1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet (Manual) Option 491 Super Sport

Details

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a UK delivered, factory right hand drive 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet Super Sport (option code 491).

Almost immediately after the introduction of the Porsche 930 Turbo in 1974, Porsche owners started to modify their cars to the ‘Turbo look’ with flared front and rear wheel arches. Sometimes these modifications were done to a very high standard, but more often than not, the quality of the work was dubious. With the introduction of the 911 Carrera 3.2 for their MY84 cars, Porsche decided to give the customers what they had been asking for. They introduced the option to order a new Porsche with a Turbo look body and a few other upgrades, except for of course the Turbo engine. This was designated option code 491. The car with this option code was designated as a Super Sport in most markets.

Porsche has confirmed the car we have on offer was delivered new with the option code 491. It is a matching numbers example that was delivered new in its current colour scheme of grand prix white (colour code L908) with marine blue & ivory trim (trim code 98).

This car has the desirable manual G50 gearbox and it was also highly optioned from the factory. It was delivered with the following options: heated driver and passenger seats (option codes 340 and 139), driver and passenger sport seats with electric height adjustment (option codes 387 and 383), power operated hood (option code 439), high fidelity package (8 speaker system with amp) (option code 490), amplifier system (option code 494), luggage compartment trimmed in black velour carpet (option code 975), Blaupunkt Toronto radio cassette (option code 330) and recoil bumpers (option code 058). The marine blue & ivory trim was also a special order.

Unfortunately, the early history of this car is not documented. Prior to the current owner, it is understood to have had two lady owners. The second brought the car with her when she immigrated with her family to Australia.

From its UK history there are some old MOT documents on file. The oldest one was issued in November 2000 and at that time the mileage was noted as 48,910 miles. The four subsequent MOT documents tell us the car was hardly used at all. They show mileage recordings of 49,375 miles (December 2001), 50,240 miles (February 2003) and 50,563 miles (March 2004). The car was last registered in the UK as F898UBJ.

The car was imported into Australia in 2010. There is an import approval on file dated 5^th February 2010. The car was complianced and first registered in Queensland in August 2010, which is when the current owner acquired the car. The safety certificate issued on the 11^th August 2010 noted the odometer read 52,114 miles. Throughout its life in Australia the car has been used sparingly and today the odometer reads 60,510 miles. The car was last serviced in August 2021 by German Engineering Services on Bribie Island and at that time the odometer read 60,050 miles

Today this Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet still presents very well, particularly considering the fact the car is now 45 years old! The paint, which is most likely original, still has a strong depth of colour and a nice gloss finish. There are a few stone chips on the front bumper and some on the bottom sill just in front of the rear wheel arch on the left side of the car. The external trim, including the black accents, badges, lights and lenses are presented in similarly good condition. Generally, the wear and tear is consistent with a circa 60,000 mile car and it probably belies the car’s age.

The wheels are in excellent condition and are currently shot with Nexen tyres at the rear which are date stamped 3908 (wk39, 2008) and Continental Sport Contact tyres at the front which are date stamped 1206 (wk12, 2006). Whilst these tyres are still in good condition, based on age they probably should be replaced.

We love the look of the interior of this car. The marine blue and ivory upholstery contrasts the grand prix white exterior perfectly. The blue soft top is just the ‘icing on the cake’! Like the exterior of the car, the interior is most likely original and it presents really well. It shows some patina in places, but it has generally aged well. The seats are in excellent condition and provide ample support. The leather gear knob has faded and shows some wear. The dashboard presents well, though there is some damage on the edge of the instrument binnacle most likely caused by the driver wearing rings. The instruments are all clear and in good working order. The car is fitted with a relatively modern JVC radio. The gear knob and the edge of the instrument binnacle can be easily repaired by a ‘leather doctor’.

The electric soft top opens and closes easily with the touch of a button and is in good condition. There are no rips or tears in the fabric. The rear windscreen often fades on a soft top if the car is left out in the sun for too long. That is not the case on this 911.

For a UK car this Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet presents pretty well underneath. There is some surface corrosion, most noticeably on fittings of the hoses connected to the oil cooler in the front wheel arches and the lighter gauge metal used for the heater vents.

This car has clearly been looked after by its two UK owners and its current Sunshine Coast owner.

The driving experience is what every 911 is all about.

This car is fitted with an alarm and once you have disabled it the car starts easily, even from cold and almost immediately settles into a smooth idle. First impressions are good.

