This Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 was once ordered by the Sultan of Brunei and is now sold on behalf of Jenson Button. Not the only special features of the 964.
Cars previously owned by prominent figures like to have price tags with somewhat more lavish numbers than their siblings, which were only driven by "no-names". But what happens when two famous names appear in the list of previous owners? The answer to this question was given by a car auction conducted online by a British auction platform.
This Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6, 964 series, was put up for auction by Jenson Button. The Formula 1 World Champion of 2009, who has meanwhile gone under the sports car manufacturers , offered the Swabians built in March 1994 via the online auction platform "Collecting Cars" . But the first owner of the classic coupe has a name that is just as big as the racing driver: the Sultan of Brunei once ordered the 911 Turbo from Porsche. The ruler of the small state in Southeast Asia was now considered the richest person in the world and the owner of the largest car collection on the planet. Depending on the source, between 3,000 and 7,000 vehicles are said to have been in it.
Unique equipment combination
This 964 was one of them. As befits a real car connoisseur, the sultan had a truly unique piece made. The Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 has the performance upgrade offered ex works with the code X88, which is why it squeezes 385 instead of 360 hp out of its forced-air six-cylinder boxer. At the time, the power plus was actually only offered for 964 turbos with a flat-pack package – i.e. with a pop-up headlight conversion. Only 17 specimens with the "Flatnose-Delete-Package", i.e. with a classic 911 front, were able to enjoy the X88 option. According to "Collecting Cars" only one carries the color "Horizon Blue Metallic" - namely this one.
The auction platform also describes the paintwork as "original" and certifies the bodywork as "excellent condition", which is marred only by a few stone chips and "some very small damage to the rear edge of the driver's door". Accidents are not known, and the electrics and mechanics of the Porsche also work properly, according to the ad - after all, it has been regularly serviced by specialists. The Porsche passed the last MOT test (the British equivalent of the TÜV) in November 2020 without any complaints; an odometer reading of 18,592 miles (equivalent to 29,921 kilometers) was recorded.
Larger spoilers, lighter rims
A manual five-speed gearbox transmits the drive power to the rear axle, where it is portioned out by a limited-slip differential in a traction-optimized manner.As a member of the exclusive "Flatnose Delete" club, the Turbo has the very rare combination of special spoilers at the front and rear as well as the polished and weight-optimized multi-piece rims in 18-inch format, which the manufacturer Speedline had produced especially for Porsche at the time.
The interior of this Porsche 964 Turbo 3.6 exudes a feel-good aroma despite slight signs of wear. The full leather upholstery is navy blue, the front sports seats can be adjusted electrically and the steering wheel rim is also wrapped in leather. The equipment also includes an electric sunroof, air conditioning, headlight range control, a tinted windscreen, a rear window wiper and an on-board computer.
Where does the price end up?
Jenson Button and Collecting Cars offered the special 911 Turbo imported to the UK in 2003 with full documentation and a certificate of authenticity but no reserve price. Apparently a successful strategy: those willing to buy made a total of 99 bids and drove the price up to £317,464, which corresponds to almost EUR 370,000. The standard models of the Porsche 964 Turbo 3.6 are currently traded at about half the price.
Conclusion
Two prominent previous owners, an equipment combination that is as desirable as it is exclusive and a good overall condition indicated that this special Porsche 964 Turbo 3.6 is going through the roof in terms of price. However, this fear was not confirmed: The equivalent of 370,000 euros is certainly a lot of money, but in view of what is on offer it is probably still within limits.
