It’s been 25 years since the Porsche Carrera GT prototype first stunned the world with its carbon-clad body and V10 power. Now, in 2025, the car that once redefined the supercar formula is back in the spotlight, not on the pavement, but in fabric and thread.
Porsche has once again reunited with Arthur Kar, the Paris-based creative behind L’Art de L’Automobile, to launch a limited-edition capsule collection celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Carrera GT. The drop lands in September, and if the past is any indicator, it won’t last long.
Kar’s vision for the CGT fuses motorsport purity with streetwear energy, translating the Carrera GT’s essence into garments and accessories that are a tribute to speed, design, and rebellion. But this story runs deeper than clothes, and Kar, this one’s personal.
“Since it launched, the Carrera GT has always been my favorite car. It’s not just a machine, it’s a totem of innovation, design, and pure emotion.” – Arthur Kar.
He’s not wrong because the Carrera GT wasn’t just another halo supercar, but a symbol of Porsche’s survival instinct. Rewind to the turn of the millennium, more specifically, the Paris Motor Show, September 28, 2000. That’s when Porsche stunned the world with a silver prototype that came together in just four months.
The car on the stand? A carbon-bodied V10 concept built around a shelved Le Mans engine and racecar technology. The prototype, engineered under Horst Marchart and styled by designer Harm Lagaay, and dynamics honed by none other than two-time world rally champion and works driver, Walter Röhrl, was never meant to be a production car. But demand was immediate and overwhelming.
That urgency also came at a time when Porsche needed it most. In the early 1990s, Porsche was in trouble. Sales were down, the lineup was aging, and the company was bleeding cash, and they even began building cars for other automakers: hence the Mercedes-Benz 500E and Audi RS2 Avant. But a few key projects turned the tide for the German marque: the first-generation Boxster and the water-cooled 996-generation 911, and the Cayenne SUV.
These models helped modernize the brand and stabilize its finances, and without their success, there would have been no Carrera GT. That new momentum, paired with the unexpected popularity of the Carrera GT prototype, gave Porsche the confidence to eventually greenlight what many today consider the last analog supercar of all time, for series production.
The final production version of the Carrera GT, unveiled in 2003 and built in Leipzig, was essentially a road-legal racecar. It featured a 5.7-liter V10 producing 612 horsepower, a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, inboard pushrod suspension, ceramic brakes, and a clutch that bordered on brutal.
No paddle shifters, no traction control would also earn it the reputation for being a modern-day ‘widow-maker’, a title that was famously given to the 930 Turbo. Just raw, mechanical purity complemented by a beachwood shifter for the six-speed manual gearbox, harking back to the 917 racecar. While it demanded skill, it rewarded and continues to reward drivers with raw feedback and an otherworldly howl from its high-revving V10 powerplant. All said and done, with modern-day bespoke tires that Porsche developed with Michelin last year, the CGT is safer than ever before.
Arthur Kar gets that, and his connection to Porsche goes way back. Born in Lebanon and raised in Paris, Kar started as a mechanic at Sonauto Levallois, Porsche’s Paris dealership.
“Arthur brings a singular creative vision to everything he touches. He understands Porsche not just as a carmaker, but as a cultural force.” Stefan Buescher, CEO of the Porsche Lifestyle Group.
He later launched L’Art de L’Automobile in 2012 as a rare car dealership, then parlayed its cult following into a fashion label in 2017. His past collaborations with Porsche, like the 968 L’Art in 2021 and the Tokyo capsule in 2023, blurred the lines between art, performance, and street style. Now, with the Carrera GT capsule, Kar is turning nostalgia into wearable art.
Source: Porsche