The turbocharged Porsche 911 is one of the most iconic sports cars ever built. It was known for its incredible performance, twitchy handling, and muscular looks, among other notable features. However, the “look” is often the cause for many good, non-turbo 911s to be sacrificed on the altar of vanity and self-loathing, which is just a fancy way of saying certain owners couldn’t stand the fact that their 911 would shiver in the presence of a bad-ass turbocharged model. So, they took to back-alley conversions, slapping on fiberglass fenders and big wings to create the appearance of owning one of the top-shelf models, and Porsche eventually saw it needed to right this wrong. Enter the M491 package, otherwise known as the “Turbo-look.” Find this rare 1985 911 coupe here on craigslist for $97,500.
Of course, one could also argue Porsche just saw a way to make even more money off of its venerable 911 by charging customers more to get the same naturally-aspirated drivetrain just with fat fenders and a whale tail added on. There’s nothing wrong with this, but let’s just call a spade a spade. Porsche owners love limited production offerings, so it’s of little surprise that of the few models Porsche built with this rare M491 option box checked, the ones that still exist command a very fair price. However, originality is also a big deal to Porsche fanatics, and this particular 911 has a few things working against it in that regard.
The seller is quick to point out that this 911 remains very original in the most important ways, meaning the wide factory body panels are all still correct to the car as is every pane of glass. But as you can see here, the steering wheel is aftermarket, the shifter is something out of tuner catalog, and the white-face gauges are definitely a later addition. All of this is easily reversible, but it doesn’t have quite the same cache as a bone-stock 911 with this same widebody option. The seats are in excellent condition and the seller mentions he has extensive service records in hand, which is far more important to the next owner than the odd choice in modifications by the current caretaker.
The crate supposedly holds numerous spare parts, and the seller emphasizes that the receipts will show over $20,000 in maintenance from the last few years. The odometer is also believed to have rolled over so the current mileage is unknown. The presentation is such that the modifications are hard to overlook, and I’ll bet the next owner would realize a small profit over the asking price here in the current marketplace if they convert this turbo-look 911 back to 100 percent factory appearances. This is a very neat piece of kit and any air-cooled fanatic would be happy to have it in their garage; just ditch the boy-racer looks and enjoy it as the limited-production offering that it is.
M491 cars always demanded a premium. Limited production and special. I’m in the no tail crowd unless it’s needed to feed the intercooler with air. I don’t want a sheep in wolfs clothing. Lay out some more money and buy a 930 especially now that the turbo market has softened some relative to the other air-cooled 911’s.
Car’s in Florida.I hate it when sellers like this spam other area’s
craigslist with postings like this.
I’d also be weary of flood damage on anything from Florida right now.
Millions of copies stamped so a 911 is nothing that racks me off the chair.
The interior is period- and 911 -correct. Unless the rallye legend Walter
Röhrl became involved in deep driving dynamics all 911 where unsafe,
to spell for the most average drivers, tricky to drive.
You obviously have never driven one….
I drove a turbo 911. Was not impressed at first. Then somewhere north of 6000 rpm it kicked me in the butt, jumping to around 9000 rpm. I fell in love with it. Very impressive cars. But I would Not go for all the flares & tail without the turbo. Just my opinion.