Out on the road this car just goes about its business in that typical Germanic way. The option code 491 modifications are not just cosmetic. The 930 Turbo running gear certainly makes a difference. The drive is quite different to a standard 911 Carrera 3.2. This car squats on the road and has a firmer ride. Being a later G model 911, this car is fitted with the more desirable G50 gearbox. We enjoyed our test drive behind the wheel of this car and it performed as one would expect. For a 45 year cabriolet the car was surprisingly tight on the road with no rattles or squeaks.

The car is fitted with an aftermarket under dash air conditioning system which blows cold air. Whilst we think this is definitely a ‘top down car’, the air conditioning gives you the option of keeping the soft top up on a hot Australian summer’s day.

Accompanying the car is its unused space saver spare wheel, compressor, jack, tool kit, books (minus the original service book) and a service manual.

We love the ‘Turbo look’ and being a cabriolet with a manual gearbox in a fabulous colour scheme, this car ticks all the boxes.

Highlights:

• Desirable and collectible factory RHD Super Sport (option code 491).
• Fabulous colour scheme.
• Highly optioned.
• Only c60,000 miles on the odometer.
• Very well presented.

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Background

The Porsche story is a fascinating one and its roots go back to the 1930’s when Professor Ferdinand Porsche was instrumental in the design of the first Volkswagen and also Auto Union race cars. By 1939 he had built three Porsche cars to compete in the 800-mile race from Berlin to Rome. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled due to the war and Porsche was forced to focus on supporting the German war effort, however, he had always wanted to build his own cars. In 1944 Porsche was forced to leave Stuttgart and he set up a small operation in Gmünd, Austria. Soon after the Porsche family and many of their engineers were captured and sent to jail. Ferdinand Porsche’s son. Ferdinand junior, or ‘Ferry’ as he was known, was released six months later and he returned to Gmünd to rebuild the family company. Things moved quickly and Porsche was involved with cars again and in mid-1948 the first Porsche 356 was built. It is understood Porsche built some 50 aluminium bodied cars by hand in their small factory at Gmünd before relocating back to Stuttgart, Germany. The rest they say is history as the 356 evolved into one of the most successful sports cars ever built. A hard act to follow indeed . . . but its replacement, the Porsche 911 went on to become a legend!

The evolution of the Porsche 911 is probably the greatest sports car story of all time. First introduced in 1963 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and then designated as a 901, the successor to the 356 took the world by storm. To avoid conflict with Peugeot, who claimed exclusive rights to car names with three digits having a ‘zero’ in the middle, the car was renamed as 911. The first production 911 was built in 1964 and it was powered by an air cooled 1991cc 6-cylinder engine. The car evolved with increases in engine capacity to 2.2 litres, 2.4 litres, 2.7 litres, 3.0 litres and 3.3 litres. There were styling changes also, but one always recognised the car as a 911. Today the first series of 911’s is recognised as the cars built from 1963 to 1989 and include the very popular Porsche 911 and 930 Turbo models. Of these the ‘small bumper’ or ‘pre impact bumper’ cars built up to 1973 are today regarded as the real classic 911, however, that comes at a price. In the last few years astute collectors and enthusiasts have seen great value in 1970’s and 1980’s model 911’s.

The Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 was introduced in 1983 as a successor to the 911SC. Interestingly, it was the first time the Carrera name had been used since 1977. Visually the new car was similar to its successor, both internally and externally. The major change to the new car was its engine. Whilst based on the SC’s 3.0 litre power plant, Porsche claimed the 911 Carrera engine was ‘80 per cent new’. The capacity was increased to 3164cc and a revised piston design increased the compression ratio to 10.3:1 on all but North American cars. But the Carrera’s main innovation was its Bosch Motronic 2 engine management system. This was the first production 911 to feature an ECU to control the ignition and fuel systems. In addition, the fuel injection was updated to Bosch LE-Jetronic and the induction and exhaust systems were revised.

The upshot of these improvements was that power rose to 231 bhp at 5900 rpm, with torque hitting 284 Nm at 4800rpm. Porsche claimed fuel consumption to be 10 percent better than that of the SC, because of the greater efficiency of the electronically controlled engine. The last of the 911 Carrera 3.2’s was built in 1989 and the model was most popular with circa 76,000 cars built during six years of production. The approximate breakdown of models was c35,500 coupes, c20,000 cabriolets and c18,500 Targa’s. Porsche also offered the 911 Carrera 3.2 with the option of the Turbo body (option code 491), which is most often referred to as the Super Sport.or ‘wide body’.

Today the Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 is recognised as an ‘80’s icon’ and these cars are now becoming highly sought after.

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