What's the most expensive car

[Tigermike 3,035]

Not the family van is it? And no I have not driven one of these.

2004 Porsche Carrera GT

MSRP Price $440,000

Invoice Price $414,800

Total Cost of Ownership Not Available

10+ out of 10.

Bottom Line:

Porsche's super sports car, the Carrera GT, started as a racing project for Le Mans. Today, the production version of the Carrera GT brings stares and an awesome ride for the very fortunate—and the very rich—who can afford this $440,000 raciest road-going Porsche ever offered.

Pros:

Rare car bound to be prized by collectors

Awesome power

Innovative use of materials, technology

Cons:

Touchy clutch makes car prone to stalling at first gear

Congested roads, cops crimp driving experience

Getting out of the car gracefully isn't easy

Expert Review

(Note: Because of the exclusive nature of the Carrera GT, this was a short-term test drive and did not involve the usual 300-plus miles of testing on a variety of roads that's typical of other car reviews on MSN Autos.)

Is it me, or is it getting hot in this car, I wondered as I zoomed around the Mosport Racetrack outside Toronto in a Carrera GT one summer day.

My face felt flushed and red under my helmet. My hands had a bit of perspiration on them as I moved the steering wheel.

Yes, it was summer, but overcast skies and the northern location of this track had kept me feeling comfortable while I paced the paddock, waiting my turn for the Carrera GT. Once I settled into this $440,000 car, however, I began to feel a rush of warmth. What was it?

It could be the tension of being at the command of this exclusive car, I rationalized. There are only 1,600 that will be built and sold worldwide up to 2006.

It could be the high operating temperatures of this super sports car, I thought. The 605-horsepower, 5.7-liter V10 generates a lot of heat and is positioned behind the Carrera GT's two seats. Indeed, to keep the CHMSL on the rear wing from melting from the heat emanating from a vent at the back of the car, by the muffler, the wing's controls keep it in the "up" position, even when the car is stopped, until the extreme heat dissipates.

But no, I didn't think that had me feeling hot. I finally concluded it was the responsive, stick-to-the pavement ride that required constant driver vigilance, the eager, almost effortless feeling of power and the loud "zowee" race car sounds that come from the Carrera GT. The combination makes for an exciting experience.

What speed limits?

This is the raciest road-going Porsche ever to be offered to consumers. Top speed of 205 miles an hour (Porsche adds that it came on a test track run) isn't hard to believe.

What's difficult, in real-world driving, is keeping the lightweight, two-seat Carrera GT within legal speed limits on public streets. When I tried to carefully watch my speed and keep the speedo pegged at residential speeds, I felt like I was crawling along the pavement.

And with a car that gets going fast (0 to 62 mph comes in 3.9 seconds), a driver has to be ever vigilant to avoid the cops. After all, it would be nigh impossible to convince an officer that the race car-styled Carrera GT really couldn't have been going as fast as the radar gun indicated.

Torque here is 435 lb-ft at 5750 rpm, and the Carrera GT weighs just 3,043 pounds, which is less than a Toyota Camry with four-cylinder engine.

The chance of a police run-in was why, in part, Porsche offered the racetrack time for the Carrera GT. It also was an opportunity to push the car to its limits, though it seemed the Carrera GT only got there when driven by former world rally champion and driver extraordinaire Walter Rohrl, who was also at the track.

Low, sleek car with little storage

I realized the Carrera GT sat low to the ground as I walked up to it and looked down at it. But I didn't count on having to maneuver myself over a large, carbon fiber side sill and the parking brake lever as I got into the driver's seat. Door openings are large, thank goodness. In fact, they're larger than on any other production Porsche.

The seats have a thin profile, are a new design for Porsche and weigh only 23.6 pounds apiece vs. 44.1 pounds for each seat in a Porsche 911 Carrera. The Carrera GT seats were comfortable for me, though at 5 feet 4, I longed to sit a bit higher. On the other hand, I've heard that some large-sized celebrity athletes had felt they weren't comfortable in the Carrera GT and thus haven't ordered the car.

All seat controls are manual (this saves weight vis-à-vis adding a seat motor), and even the lumbar "bulge" has to be moved manually by removing the leather front part of the seat and loosening the Velcro-attached bulge to reposition it.

Porsche offers a seat-raising option that involves special fasteners and bolts. It must be added either at the factory or dealership. It was not in the test car, however.

Storage space, as you'd expect, is minimal. The Carrera GT trunk, in front, has just 2.7 cubic feet of room located between quilted pads. At least the 5-piece luggage, designed to maximize every storage spot, comes free with the car. It matches the interior leather and includes a suit bag that can be slid behind the passenger seat, two little leather pouches that fit tidily inside the doors' secret compartments, and a briefcase containing the same wood that's on the car's shift lever.

Unlike some autos that try to impress that they're styled after race cars, the Carrera GT doesn't have a "start" button. It uses a conventional key in the conventional place on a Porsche, which is to the left of the steering wheel.

The sounds coming from the Carrera GT are convincing. Anyone with a love of racing and cars will find his or her heart quickening. Tuned to sound like a Formula One car, albeit with a muffler, the Carrera GT sounds wonderful, no matter if you're inside the car or a passerby.

