The 911 Sport Classic Is a Mix CD of Porsche's Greatest Hits

I remember stumbling upon the original Porsche 911 Sport Classic on a near-deserted stand at the stifling 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. I shrugged at it as I shuffled past, jet-lagged, hungover, and sweating a worrying amount. My judgment, in that moment, might not have been entirely sound. But even after resting, hydrating, and returning to a country with functioning air-conditioning, I still didn’t really get the Sport Classic. It wore a ducktail spoiler on its engine lid and black Fuchs-style wheels at each corner. I assumed that the show car must be some sort of rolling advertisement for a line of retro-tinged accessories that the company would begin selling.

Wrong. Porsche planned to build 250 examples of this tarted-up 997-generation Carrera S and price each at $225,000 (in today’s dollars). I mean, the Alcantara-covered coat hooks are nice and all, but come on! At an RM Sotheby’s auction in Phoenix in 2019, a low-miles Sport Classic sold for $654,000. This in a country where the Sport Classic was never even sold when new.

This story originally appeared in Volume 12 of Road & Track.

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Shows what I know about investing. I’d grossly underestimated the appeal and increasing value of Porsche’s holy relics. These include, but are not limited to, those that appeared on the first Sport Classic: the Fuchs-style wheels, the ducktail spoiler, the vintage-style gray paint. To the Porsche faithful, these are irresistible fetishes promising a tangible connection to Porsche’s past glories.

It’s no surprise, then, that Porsche has conjured a new 911 Sport Classic for 2023. Naturally, the ducktail spoiler is back, this time rendered in painted carbon fiber. It is, after all, the holiest of holy 911 relics, despite being widely regarded as ugly when it first sprouted from the tail of the ’72 2.7 RS and existing only to quell the standard 911’s high-speed instability. The Fuchs-style wheels are here as well, although in a less literal interpretation than before. Sport Grey Metallic, meant to mimic Fashion Grey from way back in the 356 era, is unique to the new car, although three other standard colors are available, plus Porsche’s popular Paint to Sample option.