Porsche 996 GT3 R

The vehicle in detail

Vehicle history:

At the beginning of the new millennium, with the successes of the 911 RSR 993 generation still fresh in many people's minds, Porsche withdrew from factory racing. The successor to the RSR was not to be used by a factory team, but by numerous private teams with Porsche support. This heralded a completely new iteration of the 911, based on the GT3 model. The 996 generation GT3 R, introduced in 1999, was the first of the water-cooled race cars. Its 3.6-liter M96/77 boxer engine produced around 405 hp and was equipped with a 41.3 mm air restrictor to comply with FIA category regulations. The GT3 R celebrated great success with remarkable class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999 and 2000. It is believed that only 65 examples of the race car were built to 2000 model year specifications, including the Porsche offered here. The car was sold new to Freisinger Motorsport in December 1999 and leased by Arbre Competition for Le Mans. Drivers Bouchut-Gouselard-Chereau drove the Porsche to pole position in their class in qualifying. Unfortunately, they were forced to retire from the race after an accident in front of them. The car was then used in the FIA GT class in 2000 and 2001 in several races. In 2002, the car competed in the 24 Hours of Spa and finished in 22nd place. Since 2006, it has been in the hands of collectors and has been used occasionally at Spa and Paul Richard.