Aye, Carrera! (part 1 of 2); THE FIRST FULL TEST OF PORSCHE'S SUPERCAR.(Product/Service Evaluation)

Byline: Mike Duff; track test by Pete Albrecht

The first hurdle is the language barrier. Not the one between technical German and English-any part of the Carrera GT experience that does not translate can be communicated through a combination of hand gestures and low, appreciative whistling. No, the problem comes with the growing realization that "supercar'' isn't going to be a strong enough word for us here, as there is a magnitude of difference between this uber Porsche and other more, well, ordinary supercars. The Carrera GT could eat any production Lamborghini for breakfast, spend the morning snacking on Aston Martins and then lunch on Ferraris. What we need here is new nomenclature, something understated, yet snappy. How about hyper-ultimate megacar?

Which leads to question No. 1: How hyper, ultimate and mega is the Carrera GT? That's what we're here to find out, at the grandly titled Adria International Raceway, approximately 50 miles from Venice in Italy. As the first U.S. magazine to run and publish a full test of the $440,000 roadster, our mission is to gather as full a set of performance figures as the track here will allow. There is not enough space to mount a challenge on Porsche's claimed 205-mph top speed, but we should be in a position to confirm, deny or possibly even better the company's claim to a 3.7-second 0-to-62-mph (100 km/h) time.

First up, some acquaintance-making. Seen in the otherwise empty, concrete surrounds of the Adria pit lane, the two Carrera GTs on hand both look low, mean, hungry and gleaming with a slightly predatory malevolence. The front end comes across as scaled-up stock Porsche on first acquaintance, but look harder and you see some real hard man-menace in the slant and set of the headlights' gaze. First choice: red or silver. The Italian magazine that we are sharing the day with does not mind, so we opt for the silver car. It is definitely the GT's color (half of the production will be finished in it). And the silver car here also does without the no-cost optional a/c and stereo that most will ship with; every bit of weight saved should translate as performance gained when it comes to getting figures. Best of all, our decoding of the VIN suggests it is the first U.S.-spec car: If you see a red car in other magazines, know that it is European specification. There is no significant

difference that we've been made aware of, but ...