One-off, ex-factory-owned 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 headed to auction

Porsche recently expanded its Exclusive Manufaktur program to keep up with demand for personalized cars. The brand has taken customer requests for nearly 70 years, but these builds were relatively uncommon until recently, and older one-off cars are consequently rare. If you’re in the market for a one-of-a-kind air-cooled 911, there’s a 1990 Carrera 4 with unique options crossing the auction block in June 2023.

The coupe is part of the Porsche 75th Anniversary sale that Broad Arrow Auctions is hosting at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Numerous high-dollar classics are scheduled to cross the auction block, including a 2005 Carrera GT and a 1964 904 Carrera GTS, but the 964-generation 911 Carrera 4 caught our eye because it’s finished in an unusual and attractive color combination. It wears Paint-to-Sample Green Pearlescent Metallic paint over a Leather-to-Sample green interior with burgundy inserts on the seats and wood trim.

Broad Arrow Auctions reports that this 911 was sold new in Germany, first registered in the town of Böblingen, and owned by Porsche from 1990 to 1993. It adds that this very likely explains the color combination and the relatively long list of features this car was ordered with, and that the Böblingen registration isn’t as trivial as it seems: That’s where many special, factory-owned cars have historically been registered. It’s equipped with an Exclusive center console, a car phone, air conditioning, power-adjustable front seats, cruise control, and air conditioning, among other features. The various option codes are handwritten in the owner’s manual, which underlines this car’s special status.

Power comes from an air-cooled, 3.6-liter flat-six rated at 247 horsepower and 228 pound-feet of torque. It spins the four wheels via a five-speed manual transmission, and the auction description states that the engine and the transmission are original, numbers-matching units.

The car’s life after Porsche sold it is reasonably well documented. Heinz Mohr, a coach for the German ski team, bought it in 1993 and sold it to Frank Wörndl, a professional skier, the following year. In turn, Wörndl sold it to a buyer in France in 1996, and the car remained there until it was imported to the United States in 2022. Service records written in German, French, and English are included in the sale along with a Porsche-stamped service book. What’s interesting is that, in spite of its uniqueness, this 911 wasn’t tucked away in a heated garage and taken out for special occasions: Its odometer displays about 247,323 kilometers, or 153,679 miles.

Beyond the cool factor, this 911 is a fascinating part of Porsche’s history because it illustrates the type of one-off requests the company was receiving — and saying “yes” to — in the early 1990s. It’s offered with no reserve, so the highest bidder will take it home, and Broad Arrow Auctions estimates that it will sell for anywhere between $110,000 and $140,000. The auction is scheduled to start June 10.