Some tales are unfathomable, and the way this 911 2.5 S/T may very well be reworked from a GT class winner on the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1972 right into a wrecked shell in a barn close to San Francisco could by no means be totally identified. The situation of the once-celebrated racing automobile may very well be described as devastating. What remained was both rusty, bent or badly repainted. After its celebrated racing triumphs, this extraordinary 911 will need to have lived a really totally different life.
The final traceable race entry dates again to Might 1975 in Riverdale, with then-owner Don Lindley behind the wheel. After passing by way of two extra house owners, the path of this uncommon 911 goes chilly. That modified in 2008, when the primary clues emerged pointing to a doubtlessly sensational barn discover. In 2013, a Swiss collector flew to California to rescue the S/T from obscurity—and to revive it to its former glory. Given its situation, it could be no simple activity – and it was clearly one for the Porsche Basic consultants in Stuttgart.
Resurrection in Gentle Yellow
On the Porsche Unique Manufaktur in Zuffenhausen, the stays of the two.5 S/T have been first utterly taken aside and stripped of paint. In any case, this legendary 911 was to be completely restored from the bottom up. As soon as the naked physique had been realigned on the straightening jig, the painstaking technique of changing the lacking elements started. Utilizing unique sheet-metal gauges and technical drawings, the lacking parts have been fabricated from scratch. Greater than 1,000 hours of guide craftsmanship went into the bodywork alone.
To protect this work for the long run, the specialists sealed the naked physique with a cathodic dip coating – state-of-the-art corrosion safety, identical to in as we speak’s collection manufacturing automobiles. After two and a half years of restoration, the automobile was lastly delivered to its proprietor in 2016 – in its unique color Gentle Yellow, code 117, simply because it had been 44 years earlier. It was in excellent, factory-fresh situation, with each element simply because it had been when the S/T left the manufacturing line again in 1972. The period-correct sponsors’ decals have been added after supply and, simply because it had been for its class-winning victory at Le Mans in 1972, the automobile was given the beginning quantity 41.
A legend reimagined
The identical applies to the modern-day 911 S/T, which now shares a storage with its forebear. On the proprietor’s request, Porsche Sonderwunsch created an ideal re-creation of the 1972 Le Mans GT class winner. Its most placing characteristic is undoubtedly the similar paint end in Gentle Yellow, code 117 – a color that has not appeared in Porsche’s palette for many years. The paintwork was utilized by hand in a meticulous course of and it introduced a selected problem, as the sunshine shade affords low protection, particularly on the quite a few carbon parts of the brand new 911 S/T. However then that is exactly the sort of problem that the consultants at Sonderwunsch are skilled to grasp.
Porsche accomplished the look with light-weight solid magnesium wheels in Darksilver, black brake calipers and a black inside. The technical basis of the automobile stays untouched. On the coronary heart of the 911 S/T is a naturally aspirated four-litre flat-six, which revs to 9,000 rpm and delivers 386 kW (525 PS, 911 S/T: Gas consumption* mixed (WLTP) 13.8 l/100 km, CO₂ emissions* mixed (WLTP) 313 g/km, CO₂ class G , CO₂ class weighted mixed G ) – in a automobile with a kerbweight of simply 1,380 kilograms. And, in fact, it has a six-speed guide gearbox. This allowed Porsche Centre Zürich to ship an ideal continuation of the reborn unique S/T.
Porsche Sonderwunsch: just about no limits
The 911 S/T duo impressively demonstrates how legends could be preserved and reimagined as a part of the Porsche Sonderwunsch programme. On one hand, we now have the devoted restoration of a traditional. Because of in depth documentation of the unique car within the Porsche archive and masterfully executed craftsmanship, it appears like time journey has been made attainable. The experience of Porsche’s specialists additionally permits them to combine trendy expertise the place it is smart – such because the superior corrosion safety that makes the revived traditional much more timeless.
Alternatively, the Porsche Sonderwunsch staff creates distinctive automobiles primarily based on trendy collection manufacturing fashions. Whether or not following within the footsteps of historic icons or forging totally new paths, their creativity is aware of just about no bounds. There may be, nevertheless, one space the place compromise is rarely an choice: each Sonderwunsch creation should meet the identical high quality requirements as its production-line counterparts. No exceptions – and with full manufacturing unit guarantee, too.
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