Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Sonderwunsch
Retired racing drivers usually enjoy old trophies, racing suits and helmets. Sometimes there may even be a classic racing car or two in the garage with which successes were achieved during the active career. Paolo Barilla, a successful Italian entrepreneur (vice-chairman of Barilla) and former racing driver, now chose a different way to keep his greatest success always in front of his eyes. On the occasion of his 60th birthday, he turned to Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. As part of the new Sonderwunsch (special request) program, he ordered a 911 (992) GT3 in the color scheme of the Porsche 956 in which he took overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1985 together with Louis Krages and Klaus Ludwig. At the time, the race car was used by the private Joest Racing Team and sponsored by New Man. It therefore shone in summer yellow, white and black with the starting number 7.
Color scheme of the 956 for the GT3
These colors, including the stripes in which they were seen on the 956, are now found on the 911 (992) GT3. They also replicated the starting number on the doors and front hood. For the rear wing, new end plates in an independent design were specially created using the “rapid prototyping” process. To ensure that they don’t interfere with the overall aerodynamic concept of the GT3, advice was sought from the aerodynamicist who originally developed the car to production readiness. The trim rings in the headlights also wear yellow. In addition, the alloy wheels with center locks are white at the front and gold at the rear. This is reminiscent of the white aero trim that sat on the front wheels in racing. A sunshade with Porsche lettering sits above the windscreen. Not yet visible in the pictures is a logo in the style of the former main sponsor of the 956. It shows the number and letter sequence PB60 and thus takes up the initials and the round birthday of Paolo Barilla.
Barilla became a Porsche employee
Immediately after opening the doors, the sill trims catch the eye. Like the yellow trim above the glove box, these bear a special logo with the silhouette of the 956 and the words “956 – Le Mans 1985”. The course of the race at the time and the words “Le Mans 1985” are embroidered into the headrests. The gearshift lever for the six-speed manual transmission is a special design. Its upper part was milled out of an aluminium block and is visually reminiscent of the magnesium ball on the gearshift lever in the Porsche 956. It took a total of around three years from the first design sketch to the finished vehicle. During this time, Paolo Barilla was closely involved in every single process. In addition to numerous telephone calls and video conferences, the Italian entrepreneur traveled to Stuttgart several times to make decisions live on site. He even received his own factory pass and was allowed to install his gearbox himself.
Images: Porsche
