The 2004 Porsche Carrera GT
When it comes to top of the line sports cars the 2004 Porsche Carrera GT may be the leader. This is the latest development of a car that has been in production for decades so they have had lots of time to get it right. The car is always on the cutting edge introducing new technologies to the world of sports cars that others will copy down the road. This continues to be true with the 2004 Carrera.
It has been said by many that the Porsche Carrera GT may be the best sports car ever built. It is hard to argue with this assessment. While other cars can compete with it in terms of power and straight line speed the Carrera is in a league of its own when it comes to handling. There are a lot of reasons for this that include the outstanding weight balance and the extremely sensitive suspension. As anybody who has driven one will tell you the Carrera not only handles well it is fun to drive. This is where a lot of sports cars fail, they handle great but they just don't seem all that fun to drive because they don't have that crisp steering. When driving the Carrera you always get the feeling that you could lose control at any second, although you never do. This is what makes driving one so exhilarating.
While the Porsche Carrera may be better known for its handling than its power make no mistake the car has plenty of muscle. With a 5.7 liter engine that produces just over six hundred horse power the car can really move. One of the things that a lot of people find appealing about the Carrera engine is that it is normally aspirated. While a turbo can certainly increase the power many people don't like the way that they feel when driving one or the sound that they make.
One area where Porsche have been at the forefront with the Carrera is when it comes to the use of ceramics. Both the clutch and the brakes are made out of ceramic material and this has really improved their efficiency according to Porshiana. There are a couple of big advantages to using ceramics the first is that there is less friction, the other is that there is less energy lost as heat. These two things make the use of ceramics very desirable and Porsche are the first to do it.
For a top of the line sports car the Carrera is surprisingly practical. It isn't a car that you can use to drive the family around by any means but it does seat two people comfortably and still have room for luggage. The car also has all of the amenities that you would expect to find in a top end car, something that isn't the case with a lot of super cars. Rather than focus solely on performance Porsche have built a car that people will enjoy driving and in that respect they have succeeded admirably.
