I recently encountered this very tidy Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Turbo Look. The car was brought in to a Porsche specialist to inspect a noisy wheel bearing, but the issue has turned out to be slightly more serious.

The giveaway was a problem pushing the car more than a few feet before it would lock up and go no further. Pushing it back a little and then forward, it would roll on another bit before locking again. The prime suspect is the diff, which could be in trouble. Unusual for a 3.2 Carrera you might think.

Pull the engine cover release, lift the tea tray fitted to these Turbo Look Carreras and one possible explanation for the diff woes is uncovered: a whacking great supercharger bolted to the crankcase. We likey very much.

This blower is an Eaton, also used on some Jaguars. The supercharger is the same one being used on a supercharged hillclimb Porsche Cayman with sequential transmission – more on that later – but the install is quite different. I think I may know where it was done: currently gathering some more information.

Paxton Supercharger on Porsche 911

When I first got into Porsche, one of the very first 911 guys I met was John, who owned a very smart 3.2 Carrera in one of the dark blue metallics. John lived in London and owned a supercharged 3.2 Carrera Coupe, using a Paxton blower.

I vividly remember one run up the M1 to Donington Park for a private museum tour. I was on the inside lane, he was in the middle. Sitting at 85/90 mph with the roof and windows down on my SC Cabriolet, John was on and off the throttle, giving me the full supercharger/eardrums experience: pretty exciting.

Horsepower from Supercharged Porsche 911

Pelicanites who have supercharged their 3.2s with Whipple, Paxton or Auto-Rotor blowers claim to be seeing up to 425bhp at the flywheel from the add-on. 400 horsepower in a standard Carrera would be a bit of a handful. At least the Turbo Look 911s get the proper 930 brakes and suspension, plus the chunky tea tray tail to hide this install and control the rear lift at speed.

More common power from a supercharged 3.2-litre 911 (US spec motor) is 340-360bhp, with instant torque and plenty of attention from the boys in blue if you don’t watch the right foot. Owners report the main consequence from the added power as drastically shorter transmission life.

I’m excited to see this car in a bit more detail, and what the transmission looks like when dissected.