I Was Wrong About The Carrera GT

The Carrera GT is one of the most revered cars to ever come out of Stuttgart, but for many years I never really paid attention to it or saw it as anything special. I was more obsessed with the Pagani Zonda – a car with a flair that very few vehicles have ever matched, sporting an unmistakable style and a bespoke V12 created by the boffins at Mercedes-AMG. However as time went on, I started to become more appreciative of the Carrera GT. One of the most influential car YouTubers in Doug DeMuro has obsessed about this machine ever since he saw one parked up in Atlanta, inspiring me to appreciate it more than ever. The way he talked about the car each time he was able to get his hands on one reminded me of my love affair with the Ferrari F40 and the BMW M3 E46. It was his dream car because it’s a proper, no-nonsense supercar with a motorsport-derived V10 engine, no driving assists, a manual transmission and superb handling. Such vehicles are very few and far between these days, making the car even more desirable in the face of ever-tightening emissions regulations. As such, I’m all over it now.

This was the first time I’d ever seen, or at least photographed, a Carrera GT in person. The car has been around for 20 years at this point and only now have I had the honour of seeing one up close. The staff didn’t care that I was millimetres away from a multi-million dollar supercar; they could probably tell that I was an enthusiast who just wanted to hang out with a certified legend with a distinctly German accent. This car represents engineering excellence and quality that only those from Stuttgart can ever hope of exuding next to those boisterous Italians in Sant A’gata. You just know you’re sitting beside something special, created with the utmost care and precision you’d come to expect from the Germans. These guys are like brain surgeons, operating within the finest tolerances using a finely sharpened scalpel. Would it win a beauty contest? Probably not, as it does look a bit awkward around the rear but that’s not the point of the exercise. It was great to finally see this vehicle and place it into my extensive photo collection.