A coming automobile raffle adds some credence to that old saw about membership and its privileges.
Next summer, dues-paying associates of the Porsche Club of America will have an opportunity to win a 1973 911 T, which is receiving a meticulously complete restoration at the Porsche Classic workshop, located outside Zuffenhausen, Germany.
The club holds semi-annual raffles of new models, most recently giving away a Boxster Spyder last spring, but it has never offered a classic car. When club leadership was approached by the classic workshop about altering the prize format, however, they quite literally bought into the idea.
“Our budget for the project — locating and buying the car, the restoration, promotion, transportation — was about $100,000,” said Porsche Club of America’s vice president, Manny Alban, in a telephone interview. “All told it’ll wind up being a little bit more than that.”
The club was initially charged with locating a good restoration candidate, but despite many promising inquiries, leaders were left empty-handed.
“We were initially looking for a 911 S,” Mr. Alban said, referencing the first high-power 911 variant. “But S owners thought, regardless of condition, they were sitting on gold mines, so they weren’t selling. We got frustrated.”
Porsche Club headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, fared better, purchasing a 1973 911 T for an undisclosed sum from a Californian on eBay. Crucially, the car met the workshop’s requirement for minimal rust — however, that might have been its sole positive attribute.
As documented on the workshop’s Web site, the project 911 T is bedecked with nonoriginal parts, not the least of which is the spoiler, endearingly called “homemade” on the workshop’s restoration log. Nesting materials were also pulled from the car’s undercarriage.
In keeping with the trend in bespoke factory restorations, Porsche’s workshop plans to re-create tooling techniques as necessary to ensure fidelity to the original car’s manufacturing. Additionally, factory workers who built the 911 T have been brought on to supervise and assist the restoration.
Mr. Alban hopes to present the fully restored car at the club’s 2011 parade, scheduled from July 31-Aug. 6 in Savannah, Ga. Members can purchase an unlimited quantity of raffle tickets at $50 apiece, and Mr. Alban expects over 5,000 entries.
“It’s definitely enticing for people in the club with older cars who might not be that interested in the newer cars,” he noted. “That said, I don’t know anyone who’d turn down a new Porsche.”
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