by John Glynn | Feb 21, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Another fun email exchange this week was with Jim in Down Under, concerning his 1967 Porsche 911 Soft Window Targa.
“The Targa is almost complete: all very good gaps, road registered and all electrics work. Only real problem is bad rust in a difficult spot around the pedal box area, fiddly to fix but will happen. Interior is so good that I plan to detail it to within an inch of its life and leave as is.
“About the only thing missing is the ash tray and they are a bit hard to find unfortunately (email if you can help – JG). Even the Targa top which needs full restoration is absolutely complete. The early cars had a lot more thin metal detail trim than later cars and they would be impossible to find and a nightmare to make, so good that it’s all here on my car.”
The left-hand drive Porsche came to Australia from the US (left hand drive cars over thirty years old are OK in Australia) and sat in a barn for twelve years. Jim bought it from the importer and send it to Autohaus Hamilton for recommissioning, with instructions not to disturb the patina. Hamiltons flushed the fuel tank, cleaned the lines and rebuilt the carbs, sorted some failed bushes, a dud master cylinder and brakes, and it was ready to go.
Too many people would sand and repaint this car, without savouring it as it came. Kudos to Jim for sticking with his patina-rich classic 911 Targa: it snaps, crackles and pops!
Got a Porsche project you want to share with the world? You know what we like to feature: doesn’t have to be a 911. Send us some pics and a couple of words: mail@ferdinandmagazine.com.
by John Glynn | Feb 2, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Former BFG Porsche 962 motorsport PR chief Michael Hodges has returned to his desk following an inspirational trip to the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, and sends details of a classic 1968 911 coming up for sale at Brooklands Historic Auction next month (March 8th).
“Restored by the current vendor to a very high standard, this fine example should whet the appetite of any serious Porsche collector,” says the auction description. “This is, without doubt, one of the finest 911’s we have seen for some time.”
I note that Silverstone Auctions also has a 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 Targa in their Race Retro sale, on 22nd-23rd February. Originally a Silver Sportomatic, it is now McQueen Slate Grey with a manual gearbox.
The early car is estimated 42-48k, but who knows what might happen on the day. The C3 Targa is no reserve, but I wouldn’t expect it to be cheap, as it looks good in grey on 15″ Fuchs. 90k miles too, which is roughly same as my engine with a few snapped head studs.
Targa paint is pretty recent so have a good look at the body. The interior looks original and is super rare. Please don’t change it if you buy the car: that is very cool. Consider going back to Silver and don’t be too worried about the Sporto. Our friends at Racing Restorations are very good with Porsche paint and body restoration.
by John Glynn | Dec 21, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Just reading an (unpublished) draft post from a few years back on my Classic Porsche Blog, where I spotted a perfectly-preserved 1977 911S Targa in the corner of Tuthill’s yard and mused on how the 2.7 S Targa was once the runt of the 911 line – I mean the absolute worst car you could possibly aspire to – but now would be valued at £30k+ for insurance. Anyone who thinks a 2.5 Boxster Tip will never go up in value should remember the 911S. Porsche may have built thousands, but one day there won’t be so many.
Over breakfast, BBC 6 Music played a 1977 Peel session track from The Jam, introducing it with a BBC interview with the band from the same year. “Are you punks?” asked the interviewer. “This time last year, everyone under 20 who played music was a punk,” said Bruce Foxton with a very deft negative. “If you tell me what punk is, I’ll tell you if we fit,” said Weller with another. “We just want to play, to keep getting better, and not be shoved in a bracket. You can already hear music that’s going to last coming out of the movement.”
The trio’s music has certainly lasted. I’ve still got a 6-disc CD changer in my Cayenne (albeit about to go), and one of those discs is The Jam’s “In the City“. Still a visceral listening experience, it’s an electric ropeladder of escape from three guys who know their music has to reach out and be real. Reviewing the album for Record Mirror (who remembers that?!), Barry Cain wrote: “armed and extremely dangerous, The Jam stalk the decrepit grooves. If you don’t like them, hard luck: they’re going to be around for a long time. Seldom do albums actually reflect pre-20 delusions, but this one does.”
