Privately Owned Le Mans Legend Porsche GT1 Was Peak Porsche Racing in 1997

Today we get to dive into a racecar from one of the one of the greatest races, of the greatest eras, of the greatest manufacturers in racing: a 1997 LeMans GT spec Porsche 911 GT1. And when you privately own one of these gems, you don’t drop it off for service just anywhere… you drop it off with an ex-Porsche race mechanic. AKA Joey Seeley of E-Motion engineering. And right before this one gets delivered to a customer, Joey gives us a full walkthrough - and even a quick engine fire-up.
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[@LarryChenPhoto]

If you want to support Autofocus directly head over to larrychenprints.com/. Each print comes with Larry Chen Peeker stickers and more!

[@FRIEDWINGZ17]

loved hearing Louis talk about his favorite parts of the car and nerding out ab the era it came from a bit. Could tell he was HYPED on this thing haha.

[@joedim]

Work of art... A true 90's masterpiece from Porsche...

[@sixfootfourmike]

That shop is spotless

[@SporeZoo]

And boring, I wouldn't want to work there.

[@sixfootfourmike]

@@SporeZoo I'd work there.

[@tt-rs1457]

@@sixfootfourmike How will you do this....i mean...actually this looks like a surgery

[@cw9888]

A legendary car and a fantastic interview. Props to both Louis and Joey for the knowledge and passion.

[@StenGilles]

You must be a Dad

[@dylansmit3883]

This is a '96. The '97 Evo already had the fried egg 996 front clip and taillights. That was followed by the GT1-98 which was a clean sheet carbon tub design.

[@papawoody9597]

Porsche's history proves that when they set their mind on winning, there's little that can stand in their way.

[@michaell2059]

Good job Louis 👏

[@corvairfanatic7106]

I might get old, but I refuse to grow up. Louis did a great job. Keep up the great work.

[@AliasHSW]

Even though it’s yellow, That’s definitely not a LeMons 🍋 car.

[@sandasturner9529]

I see what you did there 👀

[@robertocruz6316]

Haha good one

[@Trillogical]

I first fell in love with this car when I was gifted a die cast back in ‘98-99, exact same car but with the Blue Coral livery. Anyone else remembers/has had that die cast as well?

[@100proofcrew]

Nice montage of your pics dude, but it's kinda weird to be talking about a specific part of the car with the guy but we can't see it. Seemed like you're trying to stuff every shot you took into the video

[@GrantCulham]

"and here you can see the double wishbone suspension grafted onto the 993 front end"

[@charlesshamseldin9555]

Pre kink the top mph at Mulsanne was over 250mph. Bet this thing would handle it with ease

[@andrejones3464]

“I raced professionally as a mechanic”...such an LA response

[@UncleManuel]

It's cool to see Louis getting more comfortable in front of the camera. Well done! Oh, and the car is cool, too... 😁😎👍

[@jacknovak733]

Idk how that livery looks so cool. It’s literally just like different crayon scribbles on construction paper, but it totally works

[@witcher71]

That shop is insane!! Next level art studio!!!

[@tylertc1]

Thank you for covering such an incredible piece of history in motorsports

[@cristian333GTX]

thanks for bring this video bro, amazing master piece of Porsche with this GT1 Le Mans

[@JoseSantiago-hv3xm]

There is NO GREATER TEST of man and machine than the 24 hours of Lemans- PERIOD

[@benzina5917]

Fantastic video and awesome run down on this most special 911. I remember seeing this exact car race in Canada in the late 90's. Look up Canada Challenge Cup and you'll find as many as 3 of these on the grid in what was little more than a club championship!

[@lukasgoeckel1614]

"it's just a big RC car" Here I am tinkering with my RC speedrun car, sporting a 911 GT1 body 😂

[@KapteinFruit]

Coolest Porsche Ive ever seen, hands down. The sound and paintjob are SICK!

[@fafafooey8776]

a shop after my own heart

[@aaaaachew]

Joey Seely seems like one of the most genuine people you could ever meet.

[@oliviercaron8685]

Ouhhhh crispy sound omg love it !

[@W1LL936]

Great video Louis 💯

[@simonjohnson7025]

Canard over the foglight, I may have to steal that idea.

[@michaeldigiorgio]

One of my fav race cars of all time.... Just something about this era of lemans Cars that makes me stop in my tracks

[@Team6Loves]

Awesome Video! 👊🏼😎👍🏼

[@gregmorgan9989]

Grew up on these and Imsa... actually like your interviews imo better...👊🏽🙏🏽💙

[@GiletheCarGuy]

So much Porsche knowledge [mind blow]

[@anthonyciccariello8089]

That's a beautiful machine he's got there

[@AdonisAmarante]

wow, beautiful car

[@JaredR1996]

Gawd damn this is a blast from the past 😍😍😍😍

[@miriamferrel1897]

This is gonna be epic

[@NoCanMan]

Incredible

[@RX7ZER]

nice street legal sleeper

[@Jeffmackens]

What a great car!! What is the outro music??

