Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
You’re really going to have to be a fan of red to like this 911. And not a subtle red; not a burgundy. Not only does this 1982 Porsche 911SC Targa sit with Porsche’s well known, and bright, Guards Red for the exterior, it also has the brightest of the reds in the interior: Can Can Red. There’s some black to break up that interior, and of course the SC Targa itself has plenty of exterior elements to set off the paint, but overall you won’t miss this one and the red definitely dominates.
Not too long ago we featured a 911 Turbo S Package car, one of the rarest and most sought after of all air-cooled 911s. Now, we’ll take a look at the other version of this ultimate 964: a Black 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo S Flachbau (Flatnose), located in Massachusetts, with Light Grey leather interior and 16,400 miles on it.
As the last standard issue rear-drive turbo – I’m intentionally excluding the later GT2 from this – the Turbo S serves as the ultimate expression of the breed melding prodigious power with all of the dynamic peculiarities of the 911’s rear-engine platform. It’s luxurious and refined, while also looking the part of the supercar that it is. Not everyone likes the 968-derived Flatnose, and even I’ll admit it makes for a somewhat peculiar appearance, but there’s no question it will grab your attention. Step behind the wheel and your attention may never leave it.
From a purchasing perspective this car really will only be of interest to serious collectors, but that doesn’t mean we can’t just enjoy what it is. We’ve seen police versions of Porsches before. It’s kind of cool to consider such cars being used for patrol work. They’re certainly better than the ubiquitous Crown Vic in the US. Of course, US police roll in a few interesting coupes as well. I know I’ve seen Mustangs and Camaros pulling people, but those aren’t quite a 911. Given the typically higher speed limits of many European highways I can understand the need for better performing patrol cars.
This one went into duty for the Dutch Rijkspolitie. Based off of a 3.2 Carrera Targa it’s fitted with the standard police lights and sirens and even came with a set of the phone dial wheels, which we rarely see on 911s from this period. This one has a good number of miles on it and we always might wonder about the maintenance and severity of those miles given the sort of usage a police car is likely to see, but I don’t think most buyers would be expecting to use this as a daily driver. It’ll be tucked away and preserved. It’s current condition looks quite good though.
Over the weekend I looked at a pretty nice 911 Speedster up for sale. It was, as usual, very expensive, but also quite desirable. That Speedster, of course, hearkens back to the ethos of the original 356 Speedster though it is far from as spartan a ride as those very early Porsches. In fact, we might see the 911 Speedster to have greater relation to the Speedster’s successor, which is the car we see here: the Convertible D.
The Speedster was a sales success for Porsche as a gentleman’s racer: a car that could be used during the weekly commute, but then on the weekend with its stripped down features it just as easily proved to be a capable car around the track. That said, it may have been too spartan for such dual purpose. It sold well initially and then those sales slowed. Porsche then introduced the Convertible D, which added a few creature comforts back. It borrowed a standard set of seats from the 356 Coupe to replace the Speedster’s hard buckets and raised the windshield height just a bit. It even gave you the option of winding the windows. Such luxury! The Convertible D was a little bit of a compromise, but these were still pretty much no frills open-top cars.
Like the Speedster the Convertible D remains very desirable, though a few notches down the value scale. The one we see here looks absolutely beautiful: a restored Meissen Blue 1958 Porsche 356A Convertible D, located in Colorado, with Red interior.
It’s been a while since we checked in on the 911 Speedster so I figured it was as good a time as any to see how the market is appreciating these very collectible 911s. Plus, this one looks really nice. As we check in a couple things quickly become clear: despite the air-cooled 911 market generally showing some stagnancy that has not hindered Speedster values. They’re still quite expensive. Relatedly, there are still a good number of ultra-low-mileage examples to be found. The 911 Speedster found its way into many collections from the jump and that has meant they rarely see the light of day. We’ve seen a couple of them with more miles – and if you happen to want a Speedster so you can enjoy some driving it’s highly suggested you seek those out since prices are far lower – but they seem the exception.
This one ably demonstrates each of those points. Here we have a Grand Prix White 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster, located in Texas, with Tan interior and just 8,713 miles on it.
