Last week I featured a Guards Red 1976 Porsche 930 that probably would have made for an interesting option if the price was right. Unfortunately, the current asking price is not right. Here we have another example, but this one appears to lack the flaws of that Guards Red 930 and as such it likely stands a much better chance of reaching its high asking price. When I came across this 930 I was immediately struck because I could swear I had seen it before, but couldn’t immediately place it. The pictures obviously have been heavily edited with regard to shading and lighting, but there’s a pretty good reason for that: the collection from which this 930 hails was featured in Excellence Magazine’s December 2015 issue and the pictures from that shoot used these same lighting changes. That was the aspect of these pictures that immediately recalled this 930 to mind and I am sure the seller hopes that buyers will recognize the car as being related to those in that article given the praise that was heaped upon the restoration work carried out on those early 930s. As far as I can tell this isn’t one of the three 930s featured in the Excellence article, or at least if it is one of them then the interior has been changed since those cars each had tartan fabric seat inserts. I’m not sure if those seat inserts were original, but I really hope they haven’t been removed because they looked fantastic and provided for a much more interesting interior.
Tag: 911 turbo
I’m going to take a break from “regular” Porsches to go to the full length of excess, at least with regard to road cars. Here we have a 1988 Porsche 930 Cabriolet with the factory Slantnose option and a mere 9,100 miles on it. By itself it’s nearly a preposterous looking car and while stunning it’s not likely to be a car most would call beautiful. Add to that already rare and interesting design a specially ordered Midnight Blue leather interior with contrasting Red piping along with a burled wood dash and you have a car that’s full of contradictions. It’s both sophisticated and garish. Powerful and dynamically befuddling, but capable of relaxed top-down cruising with the wind in your hair and sun on your face. There are few cars in Porsche’s history more polarizing than a 930 Slantnose, with the Cabriolet raising that bar even further. But they are extremely rare and desirable nonetheless and near impossible to find in this condition.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Porsche 930 Cabriolet Slantnose on eBay
2 CommentsWhen I come across them I will almost always choose to feature a 1976 Porsche 930. They are one of the earliest examples of what has become an iconic model – the 911 Turbo – and their simplified and pared down nature relative to later examples brings with them a purity that many others fail to match. But they can be difficult, which the example here, a Guards Red 1976 Porsche 930 located in North Carolina, demonstrates quite well. As some of the earliest examples of the 911 Turbo these cars tend to be quite valuable, as we’d expect. But especially in the current market, where 911 prices have begun to retreat somewhat for all but the very best examples, there tends to be a disconnect between asking prices and where we’d actually expect a 930 to sell. We’ll get to the problematic parts, let’s start with the good. Generally speaking, inside and out this 930 looks very ncie. The Guards Red paint shows well and the interior looks crisp throughout. In addition, other than the steering wheel the interior appears to retain all of its original parts. I would guess the interior has been refreshed at some point during this 930’s life, though the seller makes no mention of that so perhaps it’s wholly original. All in all, for a 40-year-old Porsche with more than 100K miles on it the condition is good and while we’d likely classify it as driver-quality rather than concours it definitely has a lot going for it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1976 Porsche 930 on eBay
6 CommentsIf last week’s GT2 RS took insanity beyond what you consider reasonable, then the 996 GT2 may reign in the craziness just enough to be sensible. It also comes with a far lower price tag. Like all things 996 the performance per dollar quotient of these machines is spectacular and matched by few other cars, even when looking at one of the highest priced models in the line. With 456 hp directed only to the rear wheels and around 200 fewer pounds to move around the GT2 returns a level of ferocity and purity to the Turbo’s driving experience that had been gradually softened over the model’s life. Though it was no longer necessary for Porsche to produce such a car in order to meet homologation requirements, they still followed a track-focused mantra for GT2 production that forces the driver to remain attuned to every aspect of the car’s current state. It’s as if the rawness of the original 930 had returned, but with a lot more power! We don’t see many GT2s come up for sale so they always attract our notice when they do. This particular example is especially rare: a Lapis Blue 2003 Porsche 911 GT2 with Black leather interior and 48,812 miles on it. The seller has said this is the only example he’s seen in this color, and my experience is the same. There are plenty of Black, Silver, and Guards Red examples. There even seem to be a good deal in Speed Yellow. This is this only one I’ve seen in Blue.
2 CommentsI’m fairly certain this will be the least expensive of this group of cars I hope to feature, but that should not detract from our wonder and desire. It also may be the baddest 911 of them all. The Porsche 911 GT2 RS delights in excess. Gone are most of the luxuries familiar to owners of the 911 Turbo. Also gone is the confidence inspiring all-wheel drive system Porsche first made standard on the Turbo with the 993. In the place of those features is more power. However, those statements simply apply to the 911 GT2; an already mad car that pushed the bounds of what is possible in a rear-engine rear-drive machine. The RS provides a combination of both more and less. More power, less weight. For the GT2 RS that means 620 hp flying towards the rear wheels. And there’s no fancy transmission to allow the driver to keep both hands firmly gripping the wheel for perfect shifting every time. On top of all of that power is a 100 pound weight savings over the regular GT2 – adding up to a 400 pound weight savings over the already exhilarating 911 Turbo S. Like with any RS, the GT2 RS is focused and track inspired with performance that is almost incomprehensible on the street and certain not fully exploitable. If Porsche produced this model as an exercise of sorts, something to test their limits, it made quite the impression.