Super Rare Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion Drives Out of the Museum, Goes for a Joyride

Porsche only built around 20 such cars. Just like the Mercedes-Benz GLK GTR, Porsche GT1 was a track-focused beast, built for the homologation of the race car. Back in the 1990s, making limited-run street versions of the race cars was the only way manufacturers could enter the competitions.

This one was, indeed, a race car for the street, and that is precisely what "Strassenversion" means. Its racing version won the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans. During practice for the race, on the Mulsanne straight, it hit a top speed of 205 mph (330 kph).

The street-legal version came with tamed figures, of course, since the engine had to be slightly detuned to meet the European emissions regulations. But it still had a top speed of 191 mph (308 kph) and could hit 62 mph (100 kph) from zero in 3.9 seconds.

The GT1 finished in Artic Silver, sitting in the Porsche Museum, has been locked up in there for years, while the guests walk by, admire it, and take pictures of it. But the time has come for it to go for a ride.

The one letting it stretch its legs again is famous YouTuber Shmee, his real name Tim Burton. No, there is no connection between the British car vlogger and the Hollywood director. This Tim Burton here claims that driving the GT1 has been on his bucket list for years. And now he finally gets his hands on it.

The 993-based GT1 Strassenversion, with a rear carried out from the 962 race car, is an early prototype from 1996, one of the two built that year sporting the 996-styled headlights. Porsche sent one of them to the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development for compliance testing. And it passed the test. The other prototype ended up in the hands of a private car collector, Khalid Abdul Rahim, in Bahrain.

What makes this unicorn of a car different from all the 911s before, with the engine mounted at the rear, is the GT1's mid-engined setup. We are dealing with a twin-turbo 3.2-liter flat-six that is capable of sending 536 horsepower (544 ps) straight to the rear axle through a six-speed manual transmission. The car tips the scales at only 2,535 lbs (1,150 kilograms).

The mid-engine layout brings forward several interesting details. For instance, in order to access the luggage compartment, you have to unscrew a panel mounted behind the rear window. You can imagine it can be very hot in there since it is so close to the engine. If you want to see the engine itself, you will need another tool to unlatch the whole rear panel.

To help you get an idea of how valuable the super rare Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion is, you must know that back in August 2012, a Strassenversion sold for $1.17 million at a Monterey action. Five years later, in an Amelia Island auction, another one went for $5.6 million. And the only way for the price is up.

But how does it actually drive? Raw, mechanical, and loud. That is as far as our spoiler goes. For the rest, you will have to watch the video below.