Sounds like a great project! I dunno -- the "Outlaw" crowd seems just as big and vocal as the "Purist" crowd nowadays. And let's face it: even though the all-original cars are lovely and one has to admire their purity, the Outlaws just have more fun.

Some of us NARP owners regale in being a proud owner of those cars.

www.clubnarp.com

HAH! Nice! Personally, I'd love to add a 914-6 to my garage.

I think that over the last 5 years (1) a lot of new people have gotten involved in owning old porsches and (2) a lot of the snobs have been priced out.

I mean the money that would buy a decent 993 5 years ago will only buy a decent 912E today. The money that would buy a decent 911SC 5 years ago only buys a 914 today. You can't really be an air cooled baller for 12k anymore

Ha, see what you did there? :D It is what it is.

Not sure how this would price out the snobs...seems by your reasoning only snobs would be able to afford these cars.

I would agree a lot of new people have gotten into the air-cooled scene because of the popularity increase...but neither of these things has a bearing on NaRPS. IMO, they would increase it

I had a '55 356 Speedster.....a REAL '55 Speedster, but when I would pull into the gas station I would almost always hear a comment or two that "that's not real, it's just a replica". Or someone would ask if it was a Beck, or which kit is that.
So even when you have a "real" Porsche, you might not according to some people!

I'd probably be happy people had the initial impression it wasn't a "real" Porsche. I'd be concerned about it being molested. I really don't care if a Porsche is a real one or not. The object is to have fun & enjoy the car. I'd love to drive/have a nice Speedster or 550 replica for the fun of it. I don't give a bit of attention to people who act that way.

I didn't have a problem with people thinking it wasn't "real", just the opposite. Actually thought it was funny that they would just assume it was a replica. Couldn't possibly be a REAL Speedster, and this was ten years ago before they became worth more than most peoples homes. I sold it for 85K back then and it recently sold for 350K!

It was a fun car to drive, but at 350K+ now I would not enjoy driving it at all. A good replica at 25K or so would be the way to go and who cares who built it!

One thing I've found is that folks who have never owned a Porsche are some of the most pernicious snobs.

So will a new Camry...what's your point? ;)

This might be the truest statement in this thread. When I was in college and had a 1983 Porsche 944NA, I would get a lot of know-it-all college boys that would make comments about the car being slow, or a NARP, or whatever; my favorite rejoinder was always, "spoken like someone who's never driven one." I don't necessarily blame them too much; being around high school kids all day, I know that the tendency among those who don't have any experience driving nice cars is to judge the cars solely on the HP and 0-60 numbers printed in Road & Track and Car and Driver.

I think there are 3 things going on.

1.) The ownership demographic has dramatically changed. The number of enthusiasts buying Porsche has dropped way off. A very large percent are what I call Trophy Hunters. They don’t know about or care about the history of Porsche. They just know it is a prestigious car to own.

2.) 15 years ago when you (and me) joined this forum, you could buy early cars cheap and mod them to your hearts content. 6 years ago you could buy a SC for $12k or less and have a great time with them. Then collectors got involved and that changed the dynamic of those games. Air cooled stuff is just too expensive now to be a fun, cheap passion.

3.) We are almost 20 years into the water cooled era and NARP owners now outnumber “real” Porsche owners.

I'd often hear the 914 was not built in Stuttgart so they are not real Porsches.
Early 911 coupes were built by Karmann, just like the 914, so I guess they are not real Porsches as well.

I would replace "snobs" with wannabes. Snobs can afford stuff, wannabes can't.

And there are current new Porsche owners who are bilious* snobs. The type of new/new money Porsche owner who has no idea what air-cooled means nor notices when one is driving by.

* bil·ious
ˈbilyəs/Submit
adjective
1.
affected by or associated with nausea or vomiting.
"I had eaten something that didn't agree with me and I was a little bilious"
synonyms: nauseous, sick, queasy, nauseated, green around the gills; rarequalmish
"I felt bilious"

Yes, thats what some 356 drivers thought of 911s when they were introduced apparently...

Ah, vocabulary battle. I am up to the challenge, sir! :)

There are a lot of new Porsche owners who just have no idea. I think some of has to do with the collector/enthusiast divide. Then there is the status-symbol effect. That is where a clueless person buys a particular car merely because others think this car means you've arrived. This is less NARP, and more general cluelessness. But if you want to go to your vocabulary arsenal, I am ready. Go!

No battle necessary! That would be supererogatory. :D

This thread is about NARP's...not NERD's