74 turbo prototype

[vas930]

I know this car pops up on the forum now and then.
However, where is it now?
When I was a young chap following my dad around the Porsche club racing in Australia, you would see this car racing all the time.
It raced out here with an RSR engine, not a turbo.
It made the the most beautiful sound.
A few years ago I saw it for sale at the PI classic race day.
I was told it was off to the USA.
Anyone know anything?



This is a very significant & almost mythical car. It is the 1974 Paris Motor Show Porsche Turbo prototype. It was built on the shell of a 1973 911S coupe. The chassis number shown on the sales sheet should have a 6 between 3 and 0. It's the first 911 to wear the bigger bumpers, turbo flares and a whale tail. As shown in Paris the car's engine had a real bottom end but the upper "turbo" plumbing was in fact made of wood. The car is often referred to as having a wooden engine, but this is not correct. The car did the Motor Show circuit here in Australia and then returned to the factory, its life as a show car over. It soon returned to Australia to become a successful race car and had many victories. Once its race career finished, it was turned into a road car and passed through a number of hands over the years.

[IMR-Merlin]

No info on the car, but I like the mirror mounting on that!

[willtel]

I'm not sure but I think it is in the Northeast USA. Connecticut comes to mind.

[vas930]

Originally Posted by willtel

I'm not sure but I think it is in the Northeast USA. Connecticut comes to mind.

Thanks for the lead, Willtel.
I will keep looking.
Its one of those things that drives you crazy.
Yet, not important at the same time.

[vas930]

Originally Posted by IMR-Merlin

No info on the car, but I like the mirror mounting on that!

Yep, the whole car is cool.
I first saw it when I was about nine years old.
It was the car that started my love of fat silver 930s.
I would sit and stare at it in the pits for hours.

[Oh Haha]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/911-930-turbo-super-charging-forum/521772-930-prototype-sale.html

Hope this helps.

[vas930]

Thanks, I have seen that.
Someone may know who has it now.

[infraredcalvin]

Originally Posted by vas930

As shown in Paris the car's engine had a real bottom end but the upper "turbo" plumbing was in fact made of wood. The car is often referred to as having a wooden engine, but this is not correct.

Do you have more info or pics of this? Makes sense why they would do so for the show, but ive never seen pics of the engine.

[vas930]

In the seventies Porsche was serious about turbocharging and this prototype signaled the way for later cars like the 930 and the RSR 3.0. It was also the one of the very first show cars fitted with the wide body, large alloy wheels, whale tail and a turbocharged version of the flat-6 engine. All these details eventually appeared on the 911 RSR 3.0-liter race car of 1974.

At the time, Porsche was no stranger to forced induction. Their 917/10 and 917/30 racecars achieved incredible amounts of horsepower, reaching 1100 bhp and beyond, with exhaust-driven turbochargers. By January of 1973 they had experimented with a turbocharged version of the 2.7-litre engine.1 To signal their upcoming intentions, Chief Engineer Helmuth Bott created the new Turbo at Style Porsche.

The show car was built from a standard 911S (VIN 9113300157) fixed with a radical body kit that mimicked the upcoming RSR 3.0-liter race car. This was purely functional since the flares wrapped around much larger 11 inch Fuchs alloy wheels and other details like the front apron included an opening for the oil cooler. At the rear was Porsche's first whale tail that improved cooling and aerodynamics. It also was fitted with a very rare badge on the engine cover from Style Porsche. To promote the upcoming turbo era, large graphics spelled out the cars intended purpose. The interior also had a unique Green/Black tartan trim and one-of paddle head-rest sports seats.

Ironically, when the car debuted as the new Turbo at the 1973 Paris Motor Show, it didn't even have a functioning turbocharged engine. Instead, a wooden mock-up was used until much later in the cars life. Probably without opening the engine bay, the car was subsequently displayed at the 1974 Geneva, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Melbourne motor shows.

During the world tour Porsche took orders for the full-blown RSR 3.0 racecar, but they didn't scrap their prototype. Instead, it was fitted with a real RSR 3.0-liter engine and sold to Alan Hamilton, the Australian Porsche importer in 1975. He raced it twice in 'jag' livery and subsequently kept it in largely original condition.

By 2010, the prototype had reached the United States for owner Murray Smith of Washington, Connecticut. It was subsequently displayed at the 2010 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance. Before the show, it was offered for sale with with 75,000 miles on the odometer.


type Concept / Prototype Car
released at 1973 Paris Motor Show
built at Germany
production 1
engine Flat-6
position Rear, Longitudinal
aspiration Turbocharged
valvetrain SOHC, 2 Valves per Cyl
fuel feed Bosch Mechincal Fuel Injection
displacement 2993 cc / 182.64 in³
bore 95 mm / 3.7 in
stroke 70.4 mm / 2.8 in
compression 10.5:1
body / frame Unitary Steel Monocoque
driven wheels RWD
front brakes Ventilated Discs
rear brakes Ventilated Discs
steering Rack & Pinion
f suspension McPherson Struts w/Torsion bars, Bilstein Shock Absorbers
r suspension Trailing arms w/Transverse torsion bars, Bilstein Shock Absorbers
weight 900 kg / 1985 lbs
transmission 5-Speed Manual

Supercar Spotlight

[vas930]

SUPERCARS.NET - Comprehensive Specifications, Galleries & Forums since 1996


More pics.
No pics of engine.
Maybe the wood section is at Posrsche.

[vas930]

Looks like Murray Smith in Connecticut was the last owner, or may still have the car,

[drmatera]

"aspiration Turbocharged
valvetrain SOHC, 2 Valves per Cyl
fuel feed Bosch Mechincal Fuel Injection
displacement 2993 cc / 182.64 in³
bore 95 mm / 3.7 in
stroke 70.4 mm / 2.8 in
compression 10.5:1"

the first and last items above don't jive

[mark houghton]

Originally Posted by drmatera

"aspiration Turbocharged
valvetrain SOHC, 2 Valves per Cyl
fuel feed Bosch Mechincal Fuel Injection
displacement 2993 cc / 182.64 in³
bore 95 mm / 3.7 in
stroke 70.4 mm / 2.8 in
compression 10.5:1"

the first and last items above don't jive

Good catch. Perhaps they intended to run a scant amount of boost.

[IMR-Merlin]

anyone know what mirrors those are, I like them better for the street than the 935 style.

[Flieger]

Looks like a Viataloni Sebring. The rights to that style changed hands several times since the original was made. I am not even sure what it was originally.

[IMR-Merlin]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Looks like a Viataloni Sebring. The rights to that style changed hands several times since the original was made. I am not even sure what it was originally.

Thanks

[drmatera]

Maybe they ment it aspires to be turbocharged? like most N/A cars

[vas930]

Originally Posted by drmatera

Maybe they ment it aspires to be turbocharged? like most N/A cars

hehe