Not all junked cars, no matter how prestigious their brand, are lucky enough to fall into the caring hands of a group of the best professional restorers. But when those restorers are the ones who originally built the car, this becomes an almost unprecedented situation. Still, that is precisely what happened to a 1998 Porsche 911 Carrera (type 996) found abandoned by the CEO of the Porsche Club of America in Columbia, Virginia.
The restoration took two and a half years, during which time the 24-year-old 911 was not only restored to perfection, but also modified into what was eventually called the Porsche 911 Classic Club Coupe. A plaque on its dashboard that reads 001/001 indicates that this is a one-of-a-kind car that Porsche doesn’t intend to repeat.
The car is the second project in the second chapter of Porsche Sonderwunsch (Special Order), a customization program originally created in the 1970s for the creation of personalized models of the brand that was relaunched last year. Similar to Bentley’s Mulliner program or Lamborghini’s Ad Personam, Sonderwunsch is dedicated to customizing cars for its customers, but unlike those programs, Porsche’s system also works on used cars (Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini are brands of the Volkswagen Group). The Porsche 911 Classic Club Coupe was created for the Porsche Club of America, the oldest Porsche owners club in the world.
The inspiration for the creation of the 911 Classic Club Coupe comes from the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 from 1972 and the 911 Sport Classic from 2009. The Porsche Club of America sent the abandoned 911 to the Porsche Classic workshop near the main plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen where it was originally built. There it underwent a complete complete restoration and was equipped with both the chassis and the brakes and the engine of the 996.2 GT3, a 3.6-liter flat-six naturally aspirated that generates 381 horsepower.
The vehicle was painted in a lacquered Sport Gray Metallic, with racing stripes a lighter shade of the same color accented on its outer ends by Club Blue lines, similar to the 911 Sport Classic. On the lower sides there are also stripes in which the inscription “Classic Club Coupe” can be read, while the rear is distinguished by a duck-tail spoiler that, like the new double-bubble roof, was made by hand and reminiscent of the Carrera RS 2.7. The black-painted 18-inch forged aluminum Fuchs wheels add a beautiful retro touch.
The interior of the 911 Classic Club Coupe was upholstered in black leather, with contact surfaces on both the seats and doors in a black and gray houndstooth cloth, all highlighted by contrasting Club Blue stitching, including embroidered “Classic Club Coupe” logos on the headrests.
The car has modern technology such as a navigation system, compatibility with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and satellite radio, and according to Porsche all the technical modifications were made taking care that the vehicle remains compatible with the American regulations for motor vehicles. Porsche did not indicate what the final price of the project was.
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