One to Buy: 1982 Porsche 928 BB Cabrio
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Having started to blossom during the late 1970s, Super Tuning became one of the defining characteristics of 1980s car culture when an era of wealth, optimism and conspicuous consumption spawned a plethora of dramatically re-imagined high end conversions.
Among the pioneers of this art was BB who, from a workshop in Frankfurt, created elaborately modified Porsches, Volkswagens and Mercedes.
In addition to superbly crafted custom coachwork, BB led the field when it came to in-car electronics and pioneered an array of innovations that later became mainstream. Unfortunately, having financially over-extended itself, BB went out of business in 1986 and has never truly got the recognition it deserved.
One of the best known BB products remains its 928 Cabrio conversion unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1981. Often cited as a car Porsche should have built, the BB Cabrio featured an electric canvas roof that, when lowered, automatically stowed beneath a retractable body coloured tonneau. Having been extensively re-modelled from the A-pillars back, the BB 928 Cabrio also came with a custom front nosecone to give it an even more distinctive look.
Things got even crazier inside if the customer opted to go for all the available BB fixtures and fittings. To complement the vast array of trick super high end electronics on offer, the seats, steering wheel and entire dash assembly could be switched for tailored equipment.
Impossibly rare in plain Cabrio trim, BB 928s are even more scarce should they have originally been kitted out with a full fat cockpit upgrade. However, going under the hammer with RM Sotheby’s as part of The Boeckmann Collection in Phoenix on January 28th is this manual transmission example of just such a car: chassis 038 928 002.
According to RM Sotheby’s: “This remarkable 928 Cabriolet conversion by bb-Auto is finished in a brilliant blue reminiscent of Porsche’s Arrow Blue. The signature bb front spoiler lends the car a more assertive stance, while the dramatic exterior sets the stage for an extraordinary interior. Upholstered in vivid blue leather with a striking duo tone treatment, the cabin features custom Recaro C-seats, a bespoke bb dashboard, and the remarkable DINFOS digital instrument cluster. Together, these elements create an almost interstellar, futuristic atmosphere—an unusually early vision of the digital automobile, long before such technology became commonplace.”
