Porsche Classic Builds A Classic Club Coupe One-Off Model Based On A 1998 911 Carrera
As a part of Porsche’s Sonderwunsch project, Porsche Classic and Porsche Club of America came together to work on a special project titled Classic Club Coupe. The car chosen was a 1998 911 Carrera model, which was restored to its original state with some technical modifications on the inside and outside. It borrows its chassis, brakes, and engine from the 996.2 GT3 with a 3.6L engine. The interior comes finished in black and gray interior whereas the exterior is finished in Sport Gray Metallic paint.
Published March 19, 2024
Porsche Classic in conjunction with Porsche Club of America worked on a special restoration project of the Porsche 911 Classic Club Coupe. Based on the 1998 911 Carrera, the Classic Club Coupe is limited to just one unit. The two teams got together on the restoration project after a donor car was found in bad shape in Virginia. The 1998 911 was then transported to the Porsche Classic workshop in Stuttgart where the vehicle was completely disassembled and reassembled using original and newly made parts.
The restoration brought in some good changes to the car as well, on the outside and on the inside, which will help it to stand out in today’s crowd. On the outside, the car comes finished in Sport Gray Metallic paint. The roof, hood, and spoiler get additional stripes in a lighter shade of the same color with Club Blue outlines as well. This special design draws reference to the Type 997 911 Sport Classic.
The side of the car features 18-inch forged aluminum Fusch wheels and the wording ‘Classic Club Coupe’ in light Sport Gray with a Club Blue accent line. To accommodate taller passengers, the car gets a double-dome roof with a fixed rear spoiler. The rear spoiler is made from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and is profiled in the ducktail shape seen on the 1972 Porsche 911 RS 2.7.
These parts were not the original parts seen on the car, and hence the part that came between the rear window and the ducktail had to be built handmade. The spoiler comes with an inbuilt brake light apart from the pair that already sits at the rear. The ‘Classic Club Coupe’ script sits between these two lights. Mechanically, the Classic Club Coupe borrows its chassis, brakes, and engine from the 996.2 911 GT3 model.
It comes with a naturally-aspirated 3.6L flat-six engine that makes 381 hp and 283 lb-ft of torque. Most of the remaining parts on the car are the original ones with no changes. On the inside, the main challenge was to align today’s materials with the layout of the Type 996 interior. The interior has been done in black leather with slate gray accents and perforated Alcantar headliner, whereas the seat centers and door panels get a woven black and gray leather trim with a twill Pepita pattern.
The headrests come with the 911 Classic Club Coupe embroidery on them which is also seen on the tachometer. The car also gets custom door sill plates with the model name written on it and Club Blue color stitching all around. The infotainment setup is a new one that supports Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and SiriusXM services. The software used comes from Porsche Classic Communication Management Plus which shows ‘Class Club Coupe’ on start.
The car’s technical changes also underwent a series of tests to comply with U.S. regulations, and vehicle dynamics were put to test as well. Top speed endurance runs, wind tunnel testing, and a road test were also conducted on the car. Once approved and verified, the test vehicle was dismantled to make sure there was only one car to make it a truly one-off product. The vehicle was a part of Porsche’s Sonderwunsch program that makes custom one-off cars.
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