As the high-revving 911 GT3 Cup cars making up the Porsche Carrera Cup North America field concluded its race weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) track Sunday, a champion of the Classic variety was being crowned in Victory Circle.
Three regional finalists in the 2021 Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge went through multiple rounds of evaluation during the three-day Sportscar Together Fest hosted by Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), September 10-12, to determine an overall winner of the inaugural competition. Fans were able to vote for their favorite restoration on Friday and Saturday, and final judging was conducted by PCNA’s Joe Lawrence, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Glenn Garde, Vice President After Sales, and Doug House, Manager Technical Support, with the winner announced Sunday afternoon.
After months of diligent work, documentation and check-ins, the 1989 Porsche 911 Targa G-Model restored by Porsche Ontario won top honors over the 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Targa Type 964 from Porsche Dallas and 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Type 964 from Porsche Warrington.
“What a trio! We are proud to have competed against Porsche Dallas and Porsche Warrington this weekend at Sportscar Together Fest. Both of their teams did an incredible job on these 964 Carrera vehicles,” said Manni Viana, Porsche Ontario Service Manager, after lifting the winner’s trophy on the famed IMS podium. “What started out nearly a year ago has now resulted in a Restoration Challenge national championship. We couldn’t have done this without the hard work from our Tech Foreman, Matthew Esber, and the rest of our team. We’d like to thank everybody that voted for us and supported us along the way. We’re proud to bring the trophy home.”
Judging panels throughout the competition have included Porsche Classic and Porsche Cars North America area managers and experts, and scoring was based on a rubric which looked for authenticity, craftsmanship and, most important, a smooth-running engine. In the end, the RS-inspired build from Porsche Ontario marked every box and impressed the PCNA reps and fans.
“Everything from the 3.2 Carrera engine and two-tone interior, down to the documentation, was immaculately done by Porsche Ontario,” said Jonathan Sieber, Manager Porsche Classic with PCNA. “Your eye is drawn to the Targa by the red lettering and Fuchs wheels, but it’s the amount of detail and attention the team put into every step of the process that gave it an extra edge in the competition. Porsche Ontario produced a restoration that captures Porsche passion.”
The U.S. is home to more classic Porsche sports cars than any other market in the world. After decades on the road, some will inevitably be in need of a little extra care. Enter the Restoration Challenge, where Porsche Classic encouraged U.S. dealerships to acquire a car that was due for some expert technical attention to ensure many more years of driving pleasure. The 2021 Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge saw close to 40 dealerships from around the country take part. Teams of certified Porsche Technicians and the official catalog of 60,000 unique Porsche Classic Genuine Parts were enlisted to return the cars to their former glory. Represented in the competition were Porsche 356 models from as early as 1956, five generations of the 911, transaxle models like the 944 and 928, as well as modern classics such as the first-generation Boxster, which is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary.
In addition to three finalists, other Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge vehicles on display at Sportscar Together Fest included projects from Porsche Bend (1966 Porsche 912), Porsche Tucson (1966 Porsche 911), Porsche Monterey (1997 Porsche 911 Type 993), Porsche Santa Clarita (1955 Porsche 356 Speedster), Porsche Fort Myers (1983 Porsche 911 Type 930), Porsche Barrington (1968 Porsche 912), and Harper Porsche (1971 Porsche 911 T).
