[masraum]

Take, for example, the lightweight ceramic clutch (measuring a mere 6.7 inches in diameter) and the 10 titanium connecting rods in this 68-degree V-10. They weigh, by regular commodity-car standards, essentially nothing. After a romp in the GT, whatever you drive will feel as if it were powered by a huge diesel—the kind we imagine powering ocean liners—with 10-foot-long iron connecting rods.

This works, of course, in reverse, too. Unlike the brawny powerplant of, say, a Lamborghini Murciélago or Dodge Viper, which pummels physics into submission, the Porsche's race-bred V-10 seems to skirt physics entirely. It always feels unrestrained. Here again we can thank low rotational mass. The best production-car engines in the world accumulate revs in a satisfyingly smooth sweep. So quick to rev is the 5.7-liter Porsche engine that you scarcely are aware that it's putting forth any effort at all. A stab of the wide, floor-mounted gas pedal and—Brip!—you're at the 8000-rpm power peak. Watch the in-car footage of an F1 car going up through the gears with its brief, staccato blasts through the revs, then slow the footage down by about half, and you get the idea.

The downside to this is that you will stall the car from a standstill. Everyone who sat in the driver's seat did. Well, you'll either stall it, or your big dumb right foot will call for far too many revs, spin the rear tires furiously, and a second later get shut down by traction control. This display of skill and precision doesn't impress the assembled Porsche personnel as much as you might imagine.

Curiously, the Carrera's handling character is determined to an unusual degree by the powertrain as well. When designing a thing as spectacularly impractical as the GT, engineers can obsessively focus on achieving a low—nearly subterranean—center of gravity. The GT's crankshaft spins just 3.9 inches above its carbon-fiber floor. This is made possible by the engine's dry-sump oiling system and that small-diameter clutch. The six-speed transmission actually sits lower in the car than the differential.

Vehicle type: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door Targa
Estimated base price: $440,000
Engine type: DOHC 40-valve V-10, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 350 cu in, 5733cc
Power (SAE net): 604 bhp @ 8000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 435 lb-ft @ 5750 rpm

Transmission: 6-speed manual
Wheelbase: 107.5 in
Length/width/height: 181.6/75.6/45.9 in
Curb weight: 3050 lb

Manufacturer's performance ratings:
Zero to 62 mph: 3.9 sec
Zero to 124 mph: 9.9 sec
Top speed (drag limited): 205 mph

Projected fuel economy:
European urban cycle 8 mpg
extra-urban cycle 20 mpg
combined cycle 13 mpg

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=19&article_id=7366