The Porsche Carrera GT is arguably the most famous Porsche of all time. Yes, of course, the 911 is a globally recognized brand, but when it comes to the enthusiast world, the Carrera GT sits at the top of the list for most gearheads. But what if I told you that one of its most recognizable features—aside from its V10, of course—wasn’t part of the original design?
In the Porsche YouTube series “The Intern,” Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody visits Stuttgart and gains unprecedented access to the automaker’s facilities, as well as employees with some amazing stories. While the entire 28-minute episode is worth a watch, what really caught my attention was an original sketch for what would eventually become the Porsche Carrera GT.
Around the 14-minute mark, Brody is seen hanging out with Grant Larson, Porsche’s director of special projects. As it’s to be expected, Larson has loads of cool things in his garage, but then he picks up a massive stack of old sketchbooks. He pulls out one dating back to 1999, which shows the original sketch for the Carrera GT.
“This is kind of a cool thing, this is Carrera GT, the original sketches from it,” said Larson. “Before the Carrera GT existed as a roadster, it was just a mid-engine V10 supercar. I was asked by the project manager at the time to come up with some ideas. This one here is from 1999.”
The overall design is quite different from what eventually came to reality, looking a lot more like the Le Mans 911 GT1 than the eventual Carrera GT. This tracks, considering the GT1 was actively racing during those years, so there would’ve certainly been some design influence between the automaker’s flagship race car and its halo road car.
Larson spends quite a bit of time showing Brody some other sketches, including some unique 911 and GT3 models, and even gifts him one to take home. I’m a little jealous, not gonna lie.
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As deputy editor, Jerry draws on a decade of industry experience and a lifelong passion for motorsports to guide The Drive’s short- and long-term coverage.
