Porsche’s ‘Project Gold’ 911 Turbo sold for £2.4m

The last air-cooled Porsche 911 Turbo built 20 years after the last air-cooled Porsche 911 built has sold at auction for £2.4m.

It’s a one-off, and is also really quite – cue Goldmember close-up – goooold. Porsche calls it Project Gold, and at a recent auction in honour of Porsche’s 70th anniversary, sold for a significant sum.

We’re told said significant sum will go towards the Ferry Porsche Foundation, supporting the homes of Porsche’s Stuttgart and Leipzig factories and also supporting work in education, research, sport, culture and social affairs.

The car then. It’s a 993 Turbo, built on an original, new-old-stock bodyshell direct from the factory, straightened and checked using Porsche’s original frames and equipment. Porsche then went digging around the parts pin, finding 6,500 original pieces specifically for the 993.

There’s an air-cooled (obvs) twin-turbo, 3.6-litre boxer in there somewhere, probably at the back (but we’re not sure, as nobody makes a big deal about it). Thanks to something called a WLS II power kit it kicks out 444bhp and 431lb ft of torque, while there's a six-speed gearbox built using brand new Porsche classic bits.

We’re told just 345 911 Turbos ever got that WLS II upgrade, while this one in particular gets that special gold paint, a custom interior comprised of leather and gold stitching, gloss-black wheels and the series designation 001/001.

Worried you’ll never experience this much gold? Worry not. The car has also inspired Porsche to build two new parts for old 993s: a new aluminium tank cap, and a black tail pipe. Neither are gold, but then neither will cost you £2.4m.