For Sale at Auction: 1973 Porsche 911 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Chassis No. 9113111845
Engine No. 6134987
Transmission No. 7339340

American safety rules for open cars were tightening in the mid-1960s, so Porsche built an open 911 with a stainless steel-trimmed roll bar over its occupants' heads. It appeared at Frankfurt in September 1965, named for the Targa Florio, the Sicilian road race Porsche had been winning for a decade. Targa is also Italian for shield, a fitting word for a roll bar.

This Targa's Farhzeug-Auftrag build sheet reveals a completion date of 8 May 1973 with chassis number 1845 finished in Medium Ivory over a rare Brown interior. It left the factory equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, Fuchs alloy wheels, anti-roll bars, tinted glass, a front oil cooler, the S front spoiler, and anodized wheel arch trim. The M470 Comfort Group added velour carpeting, gold Porsche script and model badging, aluminum door sills, 911 S rubber moldings on the bumpers and below the doors, chrome rocker panels, 911 S instruments, rubber bumperettes, and a leather-covered steering wheel.

Johnson-Bozzani Porsche Audi of Phoenix, Arizona delivered the car to its original owner on 23 July 1973 with 26 miles showing. After its early years in Arizona and California, it headed east in 1987 to Little Rock, Arkansas, where its next owner kept it for more than a decade. Now in Austin, Texas, it has recently been through Porsche specialist Moorespeed, which sorted its brakes and fuel system and fitted SSI stainless steel heat exchangers.

Optional Medium Ivory over Brown and the M470 Comfort Group set this 911 T well apart from a standard car. Its build sheet and original maintenance record document it from its first day in Phoenix, and a thick file of receipts carries the story forward. With the roof panel stowed, it is a long-hood 911 made for open-air driving.