G
Guest
·911 GT2 (993) by UT
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Introduction
------------
This is a special car for me, as it was the first diecast that kicked off the hobby. The only 1:18s I owned at that time were a Damon Hill's Jordan F1 car from his last F1 season (1999, yes I was a Jordan fan) and Schumi's F399 from the same year. Buying the 911 GT2 was an instant idea, the model was in the shop for 2 or 3 years and something inside me told me one day that it was a great way to spend 25 euros. So there it was, the red 911 GT2 in my room.
The story after that is easily guessed, as it was a <no profanity> of a diecast to start with and now, almost 3 years after, I am owner of some 110 diecasts and since then collecting 1:18s has become my major hobby.
A word about the real car
-------------------------
The real car came after the storm that the 911 Turbo caused. The Turbo was an everyday supercar, a sportscar that combined performance, driveability (since it was 4WD), build quality, reliability, stunning looks and prestige. Porsche had exceeded its limits, producing the marque's ultimate road car, some thought. How wrong they were...
The company decided to produce a car in order to be homologated for the GT2 class in every form of GT racing, be it the IMSA series, or the ADAC GT cup, the Japanese GT championship and of course classic endurance events like the Le Mans 24h and Daytona. One would expect a new "RS" badge i.e. an "RSR", but Porsche came up with the GT2 label.
The car would boast 430 bhp from a 3600 cc twin turbocharged aircooled engine and was a whopping 210 kgs lighter than the Turbo, weighing at only 1290 kgs, since all of the luxurious features were absent. Did I mention rear wheel drive only? Driver participation at it's utmost.
Performance figures were mind blowing, a 0-100 km/h of 4 seconds sharp was recorded and maximum speed was easily achieved at 295 km/h (184 mph). The car was a Le Mans racer for the road and driving it required some special skills.
Applying part throttle through a turn would be like kissing the devil's hand, as the slightest twich of the right foot would send power viciously enough to the rear tyres and a spin would be imminent. No opposite lock heroics, unless you were a racing driver. This car needed to be driven to its extremes.
So here is UT's example. Too much hype about it, it is a model that is coveted by a lot of collectors, especially Porsche fans, like me. Prices of the few left available are high, since as almost everybody knows UT is closed and e-bay sellers are doing their job well enough. Serious three figures prices are achieved. Is it worth the price then?
PAINT
-----
Paint is a homogenous red finish. The bumpers and wings (but not the wheel arches) are plastic and discoloration is simply non existent. No orange peel whatsoever, no week or uneven spots even on the undercarriage. The paint is applied faultlessly in the inside of the car too. However, more recent diecasts have far better paint quality. Examples are my glossy black BMW 645 from Kyosho and my red M3 GTR street from Minichamps and many more. These deprive the diecast of full marks. The GT2 was available in silver and yellow, but the red one is the one that flatters the car most, although the silver is the trademark colour.
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6/8
EXTERIOR
--------
It is well known that UT's strongest point of the 991 (993) series was it's body shape. The same applies to the GT2. The car has the mean stance of the real car. It sits low, lower than the 1:18 Turbo, as in real life. It is wider and the wheel tracks are accordingly greater than the Turbo's. The front spoiler is accompanied by the curved winglets in both sides.
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The front grille shape is the Carrera's and not the Turbo's design, as it should be. In my diecast it's a little bit out of shape, but nothing serious. The bulgy wheelarch extensions are recreated very beautifully, they are not made of plastic and feature those realistic pop-rivets which held them in place in the 1:1. They are more eminent in the rear.
The two-element rear wing is accurately done, along with its air intakes which cool the engine. The intakes are completely hollow. The "GT" logo is etched in the right proportions on the upper lateral side of the wing. The wing and the engine grille are made of plastic and stay up when opened.
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The rear bumper blends harmoniously with the stripe which connects the rear lights. UT sure knew how to recreate those Porsche rumps… Clear glass is used to represent the unheated in real life rear screen. Door handles could be done hollow though. The mirror shape is exact but, awkwardly, the co-driver's mirror is located somewhat aback, a common irregularity in UT's 993 range.
Panel gaps are a little bit on the large side, but that does not detract one's attention at first sight.
Lights are neat. The front ones are great and clear plastic is used where it should. However, the front turn signals could be done better and the fog lights have a visible attachment stub, which will annoy a few. In front of the main lights there are two painted black spots which are the front light cleaners. They should have been omitted, as they were in the UT 911 993 RS. Side turn signals are painted-on protrusions of the bodywork.