Awesome ride

The toughest part of getting going in the Carrera GT is starting in first gear. I stalled it a couple times, and the times that I didn't, I was really concentrating on staying off the accelerator until I had slowly released the clutch and let the car's idle catch on. Then, I could ease onto the gas pedal and the car would move forward in a smooth fashion.

The 6-speed manual shifter has short, pleasing throws and is positioned high in the center of the car, to the right of the steering wheel. A driver actually can see the wood-knobbed shifter without having to look down from the windshield. Redline is way up at 8400 rpm, and for regular driving, only the first three gears are needed.

There are no paddle shifters here. Porsche's Rohrl said the company hasn't found a paddle shifter that can shift as fast—or faster—than the Carrera GT's current setup.

Drivers need travel just a few feet before noticing how taut the Carrera GT is. Even with its two carbon fiber roof panels removed, there's no cowl shake. The rear-drive Carrera GT stiffly manages road bumps, but surprisingly, the sensation is not too punishing. The result is a sports car that's better riding on public roads, at least those without a lot of potholes, than you'd expect.

The Carrera GT uses a pushrod suspension with double-track control arms. There are no MacPherson struts. Rather, stainless steel pushrods and pivot levers operate the car's springs and damper elements. Control arms are bolted directly onto the chassis, with no rubber insulators. The power rack-and-pinion steering system also is bolted directly onto the monocoque structure.

All this gives the Carrera GT the precision movements of a go-kart. Steering response is immediate—abrupt, even, until you get used to it. Thank goodness Porsche officials saw fit to temper the steering inputs by installing a larger, rather than smaller, steering wheel.

There's considerable road noise from the big, Z-rated Michelin Pilot tires. Nineteen-inchers in front and 20-inchers in back, they were specially designed to provide adhesion for this powerful car. Indeed, these tires mix compounds for both wet and dry road surfaces. The outer portion of each tire is designed to provide strong grip on dry roads, while the inner portion is designed to maximize traction on wet roads. A Michelin official estimated they should last for 15,000 to 20,000 miles "with reasonable care," whatever that means for a car like the Carrera GT.

All I know is the tires—brand new—stuck like glue to the track, especially with the Carrera GT's traction control on. Rohrl took a different line on the track and turned the traction control off in some turns to get the wheels spinning. It was a masterful performance as he described being "at one" with the car and being enmeshed with the Carrera GT's DNA. Needless to say, he and the Carrera GT work together on a different level that regular mortals can only dream about.

Odds and ends

There are only a few inches of clearance between the pavement and the front end of the car, so drivers must watch that they don't scrape or bump the front air dam while traveling over mild dips and rough pavement. Indeed, a Porsche official who accompanied me in the Carrera GT made sure to alert me to potentially troublesome road dips on a rural road. He also pointed out a pothole that he wanted me to miss at the entrance to a parking lot.

The Carrera GT has a new version of Porsche's fade-free ceramic composite brakes. They're large, nearly 15-inch, cross-drilled discs at each corner and provided quick stopping power that's obviously needed with a car that can quickly attain the speeds of this one. Indeed, Porsche officials said the Carrera GT brakes can build up maximum stopping power in fractions of a second. I noticed they had a different kind of sound than regular brakes—they sounded like moving fluid.

Note how the brake calipers are positioned on the Carrera GT. Brightly colored in yellow, they are positioned at each wheel so their weight is inward, toward the middle of the car. It's another example of Porsche engineers' careful attempts to build in near-perfect 50-50 weight distribution.

The Carrera GT is a wide car, especially considering it carries only two people. But unlike many other exotics, this Porsche gives the driver decent visibility. Sure, I was at eye level with a pickup truck bumper in front of me. But the biggest hang-up comes in backing up in this car. It's difficult to see how close the car's big rear end is to obstacles.

If you think getting into the Carrera GT is a challenge, wait until you need to get out. I sort of rolled out of the driver seat, using the wide sill at the doorway as a ledge for my hand to lift me up. I noticed other drivers struggling to get out, too. This car does not present a very graceful exit position.

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[BustemBigBlue 176]

I got to drive my buddies dad's Mercedes SL600 once. Pretty sweet ride.

MSRP $128,220.00*

Engine Twin turbocharged 5.5L 36-valve V-12 engine

Net Power 493 hp @ 5,000 rpm

Net Torque 590lb-ft @ 1,800 - 3,500 rpm

Picture

[MDM4AU 332]

[BamaGrad03 0]

Drove one of these once...

http://www.lambocars.com/diablo/diablor99s.htm

about 323k after luxury taxes.

[TitanTiger 20,499]

I drove a 1993 or so Lotus Esprit Turbo. Car was worth about $75,000 at the time.

[Guest AuNuma1]

Drove one of these once...

http://www.lambocars.com/diablo/diablor99s.htm

about 323k after luxury taxes.

That's hands down the meanest looking sports car ever built...and I don't care how fast the McLaren F1 is. The Diablo is awwwwesome...preferably Silver/Gray.

[bigsixfive 327]

I got to drive my parents new Z71 Tahoe a few weeks ago.

Before that it was my dad's Ram.

Before that it was my mom's 94 Plymouth Voyager.

Then theres my car, a 95 grand am. I drive this bad boy every day.

I guarantee no one has driven a vehicle this nice/fast/awesome. The mother of them all, a vintage 1984 1/2 ton, longbed, 2wd Toyota. My dad drove that for 14+ years, and I inherited it at 16 1/2 when he got his Ram.