The best new music of 1977 continues to engage new listeners. I’m thinking The Jam, Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder, Sex Pistols, or Billy Joel’s The Stranger (instantly wish I was in New York every time). In such lofty aural company, flat six sounds from a 911 Targa seem to sit just right. No wonder values are rising for cars this classic.
by John Glynn | Dec 12, 2013 | Porsche News, Market & Prices
Esteemed friend and colleague, Leonard Stolk from Twinspark Racing, runs a Gen 2 Porsche 997 GT3 as his daily driver. Leonard recently drove its successor at the Amsterdam Porsche dealer and reviewed the Porsche 991 GT3 drive on the Twinspark Racing blog.
“I put the PDK in automatic to see how that would work out. At 100 km/h you do not hear the engine. Boring as hell. If clients test drive this car without manual function engaged, pulling 7-8,000 revs, they will never know how this car differs from the standard Carrera. To enjoy the GT3, you need big revs: the payback comes from a sense of what historic Porsches feel like.
“The 991 GT3 feels even stronger than its already excellent predecessor. The sound experience is even closer to the historic racing engines I’m used to, and that sort of sealed my verdict. The PDK set up is brilliant and I can imagine people liking manual shifting, but to me this is just the next evolution of the mighty 911 and the PDK is progress! I was used to the shift system in a few minutes and wouldn’t hesitate for a second to buy the car as-is.”
Talking to another 997.2 GT3-owning friend in the UK last night, recent discussions with his official Porsche centre suggest 991 GT3s have not sold in droves. While waiting list spaces are said to be rare, he’s still getting sales calls three months after the 991 GT3 launch. OPC bids for his Gen 2 997 GT3 trade-in have risen ten grand since their first offer.
“The OPC guys say that 997 Gen 2 GT3 values have come up as much as £10k since the 991 launch, but then you know what happens at the dealership: they knock an excellent condition car the cost of a front-end respray, a bit of prep including skimming the discs all round, and then want at least six grand margin for resale. When the cost to change from 997 to 991 is £40k or more, who would get out of a low-mileage Gen 2 997 GT3 that does everything perfectly well?”
Just as current owners are staying in their Gen 2 997 GT3s, used buyers who have deferred a Gen 2 997 GT3 purchase, expecting prices to fall with the 991 GT3 launch and who can wait no longer may be the force driving prices upward. Gen 2 997 GT3s retailing at circa half the cost new of a reasonable spec 991 GT3 are reportedly selling well.
UK dealers are having no problem finding buyers for good examples of Gen 2 Porsche 997 GT3 RS: the low-mileage Grey and Red one above with some very nice options recently sold for just over £100k in less than a day. This black Gen 2 997 GT3 Comfort for sale with just 6,700 miles from new is a beautiful car, and seems well priced at £77k including full warranty.
I heard a rumour the other day (via someone I trust to have a clue) that 3,700 991s came into the UK in 2012, but the number imported was less than 1,000 in 2013. No idea how accurate that is – I’ll have a look at the sales figures. All very interesting.
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by John Glynn | Sep 24, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
The Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Club Sport Coupe formerly owned by Porsche author and historian, Gordon Wingrove, found a new home a few days ago, when a Scottish enthusiast journeyed to Autofarm in Oxfordshire and had a test drive with Josh.
You might remember I blogged about this car a while back, soon after the well-known Porsche author became ill, when it was decided that the car should return to Josh at autofarm and be sold to a deserving buyer. One lap of the Autofarm block was all it took to convince the new owner to part with the asking price.
The Club Sport – one of just 53 RHD examples – was not cheap, but as one of the best examples I have seen for sale in a rather long while, it was money well spent as far as the buyer was concerned.
Fingers crossed we get a few pics of the car in its new home. I was telling the new owner how much we all enjoyed the Porsche Panamera Diesel launch up in northern Scotland. I covered it as a freelance alongside my MSN mate, Ian Dickson. Very good times!
About the Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Club Sport Coupe
Removing luxuries from the standard 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 took an estimated 40kg off the car’s overall weight. A blueprinted engine and reworked mapping took the rev limit to 6,840rpm, but Stuttgart remained tight-lipped on overall power, and I never saw a Club Sport make huge numbers on a dyno.
Values for the Club Sport (do not call this a Clubsport) track higher than the standard 3.2. Only 53 RHD models were manufactured and it is not certain how many are left, but collectors value these cars most highly. Expect to pay more than £100.000 in today’s market (June 2014) for a Club Sport Coupe in original paint with matching number and low mileage.
