930 Turbo Carrera

Nice '77 with 1982 california registration. Funny, the black anodized finish (door/window trim), is already fading after 5-6 years. I wonder if Porsche went to a different process when they anodized there later cars. My later turbo is no where close to being as faded as this car. Grey metallics were all sample-to-paint if I'm not mistaken. I don't recall seeing a grey metallic paint option between 76-79. Black-metallic was the closest. I guess these colors/shades weren't as popular during the 70's.

 

That looks like the identical "Paint to Sample" gun metal gray metallic color as my 1977 930 Turbo (paint tag code 635-9-3). I've seen several 77 and 78 930 now with this color, as well as a 911SC, all marked paint to sample. I suspect a dealer (or possibly several dealers) had a set of extra colors they showed customers to order besides the standard Porsche colors.

 

Porsche produced two versions of the 1975 Porsche 930 Turbo brochure. The early version has the same brochure number (15-19 1061.14) but is followed by “Bechtle-Druck, Esslingen” after the “Printed in Germany” text. This early brochure has the same format/information with these key differences:

- Equipment, Electrical system: early brochure has “Breakerless transistor ignition system” vs. “Contactless condenser ignition system” in the later brochure
- Equipment, Interior fitting: early brochure has “Stereo radio-cassette deck, Blaupunkt Bamberg with electric antenna and 4 loudspeakers” vs. “Blaupunkt Köln with electric antenna and 3 loudspeakers” in the later brochure
- Technical Data, Brakes: early brochure has “Pierced and ventilated brake discs of special heat-resistant alloy” vs. “Ventilated brake discs of special heat-resistant alloy” in the later brochure

In addition to perforated brake discs, Porsche may have originally intended to equip ’75 930’s with the Blaupunkt Bamberg (with cassette player) and 4 speakers. It would be interesting to see if the 1975 930 preproduction cars share the unique features mentioned in this early brochure.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

'Porsche' lettering (white or black) was an option for 1975 Porsche 930's and is on the PCNA COA option list for #242 and #274.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Another image of the black 1975 Porsche 930 Turbo being inspected by Herbert von Karajan at Weissach (photo from the October 1978 issue of Christophorus). From this image you can see the larger rear tail vent indicating this 930 had optional air conditioning. Also note the light interior color, perhaps cork, a very nice combination with the black exterior.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Trois jours après sa mort, j'ai fait un rêve troublant. Devant la porte de notre maison,

I found an article from Éliette Karajan , his wife , in french newpaper Le Figaro.
He left Earth with his Porsche...


"Trois jours après sa mort, j'ai fait un rêve troublant. Devant la porte de notre maisonHerbert a sorti sa Porsche et s'apprête à partir. De la fenêtre, je lui dis : «Tu pars ? - Oui, me répond-il, je vais me promener. - Mais pourquoi ne m'emmènes-tu pas avec toi ?, lui dis-je. - Tu sais, me répond-il, c'est si beau là-bas… Mais c'est trop tôt pour toi, tu as encore à faire ici, tu dois rester. » Là-dessus, il saisit le volant, me regarde encore avec ses grands yeux bleus et disparaît au bout du chemin… Ce jour-là, cette nuit-là plutôt, il m'a transmis quelque chose et c'est ce qui fait que je suis encore là aujourd'hui.

 

I reread the May 1991, Classic and Sportscar article on “How to Handle a Porsche Turbo” and realized their 3 liter 930 was the British 1975 press demonstrator that may have been 9305700015 (1974 London show car - same car that appeared in the December 1974 Car magazine). In both the 1974 photos and more recent 1991 photos you can see that this very early production 930 did not have rear bumper reflector lights, a very unusual omission. GLP 870N appears to have survived unmolested except for the addition of post-’76 electric flag mirrors.

The test could have not picked more contrasting 930 models. Their 1975 930 weighing just 2514 lbs compared against the heaviest 930 model year made, the 1989 at 2976 lbs – a weight difference of 462 lbs. Throughout the article, Nick Faure comments on the light “track like” feel of the 3 liter 930.

