Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
The Polar Silver 911 Turbo 3.6 we featured back in March is up for sale another reserve auction. Bidding sits at $175,500, which is right around where it was bid to on its last reserve auction. The reserve remains unmet so we’ll have to see if either the seller will lower his reserve or if another buyer is willing to pony up to steep asking price being sought here.
Yesterday we looked at a standard 964 Turbo and we will now turn our attention to the next step in the Turbo’s evolution: the Turbo 3.6. This is the car the 964 Turbo was intended to be from the start and as such they attract a significant amount of attention from collectors and 964 enthusiasts in general. We see this increased attention reflected in the significant premium these cars command over the 3.3 liter 964 Turbo. In fact, the asking price here is a little more than two times that of the 3.3 liter version seen yesterday. These aren’t the cars one should turn to when in search of performance value, but their demand on the collector market seems fairly secure. The Turbo 3.6, along with its even rarer sibling the 3.6 Turbo S, is the last of the brawny, hairy-chested, single-turbo, rear-drive, air-cooled 911 Turbos produced so their historical relevance for the marque is quite significant. The example we see here is a beautiful Amazon Green Metallic 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 with Cashmere leather interior and just 38,000 miles on it.
Earlier this week I was reading an article about rare 911s and was struck by how many were produced from the 964. I think I’ve said this before, but the 964 always seems like a model that Porsche couldn’t decide how exactly it wanted to proceed. The variety is somewhat staggering, especially considering that for much of the 911’s prior life Porsche had made do with a few standard models and some special editions thrown in for fun. The 964 Turbo was one of the cars that seemed under constant change. That is, in part, somewhat accidental since upon its release Porsche had not yet finished development on a turbocharged version of the 964’s 3.6 liter engine, and thus chose to carry over the 3.3 liter of the 930. Naturally there was constant development until that 3.6 could be released. The wait was worth it. The Turbo 3.6, and later Turbo S, was the final of the production rear-drive Turbos and as such provide the fullest sense of the diabolical dynamics that had made the 911 Turbo such a hallowed beast from its inception. Refinements to the suspension and braking helped keep everything under control, but ultimately there is only so much that can be done. The particular example seen here is a Polar Silver 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6, located in Alabama, with Grey leather interior and 53,837 miles.
On to our second special 911 for the day. A few months ago we featured this 3.6 Turbo S ‘Package Car’ and I remarked in that post that my own personal Holy Grail would be the 1 Speed Yellow Turbo S produced for the US market. Well, this isn’t that car, but it is very similar and about as close as you can get without actually stumbling across the lone example to have been produced. Here we have a 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6, which crucially has been fitted with both the X88 engine option that came on the Turbo S and also the X99 option package with the Turbo S rear fender vents. Of the 51 reported Turbo 3.6 models also to have been fitted with the X88 engine only 3 possessed the additional X99 package, 2 of which were produced in Speed Yellow. This is one of those two. These differ in appearance from a true Package car by their lack of the Turbo S front and rear spoilers, but in all other regards they are identical and were the only way to get a non-flatnose Turbo S outside of the US market (excepting the Japanese market Slantnose).
It isn’t very often that I come across a 911 that somewhat confuses me, but with this car I spent a considerable amount of time trying to make sure I understood exactly what model it is and while I think I know, I’m still not entirely sure. Part of my uncertainty simply has to do with the possibility that this is a European variant of which I’m not entirely aware, but let’s cut to the chase: here we have a Black Metallic 1993 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6, located in Paris, with 38,526 miles on it. My confusion comes from the options/modifications on this particular car. You see, it looks like a Turbo S ‘Package’ car, one of the rarest of the very rare 911 Turbos to be produced. Except, as far as I know, the Package car was only produced for the US market and the Turbo S was only produced in 1994. Presumably, then, this is a factory-modified Turbo 3.6 complete with the sport exhaust, Speedline wheels, and rear air intake of the Turbo S (along with a considerable bump in power). If that, indeed, is the case, then this probably isn’t as valuable as an actual Turbo S, but it may just be more rare. Either way, it is absolutely beautiful!
