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Earlier in the week I posted a somewhat unusual 911SC Cabriolet. It was unusual because it was a first-year 911SC, when a 911 Cabriolet did not exist. That car obviously would not be for everyone regardless of how unique it might be. But let’s keep our attention on that first year of 911SC production and look at how such a Cabriolet would have begun its life.
This is a Light Blue Metallic 1978 Porsche 911SC Targa, located in New York, with Blue leather interior and 73,071 miles on it. The exterior color is one that brings with it a good deal of refinement and beauty; the interior is a pretty rare color for the time period. Together they make for a somewhat monotone combination, but one that is pretty unique in its own right.
This Black on Black 1991 Porsche 911 Turbo has been for sale for a few months and I suppose the question is whether it still should be? With the air-cooled market not really blowing anyone’s doors off these days it perhaps is not surprising that no one has taken the plunge with this one. You can find an early 964 Turbo in the low $100Ks. Were this one priced there it obviously no longer would be for sale. Were it priced higher – like the $150K Grand Prix White example I featured not long ago – then I’d suspect it to have little chance of selling. As it stands now, this asking price splits the difference, which given the fairly low mileage is understandable and not at all unreasonable. Is this a sign that the market for these Turbos might be struggling even more? Or is simply a little more patience required?
I don’t know the answer to that right now, but this is a nice example and while not the most exciting color combination it is definitely one that should have broad appeal.
This 911 is a little bit of an oddity. Those familiar with the 911SC will recognize immediately that this 911 is not original. While Porsche long had been in the business of producing open-top cars, it took nearly 20 years for a true Cabriolet to make its debut for the 911. The 911 Targa had been around since nearly the 911’s inception, but not a Cabriolet. Perhaps Porsche was not confident in the survival of any open-roofed car given increasing safety standards; the short-lived Soft-window Targa was an engineering solution to that problem that quickly was abandoned. Still it wasn’t until 1983 that the first 911 Cabriolet was produced. That means that the car we see here, a 1978 Porsche 911SC Cabriolet, never really existed.
This 911 began as a 911SC Targa and at some point – we are not told when – its owner decided to convert it to a Cabriolet. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps it was done very early before the true SC Cabriolet was released because that’s really what the owner wanted. Or perhaps later for…reasons. Either way this 911 provides the very rare chance to own a first-year 911SC in full open-roof form. Is that something you should aspire to over a standard ’83 911SC Cabriolet? I’m not sure there’s a great reason to do so other than having a 911 that’s very unique. And I’ll admit it does look well executed.
I don’t get to feature these 911s a lot. That is partly due to there not being a ton of them around these days, but also those few that I do see never seem quite right. They’re either not in great condition or simply priced much too high, and while high prices aren’t typically something to dissuade me from writing up an air-cooled Porsche I usually end up passing them by. They just sit in a funny place in the market.
This one doesn’t seem to possess those issues, though even here where the price is at least somewhat reasonable I think it makes for a pretty tough sell. Here we have a Grand Prix White 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa with Midnight leatherette interior and a reported 68,124 miles on it. These U.S market 2.7-liter Carreras must be distinguished from their much more expensive European counterparts, which shared their MFI engine with the 1973 Carrera RS. Those 911s were basically a Carrera RS Touring with impact bumpers. These 911s are not quite that. However, that lack of a shared pedigree means prices are far lower and while their collector potential also is a good bit lower, pricing is at least such that they can make for a worthwhile consideration for those who desire a ’70s 911.
In many of my features of newer Porsches the focus has been on the exterior color. Usually one of Porsche’s historic colors selected as a paint-to-sample option. This one isn’t really about the exterior color, even though Lava Orange is quite nice. This one is more about the interior color and the way it combines with that orange exterior. It also has a true manual transmission rather than PDK and that in itself is a rare thing on these new Targas. So I guess we could say that I find the total package here quite appealing even if the individual pieces aren’t incredibly special in their own right. This was a solidly put together Targa and one that remains unique enough to stand out even within the rarefied air of PTS builds.
So what do we have: a Lava Orange 2017 Porsche 911 Targa 4, located in Texas, with a Saddle Brown leather interior, 7-speed manual transmission, and 3,307 miles on it. The interior also features Lava Orange accents through deviated stitching along with painted console and trim pieces. It comes together quite well!
