Saturday morning dawned cool and clear as I made my way into the Cars&Coffee parking lot. After parking and then consuming my weekly donut and hot chocolate, I made my way back to my car to grab my camera and head out into the parking lot in search of my first subject for the morning. Ironically, my first car turned out to be the one parked right behind me, one row over.
Even under the cover of darkness, it had already collected a crowd. At first glance, it looked to be a stock, silver Jaguar 4.2 liter E-type. However, after walking around the car several times, it became apparent that the body lines and contours were somehow different. As the crowd thinned, I moved in for a closer look. And with its hood opened, I could see that there were a number on non-Jaguar components present. Several large diameter pipes appeared to be plumbing for a turbocharger with some additional, braided stainless steel injection lines thrown in for good measure. After asking the owner where he had hidden the turbocharger, I was informed that the motor was instead supercharged, and also included a Nitrous Oxide (NOS) system.
The owner then shared with me the extensive body modifications he had made to the car (chopped, channeled and sectioned body), to render the altered proportions, yet still retain the basic contours of the E -Type body. He even went as far as widening the rear end to accommodate wider wheels to handle the additional horsepower. Inside, his modifications included the addition of a roll cage, sport seats, and a fuel cell, with a dry-break system, accessed through a fuel filler which had been moved from the top of the rear fender to the rear deck lid, just below the window.
When viewed from the rear, it soon became obvious how extensive the rear fenders had been widened over the stock profile.
For comparison, below is a stock 4.2 liter Jaguar E-type…
My next destination was Porsche row. As I waded through the various models, studying each car, the details unique to each and looking at reflections, I noticed what appeared to be a black GT3 RS parked next to a red Porsche 356 coupe. However, the front end had the unmistakable nose dive plane, and accent stripe framing the front corner air intake. As I made my way to the rear of the car, my suspicions were confirmed; there placed in the center of the rear deck was the telltale RS 4.0 graphic. I was now gazing at my sixth GT3 RS 4.0, and the encounter begged for documentation. However, with my very first shot, the flash revealed yet another surprise; the car was not black, but instead a dark blue…
Now I was once again faced with the challenge of searching out the owner, in order to ask my favorite Porsche GT3 RS4.0 spotters question: What series production number is your car (from the total production of 600 cars worldwide)?
And as the sun came up, it illuminated the way for even more Porsches…
Located down towards the end of Porsche row and one aisle over, was this stunning yellow Ferrari 458 Italia. I later found out from a friend of the owner, that this car had just recently been repainted, transformed from black to this now vibrant yellow. The paint finish was absolutely perfect; elevated even above that of a factory finish…
After leaving the Ferrari, I headed over to a bright red Corvette that had caught my eye. And as it turned out, it was of my favorite models; a 1963 split window coupe, and in beautiful condition. Another classic Corvette that looked like it just rolled out of a Chevrolet dealer’s showroom circa 1963…
After finishing with the Corvette, I headed off into the parking lot in search of a friend’s car (with a brand new turbo motor), but no sign of his car. I did however come across this beautiful black, 1964 Ferrari 250 Lusso. Here was the car, easily worth a high six figures sum, casually tucked in between a mid sixties Ford mustang convertible and a 4 wheel drive truck…
Now it was time to head back to Porsche row and the Blue Porsche GT3 RS4.0, to see if I could find out some information regarding the car…
Within a few minutes, I learned that the car belonged to photographer and Porsche racer Jeff Zwart. And with a crowd of fellow Porsche owners gathered around, all asking questions, Jeff was kind enough to share his insights and details regarding his latest aquisition. It turns out that his car was a special order, and that the color was based upon a “sample to match” that Jeff had provided. (Those in the crowd familiar with older Porsche color palettes thought that the color was very close to either a Bali or Azure Blue). He had also specified the car as a “graphic delete”, eliminating the 4.0 striping across the hood, along the sides, and across the top surface of the rear wing. He said what he was after was an understated, stealth appearance, which he definitely achieved…
While there was a brief lull in the question /answer session, I was able to go over and talk with Jeff and share with him my interest in the GT3 RS4.0, and ask him the question I had wondered about all morning; what is the series number of your car? I was rewarded with his response; #461 out of 600. I then told him that his car was my sixth sighting of a GT3 RS4.0 since October’s Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV. Now only 594 remaining…
Throughout the morning, there had also been rumors circulating about several Porsche 904’s being on site; one silver and one blue. Scanning the remaining cars parked throughout the lot, I caught a glimpse of a blue roof and windshield that I recognized as belonging to a Porsche 904. So off I went in the direction of the blue roof, and once I had a clear view, I immediately recognized the car as “Butzi S”; a 1964 Porsche 904 GTS with a very significant place in Porsche history…
According to the owner, this particular car is serial # 904-002, and is one of the earliest pre-production 904 models built by Porsche. And in keeping with the license plate theme, “Butzi S” is an acknowledgement of its original owner (Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche), the eldest son of Dr. Porsche, and the designer responsible for creating both the Porsche 904 and he iconic 911. In addition to the car having been in the possession of its creator, it also benefitted from some very special modifications made by the factory, and not found on later models.
From the outside, one of the most notable changes is that this car wears shortened doors; half height doors that stop at the top of the dark blue rocker panel. The standard production 904 doors extended well into the lower rocker panel area, stopping just short of the bottom. Rumor has it that the shorter doors were designed to allow for urban use; if parked curbside, the short doors could be opened without striking the curb, allowing for unrestricted egress.
Another unique feature to this car was the inclusion of the full, blue leather interior instead of the standard blue velour upholstery found in other 904 models. Also unique is the leather wrapped three pod gauge cluster, which included the addition of a single, custom triple function gauge to compliment the existing tachometer and speedometer.
And in regards to the steering wheel, I was told by the owner that this was in fact a period correct Porsche 917 race wheel…
What an amazing way to finish off the morning, experiencing one of Porsches iconic models from the 1960’s, contrasted against their icon of the 2011 model year, the GT3 RS4.0. And for 2012, it will be very interesting to watch the development of the new Porsche type 991, as it strives to establish itself within the Porsche family tree…
(All photos by the author)
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