The rear lights are done just as well, thought a tad inaccurate in their formation. The Porsche logo is featured in the central plastic which connects the two lights. There are no attachment stubs and their size is correct.
The 911 GT logo and the Porsche insignia at the front must be decals, but do not have a tendency to fade and come out.
Exhaust tips are painted silver. The inner part is painted black and is hollow only in its outer part. They look nice nevertheless.
Finally, the model feels solid, it is on the heavy side, no creeks when examined, no wobbling opening parts; in a few words it shouts "quality".
The rear part of the car sometimes makes me shiver just looking at it. Squat and purposeful, it screams "eat my dust" and looks mean, looks like just about to exit a 1:18 pit lane. Kudos to UT. Not absolutely perfect, but darn close.
7/8
INTERIOR
-----------
Let's go inside. Spartan interior is the case. Point taken. The doors have dogleg hinges, but which manufacturer had otherwise at that time? The door handles are painted silver, a nice touch. There are manual window levers. No electric windows for weight saving. No electric mirrors too. There's a tiny lever for this job in each door, well recreated.
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The decal which represents the dials and gauges is just OK. Some buttons and a stereo system are discernible in the central console. The gear lever has a painted white top which is accurate. Bucket seats are made from hard plastic and are painted black and white.
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There is no carpeting, but instead there's no hard plastic either. It's some different kind of carpeting which feels good when examined. Safety belt buckles are there, painted, but safety belts can't be found anywhere inside! The pedals are a single piece of plastic. Far from nice, but I have seen worse. The "GT" logo on the back of those who can sit in the tiny rear "seats" is also featured.
5/8
WHEELS - BRAKES
---------------------
Another strong point in the diecast is the wheels. 18 inch and two tone chrome and dark silver paint combo is a killer. The 5 lugnuts can be seen along with the Porsche emblem in the center. The tires are unbranded, but have a very nice pattern. They look like having the right dimensions too (285/35 for the big fat rears and 235/40 in front in the 1:1).
![]()
The discs are bigger than the 1:18 Turbo's and fill the inner space of the rim. A real eye candy. The discs are rotating and that alone is special regarding the model's age. They are not metallic, but painted silver with tiny dots to look like perforated. The result is very satisfying. The calipers are black reading "Porsche", they should be red though. I've never seen a 1:1 with black ones. The model rolls well.
However, I am saddened to report that the dark silver paint has cracked on one rim, mostly as a result of …time, and it is peeling off. I've got to find me a suitable paint.
5/6
ENGINE & UNDERCARRIAGE DETAIL
----------------------------------------
"A lump of plastic", one would say. Take a look at the engine in real life. The huge intercooler is obscuring all detail of the horizontally opposed engine. This makes it difficult to judge the engine detail. The engine fan can be seen along with a couple of hoses in the sides of the intercooler mountings. The absence of warning decals is evident. It would be an extra point.
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One has never written the following about the particular model but… the intercooler plate is well recreated. On the bottom of the diecast, the exhaust outlets can be seen, painted silver. Nothing really special. No special wiring can be seen at all.
In the boot little detail can be seen. The torsion bar is painted silver and a couple of fluid tanks are painted white with colored caps.
5/8
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COMPETITION
----------------
No one else makes the 911 GT2 apart from UT. Also available is the much sought after 911 GT2 evo, or GT2 street or whatever, but this was a different car in terms of performance. The GT2 is the Le Mans car for the road, the GT2 evo was the Le Mans car without sponsor's decals.
6/6
DESIRABILITY
----------------
Desirability is great. The GT2 is becoming more and more an obsession especially to Porsche fans. UT closed its doors 6-7 years ago and the only way to find these models is Ebay or some forgotten shops where you 'd never thought you'd find such an item there (I found mine in a local tire dealer!!). Even if a diecast company, a guess would be AUTOart, recreates the 993 line again, UT's 911 GT is a model which recreates the greatest evolution of the 911 air cooled generation. Thus its place in diecast history is reserved.
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6/6
Summing up the overall score you get a…
40/50
…which is a great score considering the model's age. That's why it is that much sought after. If you are able to pick one, do it, you won't regret it. However, if I had to set the price limit between a collector's item and a faithful recreation of the real car, that would be in the region of 100-130€. But that is completely subjective matter.
![]()
P.S. BOY that 911 993 GT2 makes it's successor look pale in comparison!!
Gone is my old banner too!
