1987 Porsche 911 (930) Turbo

First things first.

There’s not much history to go with this car, but here's what we do know;

We can tell from the body kit and the logos on the wheels and steering wheel that legendary Porsche fettlers and tweakers RUF have played a part in building or modifying this car.

But we’re also firmly of the opinion that they’ve worked their special brand of magic on the engine, too.

We know that 930 Turbos are fast. Of course they are. That’s the point of them.

But this one is just bonkers.

Press your foot to the floor and wait a couple of seconds for the turbo to spool up. Then grip the steering wheel with all your might and start stamping on the brakes like you’re trying to put out a bush fire.

The tsunami of brute force that lets rip when the power comes on line is simply extraordinary.

Left unchecked it will pin your ears back and catapult you through the horizon towards some new and undiscovered dimension of space-time.

All the while, the flat-six is roaring away and the exhaust is crackling, snorting and popping like an explosion at a fireworks warehouse.

When your author returned from driving it (in the wet), he had to be comforted by colleagues and taken to a dark room to listen to whale song until he’d stopped twitching.

Mercy.

Our brief ‘research’ tells us that RUF were in the habit of punching out the 3.3 litre flat-six engine to 3.4 litres, adding a twin-plug setup, Carrillo connecting rods, RUF pistons, RUF cams, a larger intercooler and turbocharger, custom exhaust manifolds, and tuning it all up until it was in a state of barely containable tarmac-shredding fury.

These seriously tweaked cars went by the internal designation ‘RUF BTR’, with the last three initials being an abbreviation for Group B Turbo.

In RUF’s own words, the BTR, “…was inspired by the FIA Group B regulations of the time, utilising a 930 Turbo as a basis to compete with the fastest products from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche itself. The BTR was routinely regarded as the world’s fastest accelerating road car at the time”.

Of all the RUF BTRs created between 1983 and 1989, no more than 30 were built by RUF from scratch. The rest were converted from existing 930 Turbos.

There is a RUF BTR plate in this car’s engine bay.

Our experience of driving this ferocious vehicle gives us no reason whatsoever to doubt that this car is indeed a RUF BTR and almost certainly converted from a customer car.

All of which makes it really very special indeed.

The vendor brought the car to the UK from America in 2020. Its life States-side has been spent in Florida, Arizona, California and Nevada. Ergo, there’s no rust that we can see anywhere on this awesome looking beast.

When the vendor bought the car it had just been repaired following an altercation with a bench, an incident that necessitated the fitting of a new wing, bumper and bonnet.

Additionally, the vendor had some of the bodywork resprayed once the car was in the UK. The result of all this transatlantic activity is a finish that’s so shiny and gleaming you can catch your own refection in the car’s sumptuous, squat, aggressive curves.

Even standard stone chips and road rash are barely in evidence.

The RUF wheels are in first-class condition and complement the blacker-than-black aesthetic perfectly. The matching Michelin Pilot Sport tyres seem to have plenty of life left in them.

All in all, then, this 1987 911 (930) Turbo is a very fine looking car indeed.

The panels are free of any ripples, creases, dinks, dents, folds, lumps, bumps or dimples to speak of. The doors slam shut with the deeply satisfying metallic clunk that will be familiar to anyone who’s ever owned a classic 911. The shut lines are clean and even.

The sunroof works and forms a tight seal. There is no wobble in the tea-tray rear spoiler. The lights and lenses are clear. All trim and badging is in good nick.

Everything about this car looks – and feels – properly screwed together.

As far as we can tell, it’s really very strong all round and it certainly presents extremely well.

We can only assume that it’s led a good life in the company of diligent and enthusiastic owners who both appreciated its rarity and respected its potency.

The condition inside is equally impressive, particularly when you consider that this is a car that first put its rubber on the road in 1987, when Rick Astley was adamant that he wouldn’t give you up, Robin Williams was wishing people in Vietnam a good morning, and Michael Fish was telling us not to worry ourselves over silly rumours of a hurricane.

The interior of this 911 Turbo is blacker than the inside of a coal bunker at night.

Functional rather than luxurious, it’s nonetheless a fine place to spend some time, and pretty much everything is in good condition.

The black leather seats have only the lightest creasing and are firm, supportive and comfortable.

The rear seats - good only for luggage, the very young, the very small or the very masochistic - are pretty much unmarked. The bonnet luggage compartment is pristine and contains a Porsche toolkit roll. Lifting up the carpet here or elsewhere in this car reveals…no rust whatsoever.

The carpets, mats and headlining are good. So, too, are the classically minimalist dashboard and controls, some of which take some locating.

Those wacky German funsters at Zuffenhausen really did like to hide knobs, switches, toggles, levers and buttons where no-one could find them.

One presumably RUF-inspired departure from the norm is the inclusion of a turbo boost gauge where the clock would normally be.

A replacement clock now sits in the passenger footwell, just to the right of the gear lever.

The undersides seem to be very well preserved, with nothing more than a few spots of superficial rust to speak off. Everything is straight, clean and wears a good coating of wax/bitumen.

As ever with a 911, there’s really not much to reward anyone who peers into the engine bay. All the important stuff is hidden from view. What we can see, however, looks fine, and it’s an impressively clean and tidy place.

Dominating the engine bay is a far bigger than normal intercooler. There is also an info plate declaring that this car’s engine is the RUF BTR variant.

The car unfortunately has less history than David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth. The vendor did believe there was more with the car but ultimately cannot find any more than is shown in the auction gallery. 

It has a service book covering part of its time in Florida. It has a couple of Porsche books/manuals. It has two sets of keys. And it has an MoT, with no advisories, valid until 16.5.22.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

If you’re the sort of person who has always felt that a Porsche 930 Turbo is maddeningly slow snail of a thing, a car for timid people who wouldn’t say boo to a goose, the vehicle of choice for lily-livered wimps who are frightened of their own shadow, then this could be just the thing for you.

While we can’t point 100% to its RUF BTR provenance, all the signs seem to be there and we’ve certainly never driven a standard 930 Turbo that goes about its business quite as dementedly as this. Obviously, you’ll want to do your own research.

Either way, this car is simply awesome in performance, aesthetics and condition.

Other people with deep pockets will have done a lot of heavy lifting to keep this car in such good condition. Which should mean you won’t need to go too deeply into your own pockets for a while.

As far as we can tell, there are no nasty surprises waiting to leap out and startle the unwary.

Nor are there any grounds for thinking that this vehicle will deliver anything less than years of thoroughbred motoring and a variety of expressions ranging from unmitigated joy to visceral terror on the face of its next owner.

This car is very special, very rare and very definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Feeling brave?

We’re confident to offer this extraordinary car for auction with an estimate of £65,000 - £100,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.