1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Coupe

Details

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a stunning 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Coupe.  Being a late model Carrera 3.2 this car has the desirable G50 gearbox.

This UK delivered, factory right hand drive particular example was sold new to Janet McWhire from Comber, Northern Ireland on the 1^st August 1988. The car was sold though Isaac Angew (Mallusk) Ltd in Newtonabbey. This car was delivered new in Silver (paint code 980 S7) with a Marine Blue interior (interior trim code SW, carpet colour code 4KV). The car was delivered new with the following options: recoil bumpers, heated driver and passenger seats, Blaupunkt Toronto radio cassette, high fidelity package, amplifier system, rear seat belts, forged alloy wheels anti-theft device, rear wiper, electronic front left and right seats, spoilers, sport shock absorbers, sun roof and luggage compartment trimmed in black velour carpet.

The car remained in Ireland for the next 4 years, during which time it changed hands twice. In 1992 the car found its way to England where it was registered as HDZ 3033. The car remained in the UK from 1992 through until 2011, passing through a number of careful owners. The service book and history file confirm that this car has been impeccably maintained by Porsche / Porsche specialists since new.

The car then found its way to Australia.  There is an Import Approval on file dated 20^th of January 2011. The car remained with its new owner in Sydney for the next 9 years, however, it was sparingly used travelling a meagre 400 miles in this time.

The prior to current owner of this Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Coupe acquired the car in April 2020 and went on a journey to make, what was a very good car, a great car. Over the next twelve months or so he spent in excess of $50,000 to bring the car to its current level. It started with a major service by well respected Brisbane based Porsche specialist DHM Motorsport. All fluids were changed, the valve clearances were checked and adjusted where necessary, the brake callipers were overhauled, new brake pads & wear sensors were installed and the reverse light switch was replaced.

He then decided to make some cosmetic improvements to the car. It was solid underneath but it had surface rust on suspension components and generally throughout the underside of the car. The plan was a quick tidy up of the more significant issues, however, this was a case of when you’ve started where do you stop! One thing led to the next before he knew it, he was doing a complete underbody restoration. The entire suspension was removed from the car and worn parts were replaced with new genuine Porsche parts, all acquired through Porsche Brisbane. New shock absorbers front & rear, control arms, front & rear disc rotors, ball joints, rear spring plates & bearing covers, using new bolts/fasteners, were fitted.

At the same time a host of parts were vapour blasted and powder coated, including the front struts, trailing arms, front hubs and subframe, oil cooler guard, front tow hook & under tray and the disc brake backing plates.

The original 16-inch Fuchs wheels have been completely refurbished by Depulu Wheels in Ashmore on the Gold Coast and present like new. To complete the look new centre caps and new Pirelli P Zero tyres have been fitted.

The original exhaust has been replaced with a new TT stainless steel system, including extractors. It sounds great and gives the car a really aggressive exhaust note, without being overly loud. Importantly, the original exhaust (which is in good condition) comes with the car.

The end result was one absolutely fabulous Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Coupe.

We sold the car to its current owner in December 2021. He has hardly used the car and a change in direction has resulted in him deciding to sell.

Today this car still presents essentially ‘like new’. It is difficult to fault and would not be out of place sitting alongside the new cars at The Porsche Centre Brisbane’s Newstead show room.

The paint work on the car is exceptional and it is a struggle to find any paint defects. We found two very small marks on the car, one on the roof and the other one is behind the door handle on the driver’s side. All the external trim is in excellent condition, complimenting the paintwork perfectly. The glass is original and in excellent condition all round. There are no chips or marks on the windscreen.

The interior is a real time capsule. The dark blue leather is a perfect colour contrast with the silver exterior and it is in excellent condition. There is the slightest amount of patina, but its condition and presentation belies that this is a 30+ year old car. The instruments, controls, steering wheel, dash, head lining and even the carpets are in similar condition. As noted previously, this is a well optioned car that is fitted with a factory electric sunroof, electric windows and electric operated & heated seats. All operate perfectly. The only upgrade is the radio. A new Blaupunkt Bremen radio has been installed which looks almost identical the factory original, however, it has the added benefit of modern technology and has blue tooth

The presentation of this car is impeccable but will it be as good to drive? After driving the car for less than 5 minutes that question is answered . . .YES, the car drives every bit as good as it looks! Not surprisingly, given all the work done to the car, it is incredibly tight and firm on the road. The steering is direct and the G50 gearbox in this car is smooth and easy to operate, something you notice immediately as soon as you select first gear. The engine in this car is strong it revs freely through the rev range. After 20 minutes out on the road we can confirm that this car lives up to its reputation in every way. These late model Carrera 3.2’s are fantastic cars to drive and this example is one of the very best. We would have no hesitation to drive this car to Melbourne tomorrow!

Today the odometer reads 101,189 miles.

Highlights:

• magnificently presented late model 911 Carrera 3.2 with the desirable G50 gearbox.
• highly optioned car with factory sunroof.
• finished in a stunning colour combination.
• low mileage, with only 101,189 miles on the odometer.
• known history from new
• books (including a fully stamped service book), tools and jack
• just a magnificent motor car.

Price

 

 

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 M491), which is most often referred to as the ‘wide body’ or in some markets Supersport.

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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