![]()
Added to DX Review data Base on Jan 31 2006
Introduction
------------
This is a special car for me, as it was the first diecast that kicked off the hobby. The only 1:18s I owned at that time were a Damon Hill's Jordan F1 car from his last F1 season (1999, yes I was a Jordan fan) and Schumi's F399 from the same year. Buying the 911 GT2 was an instant idea, the model was in the shop for 2 or 3 years and something inside me told me one day that it was a great way to spend 25 euros. So there it was, the red 911 GT2 in my room.
The story after that is easily guessed, as it was a <no profanity> of a diecast to start with and now, almost 3 years after, I am owner of some 110 diecasts and since then collecting 1:18s has become my major hobby.
A word about the real car
-------------------------
The real car came after the storm that the 911 Turbo caused. The Turbo was an everyday supercar, a sportscar that combined performance, driveability (since it was 4WD), build quality, reliability, stunning looks and prestige. Porsche had exceeded its limits, producing the marque's ultimate road car, some thought. How wrong they were...
The company decided to produce a car in order to be homologated for the GT2 class in every form of GT racing, be it the IMSA series, or the ADAC GT cup, the Japanese GT championship and of course classic endurance events like the Le Mans 24h and Daytona. One would expect a new "RS" badge i.e. an "RSR", but Porsche came up with the GT2 label.
The car would boast 430 bhp from a 3600 cc twin turbocharged aircooled engine and was a whopping 210 kgs lighter than the Turbo, weighing at only 1290 kgs, since all of the luxurious features were absent. Did I mention rear wheel drive only? Driver participation at it's utmost.
Performance figures were mind blowing, a 0-100 km/h of 4 seconds sharp was recorded and maximum speed was easily achieved at 295 km/h (184 mph). The car was a Le Mans racer for the road and driving it required some special skills.
Applying part throttle through a turn would be like kissing the devil's hand, as the slightest twich of the right foot would send power viciously enough to the rear tyres and a spin would be imminent. No opposite lock heroics, unless you were a racing driver. This car needed to be driven to its extremes.
So here is UT's example. Too much hype about it, it is a model that is coveted by a lot of collectors, especially Porsche fans, like me. Prices of the few left available are high, since as almost everybody knows UT is closed and e-bay sellers are doing their job well enough. Serious three figures prices are achieved. Is it worth the price then?
PAINT
-----
Paint is a homogenous red finish. The bumpers and wings (but not the wheel arches) are plastic and discoloration is simply non existent. No orange peel whatsoever, no week or uneven spots even on the undercarriage. The paint is applied faultlessly in the inside of the car too. However, more recent diecasts have far better paint quality. Examples are my glossy black BMW 645 from Kyosho and my red M3 GTR street from Minichamps and many more. These deprive the diecast of full marks. The GT2 was available in silver and yellow, but the red one is the one that flatters the car most, although the silver is the trademark colour.
6/8
EXTERIOR
--------
It is well known that UT's strongest point of the 991 (993) series was it's body shape. The same applies to the GT2. The car has the mean stance of the real car. It sits low, lower than the 1:18 Turbo, as in real life. It is wider and the wheel tracks are accordingly greater than the Turbo's. The front spoiler is accompanied by the curved winglets in both sides.
The front grille shape is the Carrera's and not the Turbo's design, as it should be. In my diecast it's a little bit out of shape, but nothing serious. The bulgy wheelarch extensions are recreated very beautifully, they are not made of plastic and feature those realistic pop-rivets which held them in place in the 1:1. They are more eminent in the rear.
The two-element rear wing is accurately done, along with its air intakes which cool the engine. The intakes are completely hollow. The "GT" logo is etched in the right proportions on the upper lateral side of the wing. The wing and the engine grille are made of plastic and stay up when opened.
The rear bumper blends harmoniously with the stripe which connects the rear lights. UT sure knew how to recreate those Porsche rumps… Clear glass is used to represent the unheated in real life rear screen. Door handles could be done hollow though. The mirror shape is exact but, awkwardly, the co-driver's mirror is located somewhat aback, a common irregularity in UT's 993 range.
Panel gaps are a little bit on the large side, but that does not detract one's attention at first sight.
Lights are neat. The front ones are great and clear plastic is used where it should. However, the front turn signals could be done better and the fog lights have a visible attachment stub, which will annoy a few. In front of the main lights there are two painted black spots which are the front light cleaners. They should have been omitted, as they were in the UT 911 993 RS. Side turn signals are painted-on protrusions of the bodywork.