“The 3 liter Turbo was staggeringly good in 1974, there was nothing like it. At the time it was the only supercar I’d driven at high speed that felt secure on the road. It never lost the feel of the 911 chassis either, with that lovely pendulum effect around the front. Taking a right-hand bend sideways, you could knock the wheel up with your right hand – just thump it up – keep the power on and let the wheel wind itself back until you are straight, and then just grab the wheel. There was never a secondary skid, you couldn’t do it any better than the car did unaided…”
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Joe,

The Minerva Blue car "in the USA with Connecticut Historic plates" is the same car (at the same car show) as your "Ex-USA car in Germany" a couple posts above it.

Car next to it is the same, grass is the same... etc.

Assume you can use any or no plate on the front in Connecticut, and that's one less 930 back to the Fatherland.

 

stumbled upon this car locally this morning. it's informally for sale.

1986, current owner since '05, it has had some mods but looked to be very well done and cared for. owner is a mechanic.

if anyone is interested shoot me a PM and I'll pass along contact info.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

There’s no question the 930 packed on weight during the production run and the 3 liter turbos were the lightest:

930 weights (coupes)*
1975………….1140kg (2514 lbs)
1976-1977…1195kg (2634 lbs)
1978-1985…1300kg (2866 lbs)
1986-1988…1335kg (2943 lbs)
1989………….1350kg (2976 lbs)
*Porsche Technical Specification Manuals/Brochures – DIN curb weight

For the 930, one of the most mysterious weight changes occurred between the 1975 and 1976/1977 model years. Most of this change may have been due to the way Porsche accounted for an air conditioners’ weight. A/C was an option for RoW 930’s (until 1986) and when it was “non-optioned” (beginning in 1976) it would shave off 35kg (77 lbs) from the curb weight. So perhaps beginning in 1976, the 2634 curb weight accounted for the 77 lb weight of A/C and the remainder of 120 pound difference between the ’75 and ‘76/77’s (~43 lbs) may have been due to the extra weight of full body galvanizing.

 

I'm suspicious of Porsche's official weights in the mid-1970s as they tended to play tricks for homologation of their road cars now that their focus wasn't on prototypes. It all started with the '73 RS where they built to "homologation" spec, ran the cars across the scales, and then converted the cars to the spec the customer actually ordered. I suspect Porsche played with the weights on FIA homologation forms ... and in the official weights they listed in spec books and brochures.

We should agree with an "easy" method for weighing that folks can do and then get some samples of original spec cars for various years. E.g. agreeing on Curb Weight standard where weighing occurs with full fluids, without spare/toolkit/compressor, and nobody in the car. We track what options are on car (tail, AC, sunroof, wheel sizes) so we can compare. DIN weight is too hard to measure since it requires draining the fuel.

 

It could be that Porsche played with their official weights back in the day but weight comparisons today would probably introduce even more bias (after all, who still runs thermal reactors on their 1970’s U.S. 930’s?).

I was only trying to postulate an explanation for the weight difference between the 1975 and 1976/77 930’s since A/C was by far the heaviest RoW option. Perhaps air conditioning is not the answer since the German Curb Weight and DIN 70 020 standards should have included A/C in the equation:

German Standard Curb Weight
- The weight of the body with interior trim and the fuel tank
- The engine and gearbox weight will all necessary accessories, such as starter motor, generator and exhaust system, etc.
- The weight of the chassis
- The optional equipment such as automatic gearbox, air-conditioning system, sun roof, etc.

German Standard DIN 70 020 also include:
- Charged battery
- Lubricant, coolant and brake fluid
- Standard tool set
- A fuel tank at least 90% full
- Jack and spare wheel

 

when i was looking at early 930s, the 3.0 TCs definitely felt lighter on their feet than the 78-79s i looked at.