As early as their drive home from Le Mans in 1997 Porsche racing chief Norbert Singer and racing engineer Herbert Ampferer started scheming their plans for the 1998 season. It would be a crunch year for Porsche’s revived racing program, which was now under heavy attack from Mercedes-Benz. They were leaving a Le Mans that saw one works GT1/97 burst into flames and the other spinning and breaking an axle. Recovery from that fiasco would be essential. Moreover wheels were already turning at Zuffenhausen to celebrate 1998 as the company’s 50th anniversary of auto making. Something special to support it was expected from the racers.
The racers knew what was needed: an all-new GT1. Compromised by its production-car origins, the 1996–97 car was too heavy by more than 200 pounds and difficult to slim down. Under the FIA’s new guidelines a GT1 car could now be built from scratch as long as it was accompanied by a road-homologated twin. If Porsche built a completely new car, thought Singer, it could have a carbon-fiber monocoque and significantly better suspension. The aerodynamics could be improved as well while keeping a vestigial perception of similarity to the 911 Carrera.
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