When it was introduced in 1975, the Porsche 930 Turbo (known in some markets as the 911 Turbo) was the fastest production car available in Germany. During the first two model years, it was powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged engine, later replaced by a larger and more powerful 3.3 Turbo for the rest of the production run. It was the best Porsche could offer at the time but even that wasn’t enough for some customers.
Rinspeed thought the 930 Turbo needed a complete visual makeover and built only 12 examples of the so-called R69. The cars had a new bodywork, looking like a modified Ferrari Testarossa under some angles, featuring pop-up headlights and taillights from the Porsche 944. Other modifications include streaked flanks and an extended rear section covering the engine.
14 Photos
The sports car in the gallery above keeps its original intercooled 3.3-liter turbo engine, sending 296 horsepower (221 kilowatts) to the rear wheels through a four-speed manual gearbox. On paper, the vehicle should be capable of hitting 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) from a standstill in just 5.4 seconds – a pretty impressive result by the early 1980s standards, and an admirable number even today.
This particular example was transformed by Rinspeed in 1983, some three years after it left a Porsche showroom in the United Kingdom. It is currently listed for sale and the description of the ad says it’s in “excellent order, having recently been resprayed in its Rinspeed color of Pearl White.” As you can see in the attached images, indeed, it seems to be in very good condition and the only little flaws we see are the tired leather upholstery on the driver’s seat and the minimal lacquer damage on the rims.
Given its rarity and pedigree, the Rinspeed R69 is probably a future collector car, though its current price doesn’t seem to suggest so. Don’t get us wrong – £50,000 or about $68,750 at the current exchange rates is not a negligible amount of money, but it’s definitely a price some wealthy collectors won’t have a problem paying.