INTRODUCING THE OLDEST SURVIVING PORSCHE 911

Porsche 911 fans may go all dewy-eyed when they see this: the oldest existing sports car held by the factory museum in Stuttgart. The early 901 No.57 is a red Porsche 901 coupe built in October 1964 and one of the most original surviving examples of the rear-engined icon.

It’s being shown in a new exhibition called 911 (901 No. 57) – A Legend Takes Off, which opens at the museum on 14 December 2017. There’s decent time to see it; the show isn’t scheduled to close until 8 April 2018.

MORE DETAIL, SPECS ON THE OLDEST PORSCHE 911 PLEASE…

The Porsche Museum came across this early model, which it calls ‘one of the first series production models.’ Why is it called 901? Because that is the original badge of the range, before Peugeot took umbrage with the middle zero and the name was changed to 911.

Porsche experts have spent three years putting the 901 back to its original condition. For half a century, the factory collection has missed a 901 – and now that gap has been plugged.

Chassis number 300.057, this red model was found by a German TV documentary team in 2014. It was lurking in a barn (where else?) and was in 100% original spec – so factory specialists have been able to recreate it in as authentic a fashion as possible. Which explains why the restoration took three long years.