For Sale at Auction: 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo in Costa Mesa, California

Chassis No. 9309800848
Engine No. 6890617
Transmission No. 7791736

Using lessons learned from motorsport, Porsche employed turbocharging for the first time on a serial road model with the Type 930. Introduced at the 1974 Paris Motor Show, the 911 Turbo featured a 3.0-liter flat-six engine fitted with a single turbocharger, flared fenders to accommodate wider wheels and tires, upgraded suspension, and a "whale tail" rear spoiler. Zero to 60 mph occurred in less than six seconds on the way to a 155 mph top speed-figures few other cars of the period could match.

While early 1975-1977 models were fitted with a 3.0-liter engine, significant upgrades arrived in 1978. The most substantial development was a gain in displacement to 3.3-liters and the addition of an air-to-air intercooler which yielded 265 horsepower at 5,550 rpm and 282 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm in cars exported to the United States. Other changes included a redesigned rear spoiler and further uprated braking and suspension systems. Porsche claimed improved performance figures with a zero-to-60 mph time of 5.4 seconds, a 13.5-second quarter mile, and a 162-mph top speed.

This time-capsule U.S.-market example, finished in Silver Metallic over a Black leather interior, has covered just 772 miles from new-a figure so improbably low as to suggest it has spent the best part of five decades in careful, climate-controlled storage. Factory options include a limited-slip differential, driver and passenger sports seats, an electrically operated sliding sunroof, and an electrically adjustable passenger-side mirror. The interior, having been subjected to virtually no wear, retains its original leather upholstery and plastics in exceptional condition, while the factory-applied Silver Metallic presents with a luster that belies its nearly 50-year age. Mechanically, the car retains its original 3.3-liter turbocharged flat-six and four-speed transmission, confirmed by a copy of its Porsche-issued Certificate of Authenticity.

With its extraordinarily low mileage and wonderful originality, this 911 Turbo is surely among the most original survivors known to exist-even extending to the correct Pirelli P7 Cinturato tires-making it ideally suited for Preservation Group judging at PCA concours events, where originality of this caliber is exactly what judges reward.