The list of 1980s auto show cars that wore Pearlescent White Metallic at the hands of Style Porsche is exceptional. The debuts of the 956 sports racing prototype, 959 “Gruppe B,” 911 Speedster Studie, even the 924 Carrera prototype, wore that unmistakable, hallowed shade. Clearly those within Porsche believed that Pearlescent White showcased the body lines of their newest ideas best, reserving the color for special occasions. Of course, that did not mean that customers were held back from ordering the color. It remained an off-the-books choice held within Porsche’s Paint to Sample program for those in the know.
Ordered in, yes, Paint to Sample Pearlescent White Metallic, this 1988 911 Turbo Cabriolet is a well-equipped example of the most powerful and expensive Porsche offered on the U.S.-market that year.
Picked up at the factory via Porsche’s famous Tourist Delivery program by its original, long-term owner, the car was equipped with such options as steering wheel with elevated hub, tonneau cover, Blaupunkt Reno SQR 46 cassette radio, limited slip differential, Black supple leather seats with lumbar support L/R, alarm system, and the luggage compartment in black velour. According to the clean CARFAX Vehicle History Report, the car was registered to the original owner on 25 August 1989 in dry New Mexico where it would remain until its sale in 2018 with only 3,723 miles on its VDO odometer.
Unsurprisingly, such an exceptional 911 Turbo found another long-term caretaker based in the Piedmont of North Carolina, an under-the-radar hotbed of Porsche collecting. Over the past six years, this Paint-to-Sample 911 Turbo has accumulated an additional 366 miles and no doubt its fair share of longing gazes at by those Porsche aficionados well-versed in the exceptional originality and rarity displayed before them. In fact, the car retains its toolkit, air pump, manuals, and Tourist Delivery paperwork that includes its Tourist Vehicles supplement, Porsche Touring Pass, Porsche-issued “Walks through Stuttgart” map, and VVD insurance pamphlet. These delivery documents are a rarely seen window into the late-1980s Tourist Delivery process and are an exceptional indication of the preservation and care afforded to this low-mileage special-occasion sports car.
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