Throwback: The Mystery of the Stainless Steel Porsche 911
This classic Porsche 911 is truly one of a kind, yet much of its story remains shrouded in mystery.
Unique Find
Stainless steel is, of course, a very useful type of material. It's used in everything from kitchen utensils to bridges and even surgical implants. And even some cars are made from stainless steel, like the DeLorean. But we never knew that a stainless Porsche 911 existed until we came across this fascinating article from Autoblog.
Photos Courtesy of Ronan Glon for Autoblog.
Uncharted Territory
On the surface, you might wonder why more cars aren't made from stainless steel, given its lack of corrosion. But the metal is also expensive and difficult to weld and paint. Apparently, however, that didn't stop someone from exploring the idea, at least.
Little Known
This unique car resides in the collection of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany. And despite Porsche's wealth of historical information, the only thing they have on this particular 911 is a page scan from the 1986 book Porsche Specials written by Lothar Boschen and Jurgen Bath.
Puzzle Pieces
That little piece of information reveals that this 911 made its public debut at the 1967 Frankfurt Auto Show. It then took off for a seven-year, 93,000-mile road test. But Porsche has no idea who built the car or even thought of the idea to begin with.
Connecting the Dots
After doing some research of their own, Autoblog debunked the popular myth that this car was built by German sink and faucet maker Blanco. They also learned that the car was originally registered to the Informationsstelle Edelstahl Rostfrei (Stainless Steel Information Center) in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Scant Details
Thus, it's reasonable to assume that someone there commissioned this car to be built. Otherwise, it's essentially just a 1967 Porsche 911. The body was clearly formed by both human hands and machines and remains unpainted to this day.
Good but Pricey
After accumulating 60,000 miles, the 911 appeared in a publication called Motorwelt, where it was praised for not showing a spec of rust on its bare body. But that came at a price, however. This car reportedly cost twice as much to produce as a regular 911 at the time.
Slice of History
That extreme cost relegated this unique 911 to nothing more than experiment status. But it is most certainly a cool and relatively unknown piece of Porsche history if nothing else.
Lighter, Better
Like a typical early 911, this one's also powered by an air-cooled 2.0-liter flat-six, but it's been fitted with an aftermarket (you guessed it) stainless steel exhaust. It also weighs 110 pounds less than a production 911 of this model year, a nice side benefit of its construction.
