meantime, remember to come back daily for your dose of white Porsche. After all, we have 53 more cars to go through…