While the Carrera GT was first shown to the public in concept form at the Paris Auto Show in 2000, the project itself had initially begun in 1995 as Porsche engineers sought to develop a replacement for the 911 GT1, primarily for use in motorsport. With design and development well underway, a sudden change in regulations forced Porsche to return to the drawing board. Although this new car would never see motorsport use as originally intended, Porsche would recoup its investment by turning the car into an exclusive supercar for street use, available to its best clients. Following the commercial success of the new Cayenne, it was decided that the Carrera GT would go into production.

Porsche had considered utilizing a V-10 of around 5.0 liters that was originally designed for the Footworks Formula 1 program of the early 1990s. The engine in the road-going Carrera GT would be largely similar to this, albeit modified. The dry-sump V-10 developed 610 bhp and 442 foot-pounds of torque, channeled through a small-diameter flywheel and multi-plate carbon-ceramic clutch mated to a six-speed transaxle with a limited-slip differential. Thanks to the unique clutch and flywheel, this afforded the Carrera GT an extremely low ride height, which improved handling.

The Carrera GT’s carbon fiber monocoque was built by ATR Composites of Colonna, Italy, which was not only supremely lightweight, but equally as strong. Porsche fitted a racing-derived suspension with upper and lower wishbones and inboard, rocker-arm suspension at all four corners, eight-piston monoblock front brake calipers, and four-piston monoblock rear calipers with ventilated and cross-drilled carbon-ceramic brake rotors, all surrounded by forged magnesium-alloy center-lock wheels. Importance was also placed upon the car’s aerodynamics, and the Carrera GT delivered some 900 lbs. of downforce at 200 mph.

Weight was of paramount importance to Porsche engineers for the Carrera GT, and everything was considered to shed as many unnecessary ounces as possible. The only luxuries considered in the Carrera GT were a leather-trimmed interior, a CD radio, and the laminated Birchwood gearshift knob, a throwback to Porsche motorsport heritage, which added a touch of character to an otherwise spartan interior. The Carrera GT tipped the scales at just 2,755 lbs.

This lovely Carrera GT was delivered new in 2004 to its first owner and has remained in his collection ever since. Rather than take delivery Stateside, he opted to take advantage of the popular European Delivery program and picked up his new Carrera GT directly from Porsche in Germany. After receiving the car at the factory, the owner drove it around Europe before shipping the car back to the midwestern U.S., where it has remained in his private collection.

The odometer displays less than 1,600 miles, the majority of which were accumulated during the owner’s initial trip around continental Europe after delivery, as well as during factory testing. In the U.S., it has been very sparingly driven and otherwise professionally maintained and cared for, as evidenced by its spectacular condition throughout.

As one of the most sought-after modern Porsche models, the Carrera GT remains as a bucket-list car for many enthusiasts. A single-owner, low-mileage example such as this is not to be missed.