Porsche 911 GT1 1998 #26 by Maisto
Race/Series: Le Mans 24 Hours 1998
Result: Outright Winner, 351 laps
Drivers: Allan McNish (GB)/Stephane Ortelli (F)/Laurent Aiello (F)
Despite the name, it is quite apparent that the Porsche 911 GT1 has little in common with its roadgoing counterpart, and in reality it is much more in keeping with the purpose built prototypes than with any sort of road car. The GT1 first raced at Le Mans in 1996, taking class victory, and second and third places overall, but in 1997 the best placed updated 911 GT1 was only fifth, despite an entry of no less than 8 cars entered by the factory and privateer teams. For 1998, the car had a major redevelopment, resulting in the car you see here. Although not the quickest outright car that year, the Porsche 911 GT1 took first and second places overall, thanks partly to the reliability issues affecting the main competition from the faster BMW V12, Toyota GT-One and Mercedes CLK LM. This was Porsche's sixteenth outright win at the prestigious race (even when the 911 GT1 wasn't winning in 1996 and 1997, Porsche's prototypes still were!), and was their last win to date. It is also the last time a car from outside a prototype category (the Porsche was part of what was then the GT1 class) has taken outright victory. One thing this car did have in common with Porsche's road cars was the flat, or 'boxer' configuration six cylinder engine, a 3.2 litre in this case, producing around 550bhp, which took the car to victory one lap ahead of the other 911 GT1, and 4 laps clear of the third placed Nissan R390.
The model is by Maisto in 1:18 scale, and retailed at around £20-25, though I picked mine up for less than half that. Packaging is a window style box.
