Last year, Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) issued a recall and a subsequent stop-drive order for the Carrera GT supercar. The automaker found that some of the joints in the suspension could fail when exposed to salt corrosion. If that were to happen, suspension arms could fail and render the car dangerous, though thankfully this never actually happened. It’s taken well over a year for Porsche to develop a fix, but it’s finally here. But, more interesting than the fix for the suspension components is the new tire Porsche will fit to all Carrera GTs as part of the recall campaign.
As first reported by The Autopian earlier this month, PCNA will equip all Carrera GTs here with a new version of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tire developed specifically for the car. Automotive YouTuber and Carrera GT owner Doug DeMuro points out in a video about the recall fix that this is a very clever way of addressing a particular problem for Porsche.
The Carrera GT has a reputation for being tricky to drive. It’s perhaps overblown, but this is a 612-hp mid-engine, rear-drive supercar that doesn’t have stability control. Over the years, there have been a number of notable Carrera GT crashes, including the one that killed actor Paul Walker. That car was fit with tires that, at the time, were over nine years old. It’s impossible to say if that was the definitive factor in the crash—the driver was doing around 90 mph after all—but unequivocally, driving on tires that old is extremely dangerous.
I’m often astounded at how many ostensibly nice cars I see fit with ancient tires. After just a few years, the rubber in a tire gets hard and brittle and the performance can all but evaporate. It seems that many only look at tread depth as an indicator of a tire’s health.
That’s especially a problem with a car like a Carrera GT, which as DeMuro says, are not cars that get driven often. Most of these things sit in safe, climate-controlled garages for the vast majority of their lives, maybe accruing a few hundred miles a year. So the tires aren’t being worn out, but the rubber is deteriorating.
Getting new tires on the car is a huge safety improvement. And DeMuro notes that Porsche has been sued over Carrera GT crashes—in 2017, Walker’s daughter settled with the company. While an automaker itself isn’t typically responsible for ensuring its cars are on safe tires, Porsche clearly wants to take this variable out of the equation for the Carrera GT.
Plus, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 is a far more modern, grippy tire than anything developed for the Carrera GT prior. Tire technology has moved on a lot from the Michelin Pilot Sport 2s that these cars came from the factory with two decades ago, and even the improved Pilot Super Sport Porsche later developed for the car.
DeMuro also notes that the recall campaign is clever in bringing Carrera GT owners back to Porsche dealers, as many have their cars serviced at independent specialists. Porsche is also offering a $3,500 service credit. That will help the automaker build goodwill and a list of potential customers for the Mission X hypercar.
The fix for the suspension is interesting in itself. DeMuro says that the cars are getting $109,000 worth of new titanium suspension components to address the potential corrosion issues. So Porsche is spending a lot of money here.
It’s worth pointing out that Porsche only found one example of a Carrera GT with failing suspension components, which prompted the recall in the first place. The driver of the car didn’t even notice the issue, either. Their dealer discovered it when the car was in for unrelated work. Before it issued a stop-drive order, Porsche also inspected Carrera GTs for corrosion, and if none was found, deemed cars safe to drive. That’s why DeMuro and many other owners ignored the stop-drive order. It’s very difficult to imagine many Carrera GTs are exposed to much salt corrosion.
Porsche is very careful about the Carrera GT, so while this is unusually extensive (and expensive) for a recall fix, it’s probably worth it. And if it helps the company sell some Mission Xs, all the better.