VA911

Was there a factory option for a sc widebody? if so how can i tell if the car in question is actually a factory widebody? any info is appreciated. The car is a australian delivered car.
thanks

arbeitm

The option was M491-Turbo Look. But I don't think it was an option until 84 on the Carerra's.

VA911

thats what i thought as well. if anyone knows any different it would be appreciated to chime in

Peter Zimmermann

The first factory Turbo-Look cars were coupes built in 1984.

v8_ranch

Not that I know nearly as much as some of you, but is it a possiblilty the car you're looking at was a 78 Turbo that had the turbo motor replaced with an NA motor?

Kika

AT one point there was a "Sonder Wursch" (sorry if I screwed up the spelling) department, that translated to Dream Wish. basically, if you paid for it, Porsche would build it.
There are some cars out there that are essentially "one offs" that were built by the factory and defy the normal production.
I don't know how you tell if a car was built under that special program or not.
Generally speaking there were no Turbo look SCs though.

going back to the Dream Wish thing, I read somewhere about a couple of Texas cattle ranchers that had the seats covered in leather from their own cows through that special order.

ohh to have money.....

Peter Zimmermann

From my understanding, the Special Wish program was largely available to do special one-off paint schemes, interior appointments, and the like. I don't think that they were there to re-invent the Porsche wheel, and I don't believe that they strayed too far from stock configurations because of crash testing requirements and other potential liability issues. We took care of a car that a well-known businessman had built for his wife, through the Special Wish dept, and it was nothing more than a Cabrio painted silver pearl with blue leather interior. It took them more than 6 months to get the car, and it retailed for well over $10K more than a regular, off the shelf, version.

GothingNC

Here is a pair of special wishes models.

http://www.qv500.com/porsche911scp6.php

John

Peter Zimmermann

Exactly, they built Turbos into special Turbos, they built Cabs into special Cabs, they built... but they didn't hang turbochargers on narrow body cars, and they didn't Turbo-Look normally aspirated cars - until the '84 Turbo-Look Carrera.

JackOlsen

The overwhelming likelihood is that someone added flares to the car, at some point in its history. It's very common, and the flares have been available off-the-shelf for years. Any body shop can do it.

v8_ranch

Wouldn't a VIN check tell the tale quickly?

Peter Zimmermann

Ah, if it were only that easy. I have never found, in a factory publication, where the Turbo Look cars were separated by VIN. I could be wrong, because some sources are a bit sketchy on this subject, but I'm pretty sure that the TL cars were just rolled into the regular, normally aspirated, series of 3.2 liter cars.

v8_ranch

But this one is supposedly a 78. If it were a 78 turbo with the turbo engine replaced, shouldn't the VIN still be a 78 turbo VIN?

v8_ranch

If it was an Australian delivered turbo coupe, I think it would have had a VIN in this range (from Simon's 911SC registry page):

930 870 0001 to 930 870 0735

There was also a range of VIN's for Japanese turbo coupes, but I am not sure which one would have been appropriate for an aus. delivered car.

VA911

thanks everyone,
this one needs more research on my part. its just a pity the car is over 1000ks away. Is there any reason why you would stay clear from turbo look moded cars? it is just heaps tempting because i want to backdate to a 73RS look.