[@halofreak1990]

This was my favorite car in Project Gotham Racing 2. Round headlights ftw

[@tony_5156]

0:00 sounds like a drunk scotsman trying to ask for one more shot lol

[@tony_5156]

I love this car it’s just so cool

[@niosanfrancisco]

Amazing!

[@DRRCreations]

Great video 😀 Just to let you know that it wasn't the CLK GTR that flipped, it was the CLR which was the car that followed the CLK. I only found this out myself last year 😮🤟

[@TheDiggersLTD]

what he said

[@curtiszzzchicago]

Okay, I'm ready to go green. Where do I sign? Give me....

[@superfast30]

GT1 category was the business!

[@spacehippie315]

Bought this on fh4 now im trying to sell it at the auction the handling is amazing

[@Unc_Talks]

Never seen this before today and I'm seriously thinking this is the dopest Porsche I've ever seen..

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

Nice of the wing end plates to warn you of what the exhaust note will be. Röhr.

[@ericmess8261987]

yes, ty!

[@Panthercholo]

Shop? That's a studio!

[@B0F]

so beautiful

[@blakewarne4960]

What is it with porches and white workshops

[@Ozzzzz861]

This is such a unicorn of a car.

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

FIA expected a new GT1 category with their hypercars, with sexy, road-adjacent 1,000 horsepower beasts from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston, Koenigsegg, Mercedes etc.. Instead, we’re getting slow prototypes from Toyota. Yippee.

[@joshw2929]

Top speed of 205. It's so crazy that 30 years before guys were doing 230 + on that straight. Insane.

[@wolfenher6937]

I honestly prefer the 993 Street version look, but the 993 GT1 looks badass 🔥

[@Ed-ty1kr]

Originally the car ran on Sachs, not Billesteins. This is according to the Tony Callas youtube channel, the chief mechanic that ran that car. Supposedly the Sachs could'nt handle the Sebring track here in Florida, which I will say is a doozie to run especially on 2 wheels, so they equipped the GT1 with those JRE's. Yes, I've been in love with that car since I was 19 years old', so glad to see she is doing well and getting her mandatory excercise...

[@Ed-ty1kr]

I'm pretty sure this is the video that its mentioned in, toward the end after they pull the rear cowling off. And yes I know... JRZzzz's not JRE's... Ok so I got a bit of brain bramage, what can I say, don't bump your head. Here's the video-> m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHvLZmmhi9mLbrc

[@vantijden9046]

Sounds a bit like my Porsche tractor 🚜! Imagine owning this and the CLK GTR!

[@briancornish5857]

Technically wasn't the (959) the 1st "Watercooled/ Waterjacket" Street Cars..

[@EMNemesis]

Long boi but it's also a fast boi

[@gnarusbellator8476]

Owned by a friend. That's his baby.

[@malbraxhouse]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@markusgeimer3099]

I'm tryna to rebuild my 914 based on these... 959, 916, 956, 962, 993, but better its so fucking tough

[@clydefrog4959]

Says it looks thrown together. 3 minutes later says he can tell someone spent time working on it.

[@porscheguy09]

If I’m not mistaken wasn’t just the heads of the 962 and GT1 water-cooled and not the crankcase? I thought it wasn’t until the 996 that the entire cooling system became water-cooled.

[@wbaiv]

Not exactly. The GT1 featured 2, one-piece, three-cylinder banks that were liquid cooled and 2, one-piece, 3 cylinder heads, also liquid cooled, with normal head gaskets. A one-piece cam-box was outside of each head. The GT1 crank case wan't liquid cooled but was oil-cooled, more than adequate even in one-piece cast crank and cylinder engine blocks. In contrast the 956 liquid-cooled 4 valve cylinders were 3 separate items on each side, the liquid-cooled head and air-cooled cylinder for each piston, electron beam welded together. No head gasket, no limit to boost pressure. Liquid cooling jackets were later attached to the outside of the cylinders. External hoses and pipes carried the coolant to each cylinder / head and then collected them. A common cam box sat atop the 3, separate, cylinder assemblies, for each side of the engine. Marvels of racing technology, but not steps toward a production, liquid-cooled, flat 6 engine. 956s had 4 valve, liquid-cooled heads, and put the driver's feet ahead of the front wheel centerline. 962s started with 2 valve, air-cooled, heads and lengthened noses with the driver's feet behind the front wheel centerline. Since the GT1 had an air-cooled-style crank case, it was necessarily a dry-sump engine, like any air-cooled Porsche flat 6. It had a large, external, oil tank. The 996 featured an integral oil sump below the crank-case, causing some people to poor-mouth it as less advanced. I'm unlikely to own either, but it seems to me that the 996 is closer in spirit to the 901 dry sump crankcase than the wet-sump VWs I've owned, air or water cooled.

