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1986 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 G50 - 78,000 Miles
By 1984, the Porsche 911 was already 21 years old and many believed it was starting to feel out of date and a bit old fashioned. The factory effort was focused on developing the 924, 944 and 928 but thanks to an army of devoted 911 customers, a vociferous dealer network and new board member Helmuth Bott, the iconic 911 was saved from the scrapheap. The 3.2 Carrera was born and immediately took its place in the record books as the last Porsche to carry the legendary 911 moniker.
“Driving in its purest form” is how the sales brochure describes Porsche’s new baby. With a 3,164cc flat 6 engine producing 231 bhp and 284 nm of torque, no ABS, no power steering or any electronic driver aids, we kind of think the brochure was right. The unforgettable sound of the air-cooled flat 6 mixed with a 152 MPH top speed and a 0-60 time of 6.1 seconds is totally addictive. It is one of those few cars that quickly forms an incredible bond with it’s keeper. Like your favourite watch, a 3.2 Carrera feels part of you. The more you use it, the more you get to rely on it and the more you can’t do without it. Any absence, even for a short period of time, leaves you yearning for the feedback the steering provides. The delight of peering through the windscreen and positioning the beautifully curved wings through the apex of your favourite corner and the pleasure of keeping your foot buried in the carpet when powering through it. You also quickly work out that the 3.2 is totally usable and utterly reliable. Even the idiosyncraticies of the switchgear layout and the feeble attempt to provide air conditioning is soon forgotten when you realise that you are sitting in a supercar.
This is a vehicle that is capable of taking you on a dance round the Nordschleife but is equally at home on the school run. This is why so many 3.2’s have galactic mileages; they snare you quickly and soon, nothing else is good enough.
For us, Guards red with black leather has to be the ultimate colour combination for a 3.2 and an example in this condition can’t help but stir the emotions; it screeches late 1980’s and all the evocative memories from that time.
Built on 9th September 1986 and first registered as a demonstrator by Dingles Porsche in Colwyn Bay on 13th October 1986, it is one of the very first G50 3.2 Carrera’s. Dingles ran the car for just over 3 months and then sold it to the second owner for £32,000 who certainly bonded with it as he kept the car for the next 22 years and 75,000 miles. It has a truly amazing history file which is about 3 inches thick and includes every single invoice from its very pampered life plus all original sales brochures, marketing materials, owners manuals and service books. For us, the 3.2 Carrera sits right up there with the E30 M3 as one of our all time favourite cars from the 1980’s. It always puts a smile on our face when we hit the lanes around the Classic Heroes HQ and take it for a blast and it certainly will for many years to come. This one’s a keeper.
