Personal perspective on restored or restomod air cooled Porsches.

[Luddite]

This vid kinda says it all, and in far less words than I am ever likely to need to use....? (-:

BTW the vid plays if you click on "watch it on YT"

 

[Harryblue]

Cool sound, but they don't naturally sound like that, unfortunately.

 

[Luddite]

For sure it seems many road test vid makers tend to place either a mic or their camera close to the exhaust, to highlight the sound....
On the other hand regardless of exhaust system an air cooled Porsche makes a very distinctly different range of sounds from that of any water-cooled flat six, perhaps more so to the discerning ear... ?

 

[StubbornHombre]

I don’t know if my car is a restomod as such or not but it is restored and has definitely been modified but pretty much every change is something that Porsche has done at one point or other. The base is a February 1966 912 which is now a little lighter, has 180bhp and 220lbs.ft torque with the result being a car that is better suited to driving on today’s roads.

Although there are many changes under the skin and a couple of more obvious ones outwardly, I don’t think the car is any less a Porsche now than the day it left the factory and with some of the restomods mentioned in this thread I think it’s the same. The key element is the knowledge that goes into the build and the specialist that restored my 912 is a company with a 52 year history that can make pretty much anything a reality without taking away the essence of the base car. They also maintain standard cars, many of which have significant history.

I think Ferdinand Porsche said something along the lines of I couldn't find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself. I don’t think well done, OE quality changes to a car are outside of the spirit of that.

 

[Luddite]

I don’t know if my car is a restomod as such or not but it is restored and has definitely been modified but pretty much every change is something that Porsche has done at one point or other. The base is a February 1966 912 which is now a little lighter, has 180bhp and 220lbs.ft torque with the result being a car that is better suited to driving on today’s roads.

Although there are many changes under the skin and a couple of more obvious ones outwardly, I don’t think the car is any less a Porsche now than the day it left the factory and with some of the restomods mentioned in this thread I think it’s the same. The key element is the knowledge that goes into the build and the specialist that restored my 912 is a company with a 52 year history that can make pretty much anything a reality without taking away the essence of the base car. They also maintain standard cars, many of which have significant history.

I think Ferdinand Porsche said something along the lines of I couldn't find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself. I don’t think well done, OE quality changes to a car are outside of the spirit of that.

I suspect there is room for much confusion in the exact meaning of terms used to describe other than a reasonably original machine.... Either end of the wide spectrum might be a close to zero miles as can be found, all the way through to the likes of a RUF which looks like an air cooled 911, whereas it may have been created without any Porsche manufacturing involvement.... All of which is potentially somewhat confusing..

I also suspect ultimately the market decides on the financial value of machinery, be it modified in a variety of degrees, customised, restomod, or recreated to look like something it did not start out as, and so many other variables.

In general I suspect original specification as produced by Porsche, regardless of age, may be more valued in the marketplace in general, as opposed to someone`s idea of of improvements on that which Porsche produced..?

 

[NDA]

In general I suspect original specification as produced by Porsche, regardless of age, may be more valued in the marketplace in general, as opposed to someone`s idea of of improvements on that which Porsche produced..?

I am no great expert in these things, but I feel there's a kind of tipping point here. Generally you'd be right, but 'someone's idea of improvement' is not quite the view when talking about Singer, for example. Many don't view them (Singer) as being just anyone and would regard their ideas of improvement as being either better than or at least as good as the original.

 

[Luddite]

Yeah, it can all get a bit complex, when it might include our personal perspective on defining the difference between someone and anyone` thinking on modifying a Porsche.... (-:
I suspect many folk who could never hope to own a Singer or RUF, might view them as automotive jewellery and even if they might ever fall into ownership of such a machine, might then feel compelled not to drive it, but to preserve it....?
I suspect there may be many Porsche owners who rarely drive their cars in terms of prioritising preservation, be that preservation of it`s imagined market value, or preservation of their finances in terms of Porsche maintenance and repair costs, or a mix of both....? I have engaged in that balancing act over quite a few decades as life`s variables add weight to one side or the other... Shrug.

In general terms it seems the average in the marketplace may be that original is the preferred buyer option. I suspect Singer, RUF and others similar seem very unlikely to be regarded as average in the Porsche marketplace...? (-:

 

[Harryblue]

I think I've said this, but if I were paying £2m for a Singer then I'd want many multiples of that in the bank as I have a general rule not to spend 10% of my cash on luxury/non-neccessities.

Then if I could afford that I'd want to drive it like I stole it, because I know I can repair it...but it would seem like abuse to drive such a thing like a madman.

I still can't decide if I love them or hate them.