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Tag: 1989

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1989 Porsche 930 Slantnose Cabriolet

There are a couple things about this ad that make me chuckle, but the overall impression of this 1989 Porsche 930 Slantnose Cabriolet remains the same: it looks very good. With fewer than 6K miles on it this is one of the lowest (perhaps the lowest) mileage 930s I’ve seen and its condition looks the part. As the seller makes clear, these are very rare in general among all 930s, but that this is an ’89 makes it just that much more special. This is the only year you could get a 930 with the 5-speed manual transmission and the premium buyers have been willing to pay for that one-year-only transmission has been significant for quite a while. I don’t know if buyers will pay the steep premium this seller is seeking – this 930 has been up for sale for a few months now – but even if the price comes down some, I do not expect it to come down a lot. If you want a collector time capsule of one of these very unique Porsches, then this one requires a look.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Porsche 930 Slantnose Cabriolet on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: RUF Auction Roundup

It’s August and that means it’s car auction time. Much of the car-collecting world will be out in California this weekend either at Monterey or Pebble Beach – maybe even Carmel. A lot of cars will change hands and some of those will help set the market over the next six months. I always like to highlight a few that seem particularly fun.

As usual, there are a lot of Porsches on auction, though truthfully there is less this year that really grabbed my attention than in years past. But there is always good stuff even if there are fewer of them. For instance, if you’re a very esoteric Porsche fan, Gooding & Company will be auctioning this 1 of 1 1966 Porsche 911 Spyder. This post will not be about that car, in part because I don’t even know where to begin with that car, and, in fact, this post will be slightly tangential to Porsche. We’re going to look at RUF because there are a few very cool RUFs being auctioned. These are the real deal; these aren’t conversions carried about by shops here in the US nor even are they conversions carried out in Pfaffenhausen at the RUF factory. All three of these have a RUF VIN. They are all insanely rare and like all RUFs insanely fast and focused.

We’ve seen a lot of RUF 911s come up for sale over the years, but the three we have here are some of the best examples available. They all come from the 911’s air-cooled days and are a mix of almost unknown and iconic. Let’s begin with the icon: a 1989 RUF CTR, the model famously tested as the ‘Yellowbird’ and which put the rest of the tuning world on notice:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 RUF CTR at RM Sotheby’s Monterey Auctions

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1989 Volkswagen Jetta Diesel

The Jetta Diesel wasn’t a big seller in the U.S. early on as oil-burners fell out of favor in the mid-80s. Up through 1987, you had your choice of the 1.6 liter diesels with or without turbochargers, producing 68 and 52 horsepower, respectively. For 1988, both disappeared, yet oddly there was a run of ’89-’90 Jettas that reintroduced the 1.6 ME diesel prior to the launch of the new EcoDiesel model. While the diesel had been able to be selected in higher “GL” trim level earlier, the ’89-’90s were base model only and are fairly rare to find. But today a nice ’89 example has popped up for sale:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Volkswagen Jetta Diesel on eBay

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1989 Porsche 944S2 ROW

Although the United States is one of the most important market for its sales, the 944S2 is a case where a majority of the cars sold were “Rest of World” examples. Total S2 production was 19,945 units, and of those about 6,036 came to North America. When you compare that to the 944 Turbo, 25,107 were built with 14,235 sold in the United States alone. Typically, the European versions of the 80s cars we look at had more power, but that was not the case for the S2. The M44.41 was a world engine, meaning it was only available with catalyst and rated at 207 horsepower (211 according to Porsche, although that’s the motor’s PS rating rather than HP). So what did a “ROW” 944S2 get you? Well, the shorter and lighter rear bumper treatment for one, side indicators just ahead of the rub strips, and in front you got integrated dual fog lights/driving lights rather than the fog/dummy setup on U.S. cars. In the case of this particular ’89, you also got the option for a really neat Studio cloth interior:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Porsche 944S2 on eBay

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1989 Porsche 930 Cabriolet

There is something wonderful about the excesses of certain ’80s automobiles. I assume at the time this was all taken quite seriously, but looking back now it is always good for a laugh. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t like these cars. In fact, I like them quite a lot, but driving a convertible with a massive spoiler supporting its huge rear surely can’t elicit feelings of seriousness. It’s not as head-turning as a Slantnose, but still these 930s are ridiculous in the best possible ways. The only thing that can make these better is when its excesseses are turned up even more. If you’re going to punt subtlety, then why not go all the way?

This Porsche does just that. Here we have a Slate Grey Metallic 1989 Porsche 930 Cabriolet, located in San Diego, with a special order Lobster Red interior and a whole host of additions by the tuning mavens at RUF. The RUF bits are mostly of the cosmetic variety so there isn’t much in the way of additional performance to be had here, but the 930 does just fine as standard and those cosmetic enhancements help this 930 stand apart a little more. As if it needed much help. I love it!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Porsche 930 Cabriolet on eBay

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