Supercars come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from large front-engine GTs to low-slung mid-engine track specials, and they can be powered by everything from high-output turbocharged four-cylinders to monstrous W16s. But there’s one thing that nearly every supercar is aligned on: a major lack of storage space. With tiny cabins and trunks (or sometimes no trunks at all), supercar designers have to get clever with their luggage and storage solutions, and the Porsche Carrera GT’s hidden door cubbies are a great example.
My brain is stuffed with almost nothing but silly car facts, but I somehow had no idea this existed until today when I saw an Instagram story posted by Calvin Courjon, a photographer who was shooting a black Carrera GT in Gaillac, France for Bonhams’ upcoming Paris sale. When you open the door to a Carrera GT, there is a piece of black plastic trim at the top of the door edge that has a cool straked design element to it and a vertical seam through the center. Press on the right half of that panel, and it pops open to reveal the secret storage hole.
These cubbies are found on both doors, and each one comes with a drawstring pouch that is finished in the same color leather as the rest of the interior. Both the bags and the holes themselves are pretty small, and it’s a bit unclear what exactly Porsche intended they would be used for. Scouring the Rennlist forums led to some amusing posts from Carrera GT owners who didn’t know the cubbies existed either. One said “great for junk food. wife doesnt know,” while another said “Car comes with this cool little sunglass bag. Or it’s a leather condom. Not sure.”
One Rennlist user found this explanation from the car’s technical service manual:
These compartments are provided with leather bags that can be closed, for storage of small tools.
While the Carrera GT’s production information book says this:
In each of the doors, a leather sack (colour analogous to the luggage series) accommodates additional items.
Since these cubbies are only accessible if the doors are open, that kind of limits their functionality. For instance, I wouldn’t want to put my sunglasses in there, because I’d need to be able to grab them while driving. These cubbies could be useful to stash a poncho or other rain gear, or maybe to hide driving gloves or detailing cloths. Or, maybe more likely, it’s the perfect place to hide your jewels and other illicit items.
In addition to the two drawstring bags that go in the door storage, the Carrera GT came with five other pieces of luggage, all of which is finished in the same leather and uses clasps and fasteners made from the same metal as the rest of the interior. The best is the briefcase, which has a wooden handle that matches the car’s iconic shift knob. Owners also got a duffle bag, a shoulder bag, a garment bag, and a triangular zip-up bag that fits into a small open space in the center console. Other than that zip-up bag, the rest of the luggage all fits in the Carrera GT’s frunk.
Oh, and if you need to replace the “door end storage box,” as this Porsche OEM parts website calls it, you’ll need to cough up almost $1,000. A full luggage set will cost you a lot more — the one above recently sold for $18,600 at RM Sotheby’s.