Fall in love with this Porsche 911 GT3 based on the 1985 Le Mans-winning 956

The 1980s are known within the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the most outstanding decade for Porsche, the marque that managed to dominate the race by winning on seven occasions, all of them consecutive, the last one in 1987, and the Stuttgart team had to wait a full ten years to reach the top of the legendary French race again. Of those seven wins, four were with the Porsche 956, its most successful model until it was replaced in 1986 by the 962.

Precisely one of the drivers at the wheel of the Porsche 956 during the 1985 edition was Paolo Barilla, an Italian driver who, since retiring from competition, has become a businessman. His greatest achievement in motorsport was becoming a winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside his two co-drivers. He had a brief foray into Formula 1, buying a seat at Minardi to race the 1990 season, but after a disastrous year he was dropped from his seat with two races left in the season.

Now Paolo Barilla is back in the spotlight, not for taking part in any competition, but for becoming the first customer to commission a complete car project together with Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, the German marque’s division dedicated to bringing the most exclusive and individual projects to its customers to life. In this case, Barilla wanted to pay tribute to the 956 with which he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a livery similar to that of the racing model.

For this, Paolo Barilla could not have chosen a better base than the Porsche 911 GT3 (992), but the creation was started on a 911 GT3 (991), since this project lasted no less than three years and at that time the 992 was still under development. Barilla became the Design Director and spent that time working shoulder to shoulder with the experts at Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur and the design department of Porsche, resulting in the spectacular creation that accompanies these lines.

Its styling is a constant reminder of the Porsche 956 racer, with a body that has been painted in yellow, white and black to transfer the stripe design of the 956, a design that, incidentally, was difficult to reproduce because it was originally too flat due to the 956’s aerodynamic design. The yellow also features on the front splitter and the headlight surrounds, while the rear wheels are painted gold like the originals and the front ones in white, since the 956 fitted aeroblades in that colour. The rear sports a spoiler whose sides are inspired by the design and geometry of the one fitted to the 956, but logically adapted and tested in the wind tunnel to preserve the aerodynamics of the 911 GT3.

The interior of this one-off Porsche 911 GT3 is dominated by black, while the silver door sill trim and a yellow trim on the dashboard add a contrasting note. To make it even more special, in front of the passenger seat there is a logo that combines the number 956 with the “Le Mans 1985” logo, while this new logo together with the outline of the circuit is embroidered on the seat headrests. Finally, the gear lever ball was machined from a solid block of aluminium and then polished, recalling the magnesium ball carried by the 956.

Technical specifications of this car

CoupePorsche 91119 versions · from 157,835 €