Special 911 S 2.4 Targa Celebrates 50 Years For Porsche Design
Porsche Design marks a half-century in business with this masterfully restored classic.
It's a Celebration
Porsche Design is celebrating 50 years of creating all sorts of goods that perfectly complement our beautiful vehicles, which is obviously a special occasion that deserves a celebration. As such, Porsche is doing exactly that in a number of ways, including this - a masterfully restored 1972 (the year Porsche Design was founded) Porsche 911 S 2.4 Targa that has been brought back to life by Porsche Classic.
Photos: Porsche
Paying Tribute
This 911 S also pays tribute to Ferdinand Porsche, as the one-of-a-kind vehicle features the same colors as the legendary Chronograph I watch that he designed in 1972, while the color black dominates both the exterior and the interior of the restored vehicle.
Photos: Porsche
Carefully Selected
"Our vision was to build a historic counterpart for the new Porsche Design 911 50th Anniversary Edition special model," said Ulrike Lutz, Director of Porsche Classic. "The new Sonderwunsch program gave us an opportunity to implement this idea for a unique vehicle pairing. The year of manufacture was the only specific requirement for the donor vehicle on this occasion. The designers and members of the factory restoration team were tasked with carefully transferring the specification from the new car to the classic."
Photos: Porsche
Different Approach
Porsche Design and Porsche Classic worked closely together during the two-year restoration process, while most of the design input came from Roland Heiler of Studio F.A. Porsche in Zell am See. "Our general philosophy in a factory restoration project is to restore the vehicles to be as faithful to the original as possible," explains Uwe Makrutzki, Head of Porsche Classic Factory Restoration at Porsche AG. "We deliberately took a different approach with this project. We've created a unique vehicle that blends tradition and present-day and bears the signature of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche."
Photos: Porsche
Black on Black
The restored 911 is painted solid black and features anodized Fuchs rims, classic lateral stripes with a Platinum satin finish and integrated Porsche Design lettering, and a Platinum satin-finished Targa bar. The interior of the unique restoration vehicle features a checked pattern that contrasts with the black leather upholstery and forges a link with the modern special edition model. The checkered Sport-Tex fabric features a classic Black and Cool Grey combination.
Photos: Porsche
Poor Start
The team started out with a car that was in pretty poor condition, and it was also missing some parts. While this would normally be a tricky start to a restoration project, on this occasion it wasn’t important for the planned modifications. The Porsche Classic experts completely upgraded the engine and chassis to the S version. Back in 1972, the top-of-the-range model had a displacement of 2,341 cm3, which generated 190 PS at 6,500 RPM, and it was equipped with mechanical fuel injection.
Photos: Porsche
Freedom to Play
"The production sheet normally tells us exactly what equipment a vehicle had when it was delivered and therefore how it will need to look when restored at a later date," Makrutzki said. "We had a lot more freedom to play with the configuration on this anniversary model. Porsche Classic provided a lot of advice on this point - not all modifications will fit with the overall philosophy of a vehicle or be technically feasible."
Photos: Porsche
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