Porsche Classic Reveals ‘Project Gold’ Porsche Classic has built a brand new air-cooled 911 using genuine parts. The special 993 Turbo will be auctioned at the end of October with proceeds going to the Ferry Porsche Foundation…
Twenty years after series production of the air-cooled 911 ended, Porsche Classic has built a brand new car using an original bodyshell and genuine parts. The 993 Turbo will be auctioned at the end of October with proceeds going to the Ferry Porsche Foundation, a nonprofit organization only established this year to mark 70 years of Porsche sports cars.
But, why did Porsche choose a 993 of all the 911s it might have selected as a basis for the project? Now a sought-after collector’s car, the 993 was a historically important Porsche, and not just because it was the last of the air-cooled 911s. The first 911 to feature an aluminum chassis, affording it exceptional agility, the 993 was also the first 911 to have its Turbo variant powered by a twin-turbo engine. Visually it made the switch from round to poly ellipsoidal headlights, and the 993 was the first car of any to feature hollow-spoke aluminum wheels, further innovation came from its all-wheel drive system. Only 345 examples of the range-topping 993 Turbo S (450hp) cars were built in period.
Porsche Classic came up with the idea of constructing a completely new vehicle based on an existing 993 bodyshell, the idea was to showcase the firm’s tradition and innovation. Construction of the unique vehicle took approximately one and a half years, the team were able to rely on a selection of more than 6,500 genuine parts offered for the 993 by Porsche Classic.
In total Porsche’s Classic division currently stocks a staggering 52,000 parts for a wide range of vehicles, these can be sourced via Porsche Classic Partners and Porsche Centers around the world to repair and restore classic Porsche cars.
The process of creating the new car started first with its bodyshell, it has a hand-stamped chassis number which follows the last series-production 993 which rolled off the production line in 1998. The shell was put through the same corrosion protection and painting process applied to contemporary series production Porsche vehicles. The car was then assembled and tuned by Porsche Classic specialists at the Porsche restoration workshop in Stuttgart. A brand new 3.6-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine developing 450hp was installed. The ‘new’ 993’s manual transmission setup and all-wheel drive system were also sourced from the Porsche Classic range of genuine parts.
The exterior and interior elements were arrived at in conjunction with the experts at Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, they were responsible for creating the 2018 991 Turbo S Exclusive Series (limited to 500 examples worldwide) which Project Gold’s Golden Yellow Metallic paintwork references. To match its black wheels with Golden Yellow design accents, the seats and interior trim were finished in black with Golden Yellow details. Designers at Style Porsche worked on the colors and interior details of the car. In addition the bodyshell features the characteristic side air intakes of the 993 Turbo S, these were also available as an option for the regular 911 Turbo in 1998.
“Project Gold showcases the comprehensive skill of Porsche Classic in fascinating fashion,” said Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Sales and Marketing at Porsche. “This project clearly demonstrates our strategic approach. Although we are starting a new chapter in our sports car history with the Porsche Taycan, the story of how the company evolved is no less significant. On the contrary, this Golden Yellow 993 demonstrates how incredibly passionate we are about the tradition of our brand.”
The car will have made its world premiere at Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca by the time you read this, it is being auctioned by RM Sotheby’s at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta on October 27th with proceeds going to the Ferry Porsche Foundation. However, bidders might want to keep in mind that Project Gold is not road legal, rather it has been created strictly for use on private tracks.
