The Porsche 930 – The One That Started It All
There’s a little-known German hot rod called the Porsche 911 Turbo, but believe it or not, that’s not really what Porsche initially called it, or even intended it to be the massive hit it is nowadays.
See, back in the 70’s, Porsche really wanted to go racing at a higher level, and that higher level was called Group 4 in the World GT Championship, but in order to do that, the FIA said they had to build at least 400 cars and homologate them in order to meet the Group 4 qualifications. So they did…
The internal project name was the 930, and Porsche designers, mechanics and engineers go to work at a rapid pace trying to find ways to fit the turbo technology they designed for the Can-Am North American racing car to the 3.0 liter, 6 cylinder Porsche motor of the Carrera RS 3.0.
The Stuttgart team managed to wrap up the project in less than time than the 24 month deadline, and before they knew it, all 400 units were sold, and they had created a brand-new Turbo-hungry market. Sales of the 256 horsepower beast began in 1975, and by 1976, they had successfully built and sold 1,000 units.
The original and official Porsche 911 Turbo had been born, and the first generation of cars ran up to 1989 when Porsche declared they had sold over 20,000 units. A number that many say would’ve escalated had it not been for strict emissions laws in the U.S.A and Japan.
If you’ve got deep-enough pockets, you can own the nearly all-original 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo pictured here. This car is headed to Bonhams auction at Quail Lodge with just 67,000 original miles, and with no reserve!
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Story via: [Silodrome]
Photos via: [Bonham]
