Porsche ‘Project Gold’ 993 Turbo
Porsche 911 aficionados, it seems, fall into one of two camps. Purists are devoted to the ‘air-cooled’ era from 1963 to 1998, while those after modern features and more powerful drivetrains reside in the ‘water-cooled’ camp that started in ’98 and runs to the present day.
The last of the air-cooled 911s was built in 1998, but in another of the one-offs being rolled out by Porsche for their 70th Anniversary this year, the Stuttgart sports car maker decided to build another one… just because they could! The one-off 993-era 911 was revealed this August and will be go to auction in the US this October.
Old and New Dubbed ‘Project Gold’, the one-off 993-series 911 is the work of Porsche Classic, the carmaker’s in-house heritage division devoted to the restoration and preservation of past Porsches, as well as the supply of parts to suit older models.
The project wasn’t just slapped together from parts lying around out the back, though. From conception to completion, Project Gold took almost 18 months, including the sort of rigorous preparation and finishing processes applied to today’s Porsches.
Porsche Classic say the project was designed to showcase tradition and innovation, combining modern production techniques with the 6,500+ parts for the 993 series that are stocked by Porsche Classic and available globally through the heritage division’s partners.
“’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 AG.
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. This Golden Yellow 993 demonstrates how incredibly passionate we are about the tradition of our brand.”
Midas Touch Starting point for the project was a genuine 993 bodyshell, which was first put through the same corrosion protection and painting process applied to today’s series-production vehicles. The collector’s item was then assembled and tuned by Porsche Classic specialists at the Porsche restoration workshop in Stuttgart.
For the paint, Porsche chose ‘Golden Yellow’ metallic: a colour never offered on the 993 originally, but one that references the current-generation 911’s Turbo S Exclusive Series that’s limited to just 500 units worldwide. Experts from this programme – Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur - co-ordinated with Porsche Classic on the project, while the designers at Style Porsche advised on the colour, badging and interior detailing.
The deep gold finish is contrasted by gloss black on the front vent inserts, exterior mirrors, door handles and the Porsche Turbo’s signature ‘whale tail’ rear spoiler. Wheels are gloss black, too, but accented with Golden Yellow coachlines. Interestingly, the wheels were actually painted Golden Yellow first, with the gloss black laid over the top
A laser was then used to precisely strip back the black in the desired areas to highlight the gold below. Similar bespoke touches using modern technologies were applied to the headlights, tail lights and indicators.
Power and (Interior) Glory Under that sizable rear spoiler is a duplicate of the twin-turbo 3.6-litre flat six engine originally offered on the 993 Turbo, but Porsche Classic specialists sprinkled a little gold dust on the powerplant in the form of the “Werksleistungssteigerung II” (WLS II) power kit that was a feature on the 993 ‘Turbo S’ back in the day.
Featuring larger turbos, an extra oil cooler, modified ECU and constantly-elevated boost pressure, amongst other features, the WLS II kit could wind on 31 more kilowatts and 45 additional Newton metres of torque for maximum outputs of 335kW and 585Nm; serious numbers even today.
Matched to the powerplant is a 6-speed manual transmission and the 993 Turbo’s standard all-wheel drive system, both of which were sourced from the Porsche Classic inventory. Inside, the “old meets new” theme behind the build sees 993-spec seats, instruments and analog dash combined with carbon fibre panels and special detailing.
The golden theme of the exterior is carried through to stitching on the seats, steering wheel, door cards and dash, where a plaque identifies its “1 of 1” status. That plaque also carries ‘Classic Series’ script that’s repeated on the carbon fibre door sills, suggesting the all-new 993 Turbo could be the first of many resurrections of past Porsche models. A final detail touch is the vehicle serial number, which follows the sequence of the last 993 Turbo built in 1998.
Rennsport Reveal, Auction Expectation Completed in August, Project Gold was presented at the all-Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI at Laguna Seca raceway in California this September.
From there, the one-off will go to auction at the Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale to be conducted by RM Sotheby’s at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta on 27 October
Offered without reserve, net proceeds from the 993 Turbo’s sale will be donated to the Ferry Porsche Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to education, social issues, and youth development that was established in Germany earlier this year.
Porsche will not build another “new” 993 Turbo like this one, so it’s already a collector’s item as the absolutely last air-cooled 911, but later this October, we’ll find out just how collectable it is to the Porsche clique. More details on the Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale can be found at: rmsothebys.com
Words: Mike Ryan, Photos: Porsche Media
