1977 Porsche 911 Turbo

1977 Porsche 911 Turbo
Benjamin Hong with his childhood dream car

Friday, December 26, 2014

Steve McQueen's Porsche 911 Turbo


Steve McQueen's connection with Porsche during the production process of Le Mans (1971) had been quite well documented. For his personal use during filming in France, he purchased a Slate Gray 1970 Porsche 911S. 
Yet McQueen apparently wasn't yet done with Porsche after Le Mans. The introduction of the 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo caused quite a stir, as it represented Porsche's first real supercar, a monster 911. The actor immediately ordered one.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Porsche 911 Turbo short documentary - Dream Car Dreams






Amidst the busyness of modern living, a Singaporean chances upon a rare classic Porsche, and goes on a journey to fulfill his childhood dream.
Synopsis:
Dream Car Dreams breaks new ground by telling the story of chasing your childhood dreams set in the backdrop of the classic car scene in Singapore & the region.
Benjamin Hong, Jeffrey Hong and Chia Quee Khee provide various points of views and informs the audience on the reasons why people collect classic cars… for nostalgia, as a project, to participate in historic rallies, for the driving experience, as an investment and most importantly to be part of a community of fellow car enthusiasts.
The film delivers a strong message to the audience to never give up on their dreams… “Very often we think that the dream may never come true but if you go after it, step by step, you can find that your dream can become a reality.”
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DreamCarDreams
Music: "Until We Die" by Gentle Bones

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Insights into my 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe (930 3.0)


1977 Porsche 911 Turbo, Singapore

This post provides insights into the rare early 3.0 liter Porsche 911 turbo that I was fortunate enough to chance upon here in Singapore. 

This is one of the few right hand drive cars made, and it is a matching numbers car with certificate of authenticity from Porsche. It represents the first generation and the most desirable of a long line of 911 turbos. 

In the early `70s, Porsche had designs on racing a turbocharged version of the 911, in support of which they planned to create a homologation special along the lines of the Carrera 2.7 RS. A change in the rules negated the need to sell a precise number of street legal race vehicles, but the company decided to continue with the project anyway - the Porsche 911 Turbo or 930 was born.
1977 Porsche 911 Turbo. 1st Generation. Singapore
The first generation 930 was introduced at the Paris Motor Show of 1974 and produced from 1975 to 1977, during which time it not only topped Porsche's model range, but was the fastest production car available on the German market. It was based around the Carrera 3.0 RS, the engine from which was modified courtesy of turbo technology originally developed for the 917/30 CAN-AM cars. Power output was 260bhp - enough to accelerate the car to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds & hit a top speed of 246 km/h.
3.0 l Engine - 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo, Singapore
In order to help deliver the power to the road a `whale tail' rear spoiler was fitted and a wider rear wheel/tyre package was squeezed under specially flared arches. 


Whale tail rear spoiler only found on the early turbos from 1975 to 1977 


This example has the 'rear turbo script delete' factory option - 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo, Singapore 
Adding this level of power to the already oversteer-prone handling of the 911 created a car that was not for the faint hearted. In skilled hands, however, a 930 will show a clean pair of heels to most rivals, even to this day.
This example has the 'Turbo side decal' factory option - 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo, Singapore
This 1977 car was registered on 8 July 1977 in Singapore, which makes it a likely contender to be Singapore's fastest and most expensive car of that era. Being the fastest production car from Germany and the top of the line 911 model. The fact that it has remained in Singapore for 37 years means that it is one of the rarest Porsches on Singapore roads today.
While any of the first generation 930 turbos from 1975 to 1977 are desirable, there are some significant upgrades for the last year of the 3.0 930 series. For 1977 the K-Jetronic fuel system was refined featuring a higher output fuelpump, reinforced 4speed 915/66 gearbox with 4.222:1 final drive, upgraded 930/33 transmission to suit the increased 16-inch wheel size, added ATE brake servo and slightly thicker brake discs, modified rear trailing arms to facilitate adjustable ride-height, increased front anti-roll-bar diameter to 20mm (from 18), added dashboard air-vents, and a prominently positioned turbo boost gauge in the lower part of the tachometer. 
Rare right hand drive (RHD) 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo
This 930 has the optional limited slip differential installed by the factory for greater dynamic advantage (optional equipment 220). And it also comes with the top of the line Blaupunkt Bamberg radio cassette recorder with microphone. This is definitely the Turbo model to have, the first of the line and one of the rarest Porsches on the road today.
Blaupunkt Bamberg with microphone - 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo, Singapore
This 930 comes in the German auto racing color, Silver, with Black leather interior. The car has covered more than 110k km and is in a very good condition, the paint is lovely and the interior has the desirable optional factory Recaro sports seats in leather (optional equipment code 409) and the original seats have been refreshed with new napa leather with the original perforation design that matches interior equipment code number 68. The seats are comfortable over long distances, and the higher side bolsters come in handy to hold you in place when you decide to unleash the power of the turbocharged engine.
First generation 3.0 l turbo-charged engine - 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo, Singapore
The car is in excellent condition and serves as daily supercar. Truly a rare 930 that is getting very hard to find across the globe and is rapidly increasing in value. All in all a very rare opportunity to learn more about these iconic cars before the prices go stratospheric.
1977 Porsche 911 Turbo, Singapore

This 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo is featured in the short documentary - Dream Car Dreams.