[@porscheguy09]

@@wbaiv very interesting. Thanks for the clarification. The 959 shared it’s water cooling technology with the 935 Moby Dick race car as well if I’m not mistaken which ran a water cooled 4 valve head but retained an air cooled crankcase. I don’t know what caused more controversy amongst Porsche purists, when they created a production water cooled 911 (996) or when they began building a SUV? Both proved to be some of the best decisions in the company’s extensive history. Porsche has been a leader in innovation and design since Dr. Ferdinand Porsche first started designing. The electrification of Porsches heading into the future is similar to the water cooling controversy, soon all models including the 911, will be purely electric and will change the company forever. Personally I hope gasoline powered Porsches stick around for a while longer. But I guess the change to all electric is inevitable.

[@florianwalter704]

Nowadays, Porsche would also release 911 GT1 RS Version

[@nfggarage8135]

Louis doesnt know diddly about GT1 Homologation racing The tail lights and head lights are homologation rules. They had to produce a certain amount road vehicles of the Porsche GT1

[@alistairthompson2750]

It's basically a 993 front end grafted on to a 962 back end on carfection they just tested one of the 20 road going versions

[@wbaiv]

The GT1 has liquid cooled, 4 valve per cylinder heads. The 956 and 959 started life with 4 valve, liquid -cooled, heads. The 962 started life with 2 valve per cylinder, air-cooled heads. The 956 and 962 chassis were designed for ground-effects and featured large diffuser tunnels starting behind the engine and rising on either side of the transmission. The GT1 is flat-bottomed until the rear wheel centerline and has a modest, full-width, diffuser, behind the rear wheel center line. 956 was designed with the exhaust and compressor turbines and air-to-air intercoolers at the outside edges of the car's body. The GT1 puts the power and compressor turbines right next to the exhaust manifolds of the motor. The flat bottom hides all the structure complexities.

[@TheWisdom3]

Hah, dutchie passing by.

[@snaggo6666]

got in early for once on a new video, and what a car omg

[@nfggarage8135]

Group C got canceled, not changed

[@markusgeimer3099]

Video starts at 1:23

[@Lee_B_Futures]

"No use in keeping it 600hp" ??? WHAT? WHY NOT?!

[@stankhunter666]

He didnt say hoonigan auto focus 😤 whatsup with that

[@chewdoobautomotivedetailtm2883]

🥰🥰🥰💯💯🎯🎯

[@GrzReaper86]

Yes

[@GrzReaper86]

I might be first

[@miriamferrel1897]

Perhaps

[@nfggarage8135]

This GT1 won Le Man overall in 1998

[@dylansmit3883]

That was the GT1-98. Very different car.

[@andreidoimetri]

Please STOP putting pictures over the video, especially on crucial moments when they speak about suspension and when they START THE DAMMM THING UP!!!!

[@langamtimkulu6846]

2300lbs = 1043Kg.......Why americans think their the only ones on the planet, is beyond me.

[@lxwvandenberg]

Not hating on Louis, but hes no Larry and his commentary is... distracting from Joey and the Car. I appreciate the content, but it was taking away from the experience.

[@smithy7371]

Who the hell edited this video??......bloody cut to photos just as the car is about to start 🤦🏻‍♂️......also cut to photos when he’s talking about the front clip of the 993 and showing the double front A-arms......🤬......ffs

[@dylanwoods339]

aint the same without larry

[@59vaughn]

Well this is a rambling of ramble ramble ramble...nice car tho....

[@DJ_NOOB]

Louis I do think you take some great photos and I totally appreciate your enthusiasm and knowledge...... but I do think there are some skills for this type of content that you need some work on. My following comments are made in the hopes that you do more of these improve your skills.......... Speaking: Here's an example "These are like 315's, 325's or something" First, drop the like. It's ok to be casual but there's a difference between casual and sounding unprofessional. 2nd, You sound like you either don't know what you're talking about or you are guessing. Neither sounds good. It's ok to not know and simply ask the question, for example "Are these 315 or 325?" or you could just say "Tell me about the tire" Lastly, "or something" .... you have to drop that kind of phrase. Honestly I think part might come from a lack of confidence. Don't get me wrong, it's totally ok to not be confident but when you say things like that, it shows that you're not confident. That's what you don't want to do. Camera work: Seems like the gimbal wasn't working that great because the camera work was a bit shaky Editing: I don't know if you edited this Louis but, putting up photos when the car was starting up was really odd.

[@timg672]

This is hard to watch when the interviewer is just a fan boy with a camera. Get someone who has just a little mechanical knowledge please.has this guy ever been around a purpose built factory race car?

[@maddog4390]

Please don't ever use this interviewer again. Terrible

[@danthaman7777]

He's young and new. Be kind

[@BLCKCSTLS]

He did good, what is your problem?

[@pretendracingcars8028]

Enthusiastic and eager to learn, which is always good, but in his eagerness messed up a lot of the bits of history or just jumped in way too soon ahead of Joey.

[@charlesshamseldin9555]

Odd, his style isn't much different than Larry's style and he's universally adored. I thought he did a great job

[@6thEement]

He did great, kept it going and had lots of extra input to add. No reason to rain on someone starting out so harshly