Quote:
Originally Posted by javadog
Hi Gerry,
My original comments were made in the context of the original poster's query about a car made in 1982. At that time, the Sonderwunsch program was just gathering steam as something accessible to mere mortals with a big checkbook. Although there were some special things available to customers as far back as the mid-50's, and there was a department that catered to customers (usually people that actively raced one model or another) it wasn't until 1978 that Porsche made the program an official department and created a brochure advertising their services. Initially the work was mainly one-off type stuff but by the earliy '80's the slant-nose cars were becoming sort of a regularly produced model and the program was expanding.
The problem for US buyers was that, in 1982, VWOA was still the official importer and I can tell you from personal experience that they didn't give two ****s about any special requests. I ordered a new car that year and even though I had some connections to the dealer network, all they would do through normal channels was what was available in the order guides. I picked up the car at the factory and I suppose I could have driven it over to the special wishes shop and got in line but that might have taken a while.
By the time of your visit in 1986, the program had morphed into Porsche Exclusive, as Peter Schutz had decided two things. One, the US would get get the same car as the rest of the world (which didn't actually happen in practice, but we did get things like the M491 cars) and two, that Porsche could make a lot more money if they came up with a lengthy list of useless doodads that they could charge money for. These items were available to be ordered through the dealer network and there was more of a "anything goes" culture at PCNA. There were still some restrictions, as Porsche didn't want to jeopardize the EPA/DOT certifications. To this day, Porsche won't sell you certain things for a US car (certain seats, roll bars, etc.) as they don't have DOT certification for them.
There are a few cars floating around the US from the early 80's that the current owners claim are cars from that program. There's even one in my town, an '83 SC with flared fenders. I've never seen any official documentation for these claims and usually the current owners are the third or fourth in the cars' history, but you never know.
Thanks for the pics,
JR
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The above sounds very accurate from my experience working for different manufacturers. There are several factors can affect this process and remember you guys are talking about 30 year old cars and what they came with from the factory. There could have been dealer, owner, independent, 2nd and 3rd owner installed accessories, options, etc. The best thing to do is check the VIN with Porsche and what the options came from the factory.
Other factors are the dealer and their willingness to place an exclusive order at the time. While it is much more common today it may not have been in the 80's. Plus a dealer would rather sell you a car they have on the ground than one that will be here in three months, another is the personnel at the dealership awareness of any kind of exclusive ordering program at the time and what was available, etc.
With many manufacturers there are default items when ordering their cars such as the black as an interior color as the dealer may be allocated a car and they physically have to go in to change the build by a certain date to get a beige interior or add some different options, etc. There are different time frames for what type of changes can be made and when they can be input as well.