Carrera engine?
 

Is there any easy way to tell if my engine is a Carrera or a standard 3.2 from 1987?

what's the engine number?

does it have a black plastic airbox or silver metal plenum?

don't have the engine number as it is halfway between the US and UK.

It has a silver metal plenum

If it is from the US and an 87 it would most likely be the 217hp 3.2

OK, so is that a non-Carrera? Sorry for the dumb questions.

Carrera engines are MY 73-77 (for a 911), the years when Carrera stood for something special.

Carrera cars, 84-88, have a 3.2 engine. It can have 217 -231 hp depending on year and what part of the world it was made for.
You might call that a Carrera engine too.

Here is some info:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/850999-numbers-decypher.html

I really don't think there were any "special" engines in 87. Just the 3.2