Show and Display or Pass on 1993 Porsche Turbo S Lightweight?

Tony’s Take: What goes around, comes around. A lot of collector cars disappear for decades, then re-emerge from “hiding” when the owner is forced to sell (divorce, penury), wants a new toy (ooh ay ooh) or dies. We don’t know the story here, but it’s this 1993 Porsche Turbo S Lightweight’s third time on the block in the last four years.

Two times back: one no sale. That has everything to do with the fact that this Speed Yellow Porker is a Japanese-spec model? Imported into the U.S. in 2015 under the Environmental Protection Agency/Department of Transportation “Show and Display” license. (We’ve looked at two previous Porsches subject to the law’s driving restrictions: here and here.)

To qualify for entry, a vehicle must be “historically or technologically significant.” Copy that! RM Sotheby’s description makes that perfectly clear:

In January of 1992, Porsche Exclusive (formerly the Sonderwünsche, or Special Wishes Department) manager Rolf Sprenger composed a three-page internal memo to the board of directors suggesting a small run of 964-chassis 3.3-liter 911 Turbo coupes that would be much lighter than the production version, and thus capable of even more impressive performance.

They would essentially be a road-legal version of the 964 Turbo that had captured the 1992 IMSA Supercar Championship.

On 22 May 1992, management authorized the project, with examples completed between July and November to be designated 1993 models. The Turbo S Lightweight, or Leichtbau, would be the first model built and developed entirely by Porsche’s customizing department, with each example assigned a discrete VIN.

As you can imagine, Porsche pulled out all the stops – save deleting air conditioning and power windows to comply with U.S. regs – to make the car lighter, faster and yes NOISIER. Like the man said, a road-going race car. (Car above U.S.-spec.)

No doubt: the last buyer got himself one hell of a fast, sexy, track-capable collectible car for his $970k. And, thanks to the aforementioned driving restrictions, hardly turned a wheel, never mind in anger.

In March of 2018, the yellow devil had 36,142 klicks on the clock. In February 2022, that number rose all the way to 36,233. And now it’s got 36,335 km’s under its belts.

So a car famed for its reliability under extreme conditions, its grace under pressure, has been driven all of 193 kilometers (119.92 miles) in the last four years.

This tells us the poor Porker isn’t getting proper exercise. It also tells us the Show or Display law is a PITA.

Hence RM’s conclusion that this Japanese-spec 1993 Porsche Turbo S Lightweight “will surely impress at any club event or Porsche gathering, whether on display or storming around the circuit.” Not – you’ll notice – on a public road.

O.K., so what’s it worth? Today’s contestant is one of only 86 Porsche 930 Turbo S Leichtbaus to motor out of Stuttgart. One of 67 left-hand-drive models. Let’s go to the tape . . .

1993 Porsche Turbo S Lightweight has proven itself in a market that remains impervious to the current/looming downturn.

So I’m going to add $130k to $330k to the last hammer price. And hope someone actually drives one of these things out there, somewhere, on the open road. Downside: you can’t use this car to nip down to the shops.