Power Wheels Magazine A Notch Above
To satisfy the die-hard sports car purists, for whom there can never be enough power, Porsche engineers in Weissach developed a new “winged creature” in 1995 capable of going from zero to 100 km/h in just 4.2 seconds and reaching speeds nearing 300 km/h. This new winged wonder was the Porsche 911 (993) GT2.
After all-wheel drive (AWD) systems were banned on road racing cars because of the successful Porsche 959 and its racing version, the 961, Porsche came up with a “back-to-the-basics” idea: remove the AWD from the 993 Turbo and create a powerful rear-drive 993 GT2 that came with significant weight savings and sports car potential because of the deletion of the front drivetrain components.
To qualify for racing, a limited number of street-legal 993 GT2s were created for homologation purposes. The fenders have been cut back and replaced with bolt-on plastic pieces in order to accommodate large racing tires and to help ease the repairs of damage to the fenders during competition racing.
Powered by a 3.6-liter air-cooled flat-6 Boxer engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, the 993 GT2 churns out 450 horses at 6,700 rpm and 550 Newton-meters of torque at 4,500 rpm. 322-mm ventilated disc brakes haul this 1,290-kilogram car from warp speed to zero very quickly, thanks to fat 235/40ZR18 tires in front and 285/35ZR18s at the back wrapped around lightweight, three-piece alloy wheels..
When they were introduced in 1995, the 993 GT2 already commanded respect and a lot of cash, if you want to own one. Nowadays, because of the collector car market, you will need a gazillion bucks to park a pristine 993 GT2 in your garage. Of course, if you don’t have a gazillion bucks, you can settled for a 1:18 scale die-cast model, like we did.
Like the real car, the silver UT Models 1:18 scale Porsche 993 GT2 sports a “911 GT” logo on the rear deck instead of “911 GT2”. The details of the interior, engine, front air dam, large rear spoiler, 3-piece alloy wheels, and the fenders of this 993 GT2 model are superb, as if you’re looking at an actual car.
Everything about this scale model sports car is so accurate that you might want to take it to a racing circuit and do some hot laps with it, instead of in it. Even the under tray of the model is so accurate, it’s as if UT Models took a full-size 993 GT2 and shrunk it to scale. However, instead of doing hot laps around a race track, it can only sit on your lap to be admired more closely. Hey, come on! Don’t forget we’re under quarantine!
The presence of a silver 1:18 scale die-cast 993 GT2 model will definitely brighten up a Porsche enthusiast’s or a model car collector’s display shelf. We’re glad that we got one of these “winged creatures” in ours, which makes staying indoors under self-quarantine to avoid the Corona virus much more tolerable.
To review previous stories about the die-cast Porsche scale models that we have posted this week, please click “The Rack” button on the header bar near the top right of your screen (if you’re using a PC, laptop or tablet), or type “The Rack” on the Search bar if you’re using a mobile phone. Stay tuned for another one tomorrow!
