1977 Porsche 930 Turbo 3.0 Litre

Details

The Porsche 911 story is one of motoring’s finest. The Porsche 901 as it was initially designated was first shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963, however, when production commenced in 1964 it was sold as a Porsche 911. Interestingly Porsche was forced to change the name of its new car as a result of Peugeot having exclusive rights to car names formed by three numbers with a zero in the middle!

The 911′s trademark was that it was powered by an air cooled engine mounted in the rear. The model evolved over the years, however, Porsche remained true to the 911′s original concept only changing to a water cooled engine with the 996 series in 1998. The 911 excelled as both a road car and as a race car and it is arguably the most successful sports car ever built. Today the 911 lives on and the latest 991 series cars that are manufactured in Stuttgart are as popular as ever.

There were many significant incarnations of the 911 and arguably one of the most important was the introduction of the Porsche Turbo. Whilst Porsche had toyed with turbo charging previously, and indeed used it successfully on their race cars, it wasn’t until the introduction of the Porsche 930 Turbo (also known as the Porsche Turbo or Porsche 911 Turbo in some markets) that turbo charging was available on a Porsche production car.

The Porsche 930 Turbo was first shown at the Paris Motor Show in late 1974 and the car entered production the following year. At the time the car caused an absolute sensation. It was easily distinguishable from the ‘standard’ 911 by its body shape and specifically by its distinctive wide wheel-arches that had to accommodate the ultra low profile Pirelli P7 tyres and of course the large rear spoiler or ‘whale tail’. Powered by a 2996 cc 6 cylinder turbo charged engine delivering 260hp the car was exhilarating to drive and by today’s standards incredibly raw. These early cars are known for their exhilarating acceleration coupled with challenging handling characteristics and extreme turbo lag. The acceleration was neck snapping reaching 0-100 km/hr in just over 5 seconds and the top speed was quoted to be ‘in excess of 250 km/hr’.

At the time the car was recognised in the same company as the Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari Boxer and Aston Martin Vantage as one of THE ‘supercars of the 70′s’.

Porsche made its first significant change to the Turbo in 1978 when the engine capacity was increased to 3299 cc, an intercooler was added and the brakes upgraded. In this guise the car was produced for a decade being ultimately succeeded by the 964 series in 1990.

Oldtimer Australia has just sold this stunning, original and unmolested 1977 Porsche Turbo 3.0 Litre.

The car is a very rare Australian delivery, it is fully matching numbers and is finished in its original colour scheme of guards red (027-9-2) with a black interior.

Today many Turbos have been modified and it is rare to find a car such as this one that is in fabulous original condition, very original and correct. The early 3.0 Litre examples are now highly sought after and very collectible.

 

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