Porsche Produces Air-Cooled 993-Generation 911 Turbo 20 Years After End of Production

Porsche Classic, the German carmaker's in-house restoration experts, has produced something that Porsche itself hasn't done in a very, very long time: create a 911 Turbo with an air-cooled engine, 20 years after the the last one rolled out of the factory floor in a 993-generation body. Dubbed "Project Gold," Porsche Classic took a 993 body shell and fitted it with over 6,500 genuine parts that it offers exclusively for 993-generation Porsche 911 models. Porsche Classic then spent around a year and a half working on the car. The body shell first went through the same corrosion protection and painting process used in today's series-production vehicles. It was then assembled and tuned by Porsche Classic specialists at the Porsche Classic restoration workshop near Stuttgart. A brand-new 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine was installed at the back, and with an output of 450 hp, it produces the same amount of power as a 993-generation Turbo S vehicle did when it was still in production. Paired to it is a manual transmission and an all-wheel drive system, all sourced from the Porsche Classic range of genuine parts. And befitting such a car, its hand-stamped chassis number follows that of the last series-production street-legal 993 Turbo, which rolled off the production line in 1998. As desirable as the car is, it is not slated for production. It will, however, be auctioned off by RM Sotheby's at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta on October 27, with the proceeds going to the Ferry Porsche Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to education, social issues, and youth development established earlier this year to mark the "70 years of Porsche sports cars" celebrations. Now that's the good news. The bad news? The car is not street-legal and can only be used on private tracks. "'Project Gold' showcases the comprehensive skill of Porsche Classic in fascinating fashion," said Detlev von Platen, member of the Executive Board of Porsche AG responsible for Sales and Marketing. "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 show car based on the 993 shows how incredibly passionate we are about the tradition of our brand."