One to Buy: 1 of 10 1989 Porsche 911 3.3 Turbo S Sonauto (930)
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Following the stock market crash of October 1987, investors flocked to new asset classes, one of which was high end and collectable cars. A surge of new money flowed into the market from early 1988 to mid 1990, during which time prices for certain new cars surged to multiples of their original list price.
One such car was the soon-to-be-discontinued Porsche 911 Turbo (930) which for its final year in production was manufactured with a five instead of four-speed gearbox. In addition to the standard 300bhp 930, Porsche also offered an uprated 330bhp Turbo S version along with a prohibitively expensive Flachbau with 935-inspired front end styling.
To mark the end of 930 production and cash in on the unprecedented demand for exclusive special editions, Porsche’s French distributor, Sonauto, commissioned a batch of ten Turbo S Coupes for 1989 delivery.
Broadly similar to the UK market LE (Limited Edition), these Sonauto specials came with the full 330bhp Turbo S upgrade pack, sport suspension and an Exclusive centre console. Uniquely, the French importer specified standard non-vented rear fenders and triple-tone leather seats from the 959.
Number seven of this rarely seen ten-car series will be going under the hammer at Bonhams’ Quail Lodge auction on August 19th.
Configured in Paint-to-Sample Black Two-layer paint, soon after completion chassis 000578 was dispatched to Ruf Automobile where it received an upgraded fuel-injection system, high-performance 4R exhaust, cockpit boost controller and custom RUF gauges.
