At an auction held over the weekend at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a 996-generation 911 sold for a record price.
The auction, which was held to celebrate last week’s 75th anniversary of the first registration of a sports car built by Porsche, saw a number of classic models from the automaker go under the hammer, including a 1964 904 Carrera GTS, a 1984 962, and a 1980 911 SC “Safari” rally car.
However, it was a 1998 911 Carrera that broke a record. The car sold for $1.2 million, which is the highest price paid for a 996-generation 911.
Naturally, it was no ordinary example, though that is how it started out life. The car is the one-off example known as the 911 Classic Club Coupe, which Porsche rolled out in 2022. It was an ordinary 911 picked up by Porsche Club of America (PCA) member Vu Nguyen at a dealership in Virginia and transformed over a two-year period by Porsche to highlight the capabilities of its Sonderwunsch personalization program, as well as to commemorate the PCA, the oldest and largest Porsche club.
The project followed a similar approach as the 997-generation 911 Sport Classic launched in 2009 by applying styling elements from older models onto a newer generation 911. However, some elements were borrowed from the latest 992-generation 911 Sport Classic, which was still under wraps when the 911 Classic Club Coupe was revealed. Those borrowed elements included the Sport Gray Metallic exterior paint finish and the seat center panels with a braided leather in a Pepita houndstooth look.
The transformation involved sending the car to Porsche’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, where the Sonderwunsch team stripped it down and rebuilt it with new parts, many of them custom pieces. Mechanical components, including the brakes, engine, and transmission, were refurbished items borrowed from other cars, with the engine coming from a 996-generation 911 GT3. It’s a 3.6-liter flat-6 rated at 375 hp.
To ensure the modifications were performed as expected, a test car was built and put through extensive trials at Porsche’s main testing facility in Weissach, Germany, and the high-speed Nardo test track in Italy. The aerodynamic elements were also honed in a wind tunnel.
Last year, Porsche also rolled out a similar project in which a modern 911 was turned into a car resembling the character Sally Carrera from 2006’s animated film “Cars.” It was sold at a charity auction for $3.6 million.
