1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera

Chassis No. 9307800128
Engine No. 6870143

The performance car landscape of the 1970s was rapidly changing – and not usually for the better. Yet, Porsche's hard-won racing technology continued to improve the breed. Of course, the most famous of these technology transfers was the impressive adaptation of forced induction turbocharging. Born from the increasing need for more engine power in the SCCA Can-Am series, by 1971 Porsche was reliably winning races and championships with their newly developed 917/10 and later the dominant 1,200 horsepower 917/30. Just two years later, turbocharging appeared within the Porsche road car lineup with the aptly named 911 Turbo. More than a 911 with increased power, the 911 Turbo was also one of the first supercars that focused on luxury and comfort as well. Additionally, many features that were options on the Turbo's normally-aspirated brethren were standard on the 911 Turbo such as Fuchs wheels, black anodized exterior trim, Bilstein shock absorbers, and all standard and optional paint choices at no additional cost. Finally, the new 911 Turbo looked like a supercar as well with wider wheels, fender flares, and a beautiful lift-reducing rear wing. The first three years of 911 Turbo production passed without major changes, and among collectors, these early examples are judged to be the most interesting, collectible air-cooled 911 Turbos produced.

According to Ryan Snodgrass' seminal turbo 3.0, this 1977 911 Turbo was produced in September 1976 and destined for the ever-hungry US market. It was, as it appears today, finished at the factory in Copper Brown Metallic over a Cork leather interior – a very appropriate specification for the late 1970s supercar and one of just 130 finished in this shade for 1977. Additional options from new included an electric sliding sunroof and Pirelli P7 tires. According to the US export documentation, after 34 years in the United States, the car left the country in December of 2011 arriving in The Netherlands.

Later, it was brought back to Germany for the first time in over three decades, and in 2017 this Type 930 began a complete restoration by Urwerk 1:1 of Kaufungen, Germany. Over the course of six years, the car was completely disassembled with the body then stripped to bare metal and rust repairs made. Of course, for an important car like a first generation 911 Turbo, all efforts were made to return it to “as delivered” condition with a few small beneficial considerations given to the European lighting, metric instrumentation, and Recaro sport seats that it now features. While the unibody was being attended to, the engine and transmission were split with both components receiving full rebuilds. The matching numbers 3.0-liter, turbocharged engine featured a full teardown and rebuild. As expected, the four-speed manual transmission received the same treatment. The interior was the recipient of a full retrim, again, in the car's original specification of Cork-colored leather. The recovered Recaro sport seats feature perforated leather inserts, the dashboard received fresh leather, a correct Ivory headliner was reinstalled, and the black leather steering wheel was recovered.

Fresh out of restoration in October of 2023 it presents as an exceptional, correct example of not only Porsche's first supercar but as a fantastic reminder of the ray of hope it provided during the performance car dark days of the 1970s.