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The first road-going 911 Turbo was not the familiar 930 that entered production in February 1975. Nor was it the engine-less prototype that had appeared at the Paris Motor Show in October 1973. Instead, it was a one-off narrow-bodied mule that was subsequently gifted to Ferry Porsche’s sister, Louise, on her 70th birthday in August 1974. Built on chassis 9115600042, this 2.7 Carrera Turbo also pre-dated the prototype 930 that was shown in almost production-ready at Frankfurt show in 1974.
1975 PORSCHE 911S SILVER ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Commemorating 25 years of Porsche sports car production, the 911S Silver Anniversary Edition is distinguished by unique Diamond Silver Metallic paint and a special black leatherette and tweed interior. The first of Porsche’s commemorative ‘celebration’ cars, this Silver Anniversary was produced in a limited run of 1,063 examples, of which approximately 500 are reported to have made their way to the United States.
Essentially a Carrera 3.2 with a chopped, more steeply raked windscreen and hood, plus a stripped-out interior. Most had wide Turbo bodies. Porsche insisted that the simple hood was not designed to be 100 per cent watertight. The first Porsche 911 Speedster was built in 1989 and it was the last vehicle with the old 911 body. Three decades passed before the Speedster made a comeback. Had a 3.2 L Aircooled Flat 6 and 2274 were produced for the 1989 model year.
For 1989, Porsche produced the 25th Anniversary Special Edition model to mark the 25th year of 911 production. The 1989 Porsche brochure lists production of 500 U.S. market cars, of which 300 were coupés (240 in silver metallic paint and 60 in satin black metallic), and 200 cabriolet models (160 in silver and 40 in black). All had "silk grey" leather with black accent piping and silk grey velour carpeting. Includes small bronze "25th Anniversary Special Edition" badges.
Porsche introduced a new wide-body package option. Known as the M491 option it was commonly known as the "Turbo-Look". It gave the naturally aspirated cars the look and style of the 930 Turbo with wide wheel arches and the distinctive "tea tray" tail. It wasn't just about looks however, because M491 also got you the stiffer suspension shared with the Turbo and the superior Turbo braking system as well as the wider Turbo wheels. It was available on the Coupe, Cab and Targa.
The 911 Carrera Club Sport was Porsche refocusing on what they do best – high performance, lightweight motoring. This is probably the most underrated Porsche ever made. Manufactured between August 1987 and September 1989 only 340 cars. It had a blueprinted, high revving engine mated to a modified short-shift, close-ratio G50 gearbox. It had track-bias suspension modifications too.
In 1988, Porsche produced 875 examples of the CE or Commemorative Edition 911 Carrera in coupe, targa and cabriolet variants to mark the production of the 250,000th 911. Distinguishing features include special diamond blue metallic paint with color-matched Fuchs wheels, front and rear spoilers, and interior carpets and leather. These cars also featured Dr. Ferdinand Porsche's signature embroidered on the seats in the headrest area.
Following the famous 1973 F-model 911 Carrera RS 2.7, Porsche built its successor based on the G-model and it was called the 911 Carrera RS 3.0. With its 172 kW engine, it was the most powerful series production street-legal Porsche made so far. With its new 3.0-liter engine, featuring mechanical fuel injection, it was capable of 230 hp. While 1,580 Carrera RS 2.7s were built for 1973, only 56 Carrera RS 3.0s were built for 1974.
Commemorating 25 years of Porsche sports car production, the 911S Silver Anniversary Edition is distinguished by unique Diamond Silver Metallic paint and a special black leatherette and tweed interior. The first of Porsche’s commemorative ‘celebration’ cars, this Silver Anniversary was produced in a limited run of 1,063 examples, of which approximately 500 are reported to have made their way to the United States.
Finally, in 1982 the model 911 SP 'Ferry Porsche' was introduced as a special edition to celebrate 50 years of Porsche. This special edition was finished in Meteor metallic paint with burgundy leather interior and a 'Ferry Porsche' signature on the headrests. Only 200 of these now-classic special cars were built (130 Coupes and 70 Targas). The 911 SC “Jubilee” or “Ferry Porsche” is the first “limited series” sold in Europe.
1978 Porsche 911 SC Martini Edition
The 'Martini' edition of 1978, was identifiable by a set of side stripes similar to those that appeared on the 1976 British Motor Show 911 Turbo which was clad with the stripes to celebrate victories in the World Manufacturers Championship and the World Sports Car Championship, as well as the fourth consecutive racing season with sponsors Martini & Rossi. The stripes were so popular that Porsche quickly made them an option available to any owner as a factory or retro fit.
In 1980, a true limited edition model 911SC was produced for the American market. The 'Weissach' edition was a standard SC with special paint. It was built in 1980 to honor the Porsche Motorsport team working in Weissach Germany. 468 units were made and half were painted Metallic Black, the other half in Platinum Metallic. The interiors were wrapped in Doric Grey leather with burgundy piping. Additional body and mechanical specs included whale tail spoiler, Bilstein dampers and Fuchs wheels.
Slantnosed and based on that of the 935 racecars, with pop-up headlamps. The front spoiler was made deeper in order to accommodate the extra oil cooler, while intakes in the rear wings fed air to the brakes. The larger turbocharger and four-outlet exhaust gave 30bhp of extra power. Porsche began their “special order program” offering a Flachbau option (Slantnose) for the 930 in very limited production. All of this at a cost of nearly 2 times the standard 930S.
Only 50 units made. The 911 Turbo Limited Edition comes equipped with the 330 bhp power unit normally only available in the 911 Turbo with Sport Equipment. In addition, the fitment of a limited slip differential as standard ensures the the increased engine performance can be used to it’s fullest extent. This Limited Edition also adopts the rear wheel air intakes of the Sport Equipment version. Essentially an SE without a slantnose front.
Just 50 ‘C16’ cars were manufactured for the UK-market, initially equipped with an uprated engine of 330bhp (from 300) mated to a 4-speed transmission. However, at the end of 1988, the uprated 5-Speed G50 gearbox was introduced, dramatically easing the peaks in power delivery by reducing the effects of ‘turbo-lag’. The factory SE also benefited from a dual-exit exhaust system, limited-slip differential, heated front seats and a sunroof.