Here we have something special: a 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera owned and rebuilt by Magnus Walker, aka Urban Outlaw. Walker’s works run the gamut from original restorations to fully custom-modified cars and typically his builds center around early 911s from the ’60s and ’70s. This Turbo Carrera sits nearer the original end of his spectrum; a car he returned to glory rather than try to take it into another dimension. And perhaps that shouldn’t surprise us given how great the Turbo Carrera was from the beginning. The looks, the performance, and the spirit are all pure 911, but turned up by a few degrees. Upon first release the 911 Turbo used a 3.0 liter flat-six mated to a 4-speed transmission. These are most distinguished from turbos produced from 1978 and later by their use of the standard whale tail found on other 911 iterations rather than the tea-tray and intercooler of the 3.3 liter turbos. Powerful, challenging to drive, and beautifully proportioned. Porsche’s initial forays into turbocharging the 911 made its sporting pretensions crystal clear and they have hardly looked back.
Category: Porsche
There is something very sexy about a well executed 911 restomod. On one end of the spectrum we have the half-million-dollar works of art created by Singer, while on the other end we have examples developed by individuals that come through in various levels of quality and performance. In either guise the combination of modern performance and classic design has become a sought after marriage for those who prefer the unique styling cues found in vintage automobiles, but don’t want to compromise on performance. The example we see here strikes a nice balance that is neither over the top nor overly basic; it presents as a well-executed transformation providing a modest bump in performance along with a step back to the original design. This restomod began life as a 1978 Porsche 911SC that has received a carburated 3.2 liter flat-six sourced from an ’84 3.2 Carrera. The exterior was restored to the original long-hood 911 design while the interior has been thoughtfully put together to provide a vintage feel that complements the alterations to the exterior. With any design such as this you’ll want to spend some time talking to the builder to fully understand the car, but you can rest assured that you will rarely come across another example like it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Porsche 911SC Coupe Restomod on eBay
2 CommentsPorsche’s announcement that their most track-focused, but road-going, homologation vehicles, the GT3 and GT3RS, would no longer be available with a traditional manual transmission was met with a fair degree of consternation among Porsche enthusiasts. Porsche’s reasons were straightforward: around a track, the natural habitat of these cars, a PDK-equipped 911 is faster than a traditional manual. That is all well and good and not an insignificant point for as track-focused a machine as these cars aspire to be. But it still leaves us cold. Rowing your own gears is part and parcel of the driving experience from which so many of us derive our enjoyment. That makes the 997-derived GT3 and GT3RS the last of the breed. Or at least for now. Here we have a Black 2010 Porsche 911 GT3, located in Ohio, with just 4,525 miles on it. First released as a variant of the 996, the 997 GT3 began as a 3.6 liter flat-six sending 415 hp toward the rear wheels before receiving a small bump to 3.8 liters and 435 hp all transmitted via a 6-speed manual transmission. These remain some of the absolute best performance vehicles Porsche has produced and are sure to have a long and devoted following.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 on eBay
3 CommentsNow and then I’ll come across a car that looks in good shape and with reasonable mileage and think, “why is this car so cheap?” Cheap, of course, is a relative term, but lately for air-cooled 911s, and especially the 930, it is rare to come across a car that is priced reasonably, if not too low. The immediate next question is, “so what’s wrong with it?”. This is the basic process I went through after coming across this car: a Yellow 1986 Porsche 930, located in Phoenix, with 51,000 miles on it. Typically, a 930 with this mileage and in a color we rarely see would be priced somewhere in the neighborhood of $100K. The car may not ever sell for that price, but it sets the starting point. So when I saw this one with a BIN of $54,900 it seemed like a steal. There are many who have dreamed of owning a 930 and watched those dreams fade as prices for one have climbed ever higher. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find examples that are accident free and in good mechanical condition, so while the car here isn’t offered at a low price, it is certainly the sort of car that may provide a window of opportunity to fulfill one’s dreams.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Porsche 930 on eBay
7 CommentsIn last week’s post about the Porsche 356 I wrote about the way these cars have always struck me for their beauty and graceful, simple, designs. At this point in their history the 356 is less about performance and more about history and elegance. There are some, though, for whom the beauty of the car is not enough. Enter the Outlaw. At its root, the Outlaw philosophy is a tried and true method: take a vintage car, make minor exterior modifications to suit one’s taste and combine those with more modern modifications to the drivetrain. Add in some interior modifications to suit the car’s personality and you have an Outlaw. These were souped-up variants of a classic car. The degree of modification can vary significantly, both for the exterior and drivetrain, with some Outlaw models producing more than 200 hp to go along with modern suspension and braking. The example here is much more subtle featuring minor exterior changes, a bored 1.7 liter engine along with the requisite suspension and interior modifications. The base car here was a 1964 356C so it provides a nice comparison with the original model we featured last week.




