This 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster leaves me somewhat conflicted, as it’s a genuine low-mileage example but it’s been significantly modified under the engine lid. Sporting a mere 7,000 miles from new, the seller calls it an investment grade example – but I’m not so sure. The seller notes the original engine has been modified with a Protomotive Stage III Turbo performance package that pushes horsepower to an impressive 620 b.h.p., but at what cost to the car’s originality? Find it here on eBay with a $169,900 Buy-It-Now.
The Speedster is further distinguished by a factory-ordered whale tail spoiler, per the seller. I’m not crazy about the look, as the Speedster body was fairly extreme by itself. The addition of the spoiler against the unusual Speedster-specific soft top just isn’t a great look, in my opinion The staggered, aftermarket wheels would be quickly swapped out for the OEM-correct sizes and design, along with the coilover suspension, headers/exhaust, and tacky red-faced gauges.
The overall cosmetic condition cannot be ignored, however, with deeply bolstered Sport bucket seats and near-perfect paint. The seller further notes that factory-applied cosmoline can still be found on the body, and that the body itself has never been modified. The Speedster also comes with factory A/C and the stock G50 transmission. Overall, it’s hard to fault the Speedster’s cosmetics, as it should be with such low mileage.
The trouble with asking big dollars for a car like this is no one else necessarily wants to pay for your tastes. The seller says this is the Speedster Porsche should have built, but I’m not so sure. They built a Speedster that would appeal to a specific audience, which may have been different from the pool of buyers saving up for a turbocharged example. To me, the Speedster was always the purest expression of that generation’s 911, and I’d quickly revert this one back to stock configuration if it were mine.
A friend had one of these in white for several years with super low miles (well under 10k).
He has plenty of other choices to drive including a Carrera 4S Cab, a small-block AC Cobra, BMW 650i convertible & a Chevy pickup so it mostly sat in the garage.It looked cool with the low & sloped windscreen but i never really got the attraction given its limited weather protection.
He bought it right, can’t remember exactly when or for how much, but near the bottom of the market (not that it was inexpensive).
He sold it two or three years ago to a local broker for what i thought was crazy money….less than $300k but not by much.
He bought a condo on Amelia Island for about the same amount & spends winters there.
Damn fine trade.
If I remember right you need the spoiler to put the turbo intercooler in.
I purchased one new, took European delivery. As most know (who are enthusiast) these were made up from several models- when I picked up at the factory the guy who gave me the factory tour said they were the “bastard child”.. made up from spare parts that Porsche had accumulated over the years. Cool as heck design- I was a very young man (still in my 20’s) and this was a great car to have back in the late 80’s. Black/ Black
A high school graduation present…for the son of a 80s
drug lord.
Money doesn’t buy good taste. Agreed: The red-faced gages are tacky, the rear wing is over-the-top and the wheels are simply not right. Someone might cut a deal and fix the easy cosmetics, but the engine work is more problematic. It will be interesting to see where the auction ends. I predict it won’t meet reserve. But I also predicted the Dodgers would win the Series, so there you go.
Ah. The ideal car for the man who needs desperately to compensate for um, something.
170k and not one picture with the top down…?
I sold my 08 Z06 and when I was selling it there was another one just above mine in the adds but the one above mine was a dual turbo Lingenfelter conversion, I looked into that for mine but it cost just about what I paid for my Z06 new, I didn’t buy it but the Z06 above mine had it and both cars were in the 8k range for miles and the Vette with the Dual turbos cost less than 10k more than what I was asking! That tough me that when doing these high HP upgrades your chances of recovering even a small portion of that investment is EXTREMELY UNLIKELY!!!!!
GOOD LUCK
I agree, love the car, hate the mods!
It’s a good thing these things are fast, the 911 has to be the homeliest car ever made!
All the talk of originality with Porsches has gotten silly. The whale tail was ordered that way from the factory… and yet we talk about it like it needs to be removed to make the car more original?
It’s relatively clear the original owner ordered the car so that it could be modified and make big horse power. I say leave it. It’s still worth a stupid amount of money!
Doesn’t look like a barn find.