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Pictures, trophies or racing suits - these are typical mementos of a motorsport career. Paolo Barilla, overall Le Mans winner in 1985 in a privately entered Porsche 956, has chosen a different, far more dynamic approach to his greatest sporting success. On the occasion of his 60th birthday, he was the first customer to work with Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur on a vehicle project as part of the new special request program that deserves the name dream vehicle. The Italian entrepreneur decided to help design a highly individual Porsche 911 GT3 (992) based on his Le Mans winning vehicle and to participate extensively in its creation. In addition to the characteristic racing look in summer yellow, white and black, this special vehicle bears the start number 7 of its victorious 956 on the front hood and doors. Other details such as the rear wing or gear lever have also been reinterpreted and some of them have been developed independently.
956 Le Mans style
“The unique customer experience is at the heart of the Porsche brand,” says Alexander Fabig, Head of Customization and Classic at Porsche. “That is why the significantly expanded range of special requests is a further milestone in terms of the enthusiasm of our customers around the world. And this vehicle project is the absolute culmination of customization by Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. ”“ In the eighties I had the opportunity to drive a wonderful Porsche 956 - an icon in terms of performance and beauty, ”emphasizes Paolo Barilla, ex-racing driver and Deputy Chairman of the Italian food company. “The reinterpretation of some elements in a current 911 GT3 makes this memory vivid and exciting. Not only for me, but also for the people who are close to me. ”“ For Porsche, too, the collaboration with Paolo Barilla was a very special project. Because not only the handcrafted 911 GT3 is highly individual, its development process is also unique, ”continues Fabig.
Individually from every perspective
One of the special features of this 911 GT3 is the eye-catching exterior paintwork in summer yellow, white and black. It reinterprets the stripe design of the historic racing car. The lower part of the bow is also painted in summer yellow, and the decorative rings in the headlights are also painted in this color. The look of the central locking wheels is inspired by the rims of the Porsche 956. When used in racing, the front wheels had white aero panels. The 911 GT3 rims are now also white on the front axle, while the rear axle is painted in a contemporary gold tone.
The sideplates of the rear spoiler also take up the design and geometry of their historical model. In the "rapid prototyping" process, sample components were initially created. Aerodynamic performance and especially the balance between the front and rear axles should of course be retained. That is why the aerodynamics engineer for the production 911 GT3 was brought into the project at an early stage. The modified rear wing had to prove its flow properties in the wind tunnel. On the flanks is "PB 60", that is, the initials and the big birthday of Paolo Barilla. This logo is stylistically based on the graphics of the main sponsor of the Le Mans winning vehicle at the time.
Unique interior
As is typical of a racing car, the interior is dominated by the color black. The door sill trims and the yellow trim on the dash panel on the passenger side are adorned with a logo specially designed with the customer: It consists of the type code 956, the word “Le Mans 1985” and the stylized silhouette of the racing car. Said lettering and the route taken at the time are embroidered on the headrests. The gearshift lever is reminiscent of the magnesium ball of the Renn-956 and is an elaborate custom-made product: the upper part was milled from an aluminum block, the surface ground.
As part of the newly created special request offer, the customer took on the role of project manager. As part of the project team, consisting of experts from Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur and the Style Porsche design department, Barilla worked directly on the implementation of his dream vehicle. The process took a total of three years, from the first design sketch to testing the technical feasibility to construction. The elaboration started on the basis of the predecessor GT3 vehicle, as the type 992 was still in the middle of series development.
“Many times in this project there would have been good reasons to say 'not possible!' or 'Too complicated' ”, says Philipp Setter, Head of Special Requests for Customer Service at Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. “After we decided to take on the challenge, we overcame a number of limits and were finally able to realize a lot. With his clear vision, the feeling for the tight schedule and the willingness to make decisions, Paolo Barilla was the right customer and project manager for such an ambitious project. "
Summer yellow from the "color of your choice" range
“Such direct contact with the customer is the best thing that can happen to you as a designer,” says Grant Larson. The designer designed the first Boxster together with Harm Lagaay and is currently the design project manager responsible for special projects at Style Porsche. “I work at Porsche because I can design dream cars there. But the special request projects are yet another dimension: The personal exchange with the client is extremely satisfying and helps to understand the wishes of our customers even better in day-to-day work. "
The biggest challenge for Larson was to transfer the graphic design from the extremely flat and angular racing car to the more rounded shapes of the current 911. "These are geometrically very different vehicles," says Larson, "the layout could not simply be transferred 1: 1." First he worked digitally on the computer, then the lines were projected onto a test body with a laser device and then painted accordingly. It was painted three times until designer Larson and project manager Barilla were satisfied. The warm yellow hue also had to be carefully chosen in order to be close to the historical model and to work equally well in artificial and daylight. The team finally decided on summer yellow from the extensive "color of your choice" range from Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur.
“Originally I wanted to move the start numbers in the doors closer to the middle of the white stripe. But Paolo Barilla insisted that the '7' should be very close to the edge, like on his racing car, ”remembers Larson. As an inspiration, a 1:43 model of the racing vehicle was parked on his desk during the project phase.
Integrated into the Porsche family
Barilla was in the concept phase at Porsche three times to actively support the project from the specification to completion. During the implementation phase, frequent coordination took place via telephone, e-mail or video conference, and further visits followed - including an ID card. “Paolo Barilla was delighted with this detail,” says Setter. "With the personal handover of the Porsche works ID, he officially became part of the team and our Porsche family."
And also as an employee in production, because Barilla himself flanged the gearbox to the engine with a torque-controlled screwing device for his one-off piece. “Such authentic experiences ultimately make Porsche what it is,” says Setter. “As a rule, our customers have already seen and experienced a lot. But with projects of this size, we still try to open a few more doors that otherwise remain closed for very good reasons. "
Via the Porsche special request program
Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur and Porsche Classic refine and restore unique sports cars with the interplay of craftsmanship and attention to detail. As part of the so-called co-creation strategy, the sports car manufacturer is now reinterpreting the legendary special request program of the late 70s and will enable personalized individual items in the future - co-created by the customer and professionally implemented by Porsche. The expansion of the offer is divided into the factory installation of customer-specific color and material requests directly in the production cycle as well as the subsequent factory conversion and the unique factory after delivery of the vehicle to the customer. While the factory renovation is also aimed at the implementation of individual colors and materials, the unique factory product represents a consistent technical new development. Depending on the age of the vehicle, the technical experts at Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur or Porsche Classic take care of the implementation.
About the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur
A sports car as individual as your own fingerprint, as unmistakable as your own lifestyle: The Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur in Zuffenhausen creates very personal customer vehicles through the interplay of perfect craftsmanship and high-tech. Highly qualified employees with decades of know-how devote their full attention to every detail and optimize it by hand.
The experts can fall back on a wide range of optical and technical customization options for the exterior and interior. Visible examples are sport design packages, our own wheel rim designs and interior decors as well as the comprehensive “color of your choice” paint range for all Porsche models. The Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur meets the highest demands in terms of materials and workmanship. In addition to the individual customer vehicles, limited small series and editions are also produced. There, high-quality materials are combined with modern manufacturing techniques to form a coherent overall concept.
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Photo credit: Porsche
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