The rear lights are done just as well, thought a tad inaccurate in their formation. The Porsche logo is featured in the central plastic which connects the two lights. There are no attachment stubs and their size is correct.
The 911 GT logo and the Porsche insignia at the front must be decals, but do not have a tendency to fade and come out.
Exhaust tips are painted silver. The inner part is painted black and is hollow only in its outer part. They look nice nevertheless.
Finally, the model feels solid, it is on the heavy side, no creeks when examined, no wobbling opening parts; in a few words it shouts "quality".
The rear part of the car sometimes makes me shiver just looking at it. Squat and purposeful, it screams "eat my dust" and looks mean, looks like just about to exit a 1:18 pit lane. Kudos to UT. Not absolutely perfect, but darn close.
7/8
INTERIOR
-----------
Let's go inside. Spartan interior is the case. Point taken. The doors have dogleg hinges, but which manufacturer had otherwise at that time? The door handles are painted silver, a nice touch. There are manual window levers. No electric windows for weight saving. No electric mirrors too. There's a tiny lever for this job in each door, well recreated.
The decal which represents the dials and gauges is just OK. Some buttons and a stereo system are discernible in the central console. The gear lever has a painted white top which is accurate. Bucket seats are made from hard plastic and are painted black and white.
There is no carpeting, but instead there's no hard plastic either. It's some different kind of carpeting which feels good when examined. Safety belt buckles are there, painted, but safety belts can't be found anywhere inside! The pedals are a single piece of plastic. Far from nice, but I have seen worse. The "GT" logo on the back of those who can sit in the tiny rear "seats" is also featured.
5/8
WHEELS - BRAKES
---------------------
Another strong point in the diecast is the wheels. 18 inch and two tone chrome and dark silver paint combo is a killer. The 5 lugnuts can be seen along with the Porsche emblem in the center. The tires are unbranded, but have a very nice pattern. They look like having the right dimensions too (285/35 for the big fat rears and 235/40 in front in the 1:1).
The discs are bigger than the 1:18 Turbo's and fill the inner space of the rim. A real eye candy. The discs are rotating and that alone is special regarding the model's age. They are not metallic, but painted silver with tiny dots to look like perforated. The result is very satisfying. The calipers are black reading "Porsche", they should be red though. I've never seen a 1:1 with black ones. The model rolls well.
However, I am saddened to report that the dark silver paint has cracked on one rim, mostly as a result of …time, and it is peeling off. I've got to find me a suitable paint.
5/6
ENGINE & UNDERCARRIAGE DETAIL
----------------------------------------
"A lump of plastic", one would say. Take a look at the engine in real life. The huge intercooler is obscuring all detail of the horizontally opposed engine. This makes it difficult to judge the engine detail. The engine fan can be seen along with a couple of hoses in the sides of the intercooler mountings. The absence of warning decals is evident. It would be an extra point.
One has never written the following about the particular model but… the intercooler plate is well recreated. On the bottom of the diecast, the exhaust outlets can be seen, painted silver. Nothing really special. No special wiring can be seen at all.
In the boot little detail can be seen. The torsion bar is painted silver and a couple of fluid tanks are painted white with colored caps.
5/8
COMPETITION
----------------
No one else makes the 911 GT2 apart from UT. Also available is the much sought after 911 GT2 evo, or GT2 street or whatever, but this was a different car in terms of performance. The GT2 is the Le Mans car for the road, the GT2 evo was the Le Mans car without sponsor's decals.
6/6
DESIRABILITY
----------------
Desirability is great. The GT2 is becoming more and more an obsession especially to Porsche fans. UT closed its doors 6-7 years ago and the only way to find these models is Ebay or some forgotten shops where you 'd never thought you'd find such an item there (I found mine in a local tire dealer!!). Even if a diecast company, a guess would be AUTOart, recreates the 993 line again, UT's 911 GT is a model which recreates the greatest evolution of the 911 air cooled generation. Thus its place in diecast history is reserved.
6/6
Summing up the overall score you get a…
40/50
…which is a great score considering the model's age. That's why it is that much sought after. If you are able to pick one, do it, you won't regret it. However, if I had to set the price limit between a collector's item and a faithful recreation of the real car, that would be in the region of 100-130€. But that is completely subjective matter.
P.S. BOY that 911 993 GT2 makes it's successor look pale in comparison!!
Gone is my old banner too!
Added to DX Review data Base on Jan 31 2006
