Terrible Auction Listing For Rare Final-Year 1989 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabrio Is The Definition of ‘Phoned It In’

Terrible Auction Listing For Rare Final-Year 1989 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabrio Is The Definition of ‘Phoned It In’

Imagine for a moment that you’re trying to sell a rare 1980s Porsche 911 Turbo. You’ve decided to offer it through renowned action house Mecum and have been tasked with providing some photographs and information to help build interest ahead of the sale.

Sure, people at the sale event will be able to inspect the car up close, but presentation is everything, especially these days, when we have such easy access to high definition pictures and videos. Getting the preview right with some pro pics of the 911 and its iconic spoiler has the potential to hook in extra eyeballs, sell the ownership dream, and maybe inflate the final sale price of the car.

So you’d probably put a little more effort into the listing than you would if you were trying to quickly get rid of a $400 Hyundai on Craigslist. Well you might, but the seller of this 911 Turbo definitely didn’t.

Related: The 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight Does 0-60 In 2.1 Seconds And ¼ Mile In 9.9 Seconds

But before we get into the listing, let’s just remind ourselves why the ’89 Turbo is so special. First of all, ’89 was the last year for the G-series Carrera and its Turbo sister. With no anti-lock brakes and manual steering these cars were the last 911s that still felt pretty much like the originals of 25 years earlier.

Of course the Turbo was an awful lot faster than your average 1960s 911 L, even in catalysed North American spec. The 3.3-liter air-cooled flat-six was rated at 282 hp (286 PS) and 278 lb-ft (377 Nm) of torque, as it had been since its reintroduction to the U.S. in 1986 following an emissions-enforced six-year vacation.

But there was a big change in how that power was delivered to the ground in 1989. Every Turbo from the first in 1974 right through to 1988 had been stuck with a four-speed transmission because Porsche didn’t think the five-speeder used in naturally aspirated 911s was man enough for the job.

Even when regular 911s switched to the much more precise G50 transmission in 1987, the Turbo retained it four-speed setup. But for 1989, the impact-bumper Turbo’s last year one sale, it finally gained that fifth ratio, allowing Porsche to close up the other gears and reduce off-boost lethargy.

A 1989 Turbo Coupe in excellent condition is valued at $178,000 according to insurance company Hagerty’s valuation tool, but there’s less demand for the cabriolet, which carries a $139,000 rating in ’89-spec, versus $123,000 for a four-speed 1988 car.

That’s still a heap of money (Hagerty suggests $219,000 for a concours winning example), so it’s strange that the seller couldn’t be bothered to do more than drop into a local parking lot and take a meager 10 pictures of the car, three of those in which it’s not even fully in the frame, and none of which show it with the (admittedly old fashioned and slightly fiddly) hood down.

The description is similarly brief, but don’t let that or the pics put you off if you’re in the market for a classic Turbo cabrio. With that cool triple-black color scheme, just 46,511 miles recorded, and evidence of an engine rebuild at 44,000 miles, it could be worth a look. The 911 is being offered at Mecum’s Indy 2022 sale this May, and you can check out the (not very) full listing in all its glory here.

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