Le Mans Winner Buys A Porsche 911 GT3 With A Matching Livery To His 956 Racecar

Have you ever dreamed of winning Le Mans? What about owning a Porsche 911 GT3 with a custom livery? Well, Italian racing driver veteran and entrepreneur Paolo Barilla has done both in style. First, he won Le Mans in 1985 behind the wheel of a private Porsche 956 racecar, and now he bought a gorgeous Porsche 911 GT3 with a matching livery.

The car was created by Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur initiating the Sonderwunsch program. Paolo Barilla who wanted the GT3 as a gift for his 60th birthday was heavily involved with the design process. In fact, besides the “frequent consultations” and visits to Porsche’s headquarters, the customer even flanged the gearbox to the engine in his car using a torque-controlled screw device.

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The custom livery combines the Summer Yellow paint with white accents and a black tail. The number 7 proudly sits on the bonnet and the doors, just like in the original racecar. Other details include the front apron and headlight rings in Summer yellow and the larger side plates on the rear wing which were tested in the aero tunnel.

The mismatched rims look quite cool with a white finish on the front axle and gold on the rear. Last but not least there is a plate on the B-pillar with the owner’s signature and the Italian flag.

Inside there are custom door entry guards as a nod to the 956, a special Le Mans 1985 logo on the headrests with the outline of the track in contrasting yellow, and a beautiful custom gear knob from aluminum.

The project took three years from first sketch to finished product, with development starting on the previous generation GT3 (991.2) and finishing off on the latest model (992). Grant Larson, a long-time Porsche designer, said that the biggest challenge was to transfer the graphics from the flat surfaces of the 956 to the rounded shapes of the 992.

Paolo Barilla, who is now deputy chairman of a very famous Italian food company said: “In the Eighties, I had the chance to drive the wonderful Porsche 956, an iconic car in terms of performance and beauty, The interpretation of some elements in a modern GT3 makes that memory exciting and vital – for me and for people who are close to me”.