BYE BYE Cayman - HELLO 1993 America Roadster

[bull30]

I've been looking for an investment grade America Roadster for some time... They only made 250 of these very unique cars between 1992 & 1993... This one is one of only 86 made in 1993... It has 18,000 original miles and drives like it's brand new... Here's some pictures... Comments appreciated :)

[Richard Curtis]

Very cool looking car; much nicer looking than my '93.

If your taillights have faded to pink (can't tell from the photo), I just bought a bunch of the Candy Apple Red Transparent plus clear that's needed to return them to correct color (see related postings on Rennlist).

[Rick V]

Sweet car, I just have one ignorant question. What is the diff. between a roadster and a cab?

[Manny Alban]

Nice car. Here's a picture of the original America Roadster. I've always been partial to the 1989 911 Speedster. A member in Chesapeake owns a white one with very low miles and talk about a 'look at me' car. I believe the roadster is a turbo look body with the turbo brakes and suspension. Interestingly, the C4 Widebody made in 1994 did not come with the turbo brakes and suspension.

[VaSteve]

Nice car, but I don't think I could have made that trade.

Interesting that your were looking for one for a while, I seem to recall a local fellow had one for sale for a *really* long time.

I'm pretty sure it was a "sales are slow we need a marketing gag" kind of car, wasn't it?

[cmartin]

Car looks new, sure it's a 93? :)

America Roadster's are rare birds, but basically the same as a 964 cab. A little lighter, but same engine, trans, suspension.

[bull30]

Car looks new, sure it's a 93? :)

America Roadster's are rare birds, but basically the same as a 964 cab. A little lighter, but same engine, trans, suspension.

Not the same... The America Roadster is a wide body cab with the same suspension & brakes as the turbo... Extremely rare to find these cars in this condition... I've seen a few but this one really caught my eye... I love guards red Porsches and the red piping & seat belts were the finishing touch for me... This car sold for over $95,000 in 1993... The America Roadsters were VERY expensive Porsches...

[bull30]

Nice car, but I don't think I could have made that trade.

Interesting that your were looking for one for a while, I seem to recall a local fellow had one for sale for a *really* long time.

I'm pretty sure it was a "sales are slow we need a marketing gag" kind of car, wasn't it?


I originally bought the Cayman S for my wife... She then decided she really wanted a wide body Carrera so i found her a beautiful 1996 993 C4S that she really loves... So that left me with the Cayman S... If you are willing to except a mass produced robotically made Porsche that's dropping in value like a rock then the Cayman is your car... It was a nice car to drive but not an exciting car to drive and certainly NOT AN INVESTMENT....

As far as the America Roadster being a GAG CAR... Nothing could be futher from fact since they sold for $85,000+... This one sold for $95,000 back in 1993... Here's a link that will give you some history on the car... http://www.classicdreamcars.com/92porscheAM%20ROAD.html

[VaSteve]

As far as the America Roadster being a GAG CAR... Nothing could be futher from fact... Here's a link that will give you some history on the car... http://www.classicdreamcars.com/92porscheAM%20ROAD.html


I didn't mean it as any sort of insult....rather that for all the car companies, especially Porsche, sales were pretty slow...so a special low production car was built to spark sales. At least that's how I always heard it.

[Eli]

Congratulations! Looks like a real gem. There'll be plenty more Cayman's at lower prices...;)

[bull30]

I didn't mean it as any sort of insult....rather that for all the car companies, especially Porsche, sales were pretty slow...so a special low production car was built to spark sales. At least that's how I always heard it.

Not offended at all... Very few people know about the America Roadster... You just don't see them that often with only 250 produced...

[Trak Ratt]

Cool car! But won’t you need to add roll bar for the track? In your discription you forgot to mention the 17" Turbo wheels that came with the package.

[Motomodz]

nice acquisition Bull, congrats!.....guess that explains why I did not see the Cayman last week for the console and GIAC chip!?

So....what mod comes first?? bring it by for a closer look when you're in the area.
Will you be auto-xing this one?

[bull30]

nice acquisition Bull, congrats!.....guess that explains why I did not see the Cayman last week for the console and GIAC chip!?

So....what mod comes first?? bring it by for a closer look when you're in the area.
Will you be auto-xing this one?

I think I will autocross a little... It's already got coilovers installed and it's been corner balanced... It also has the G50 5-speed trans, 17" Turbo Wheels, Fabspeed Exhaust and carbon fiber airbox... All the original parts came with the car... Oh.. I'll be stopping by this week with my SUV to pick up the Cayman stuff... When do you think you can put the decals on Gina's MINI???

[Mackliet]

Beautiful car Bull. I had the honor to be placed next to an American Roadster last year at the 2006 Deutsche Marque Concours. This one was dark blue, if I recall correctly, and the guy drove it up from Richmond. It got a lot of attention from the folks attending.

Please consider entering your car in this year's Concours (either in the Concours or in People's Choice).

-Bruce

[Motomodz]

cool! what is the engine displacement? I'm trying to determine what run group you will be in....(either 5SP or 6SP)

I will squeeze the Mini in anytime. This time of year, if you can leave it with me overnight, that might be best to allow things to set up nicely inside where it is warm and dry!

see you soon.

[bull30]

cool! what is the engine displacement? I'm trying to determine what run group you will be in....(either 5SP or 6SP)


The engine is a the 3.6L...

[markwemple]

Why not the speedster? Lighter and better investment potential. Besides it comes with racing shells standard.

[bull30]

Why not the speedster? Lighter and better investment potential. Besides it comes with racing shells standard.


Actually they made many more Speedsters than Roadsters... The Speedster is pretty stark and stripped down in the interior and the top is manual... Not my cup-of-tea... Better investment potential? I'm not so sure of that but they are rare like the Roadsters...

[Dr K]

Congratulations! So when are you going to pull out that carpet. weld in a roll-bar, and bring it to the track?! ;)

Peter

PS: Well, I hope to see it at some Dorki event...

[racer]

Looks great! I try to avoid thinking of recently produced cars as "investment" vehicles. And yes, they were used to spark some sales and also used, like the 964 Widebodies, up the extra capacity of Turbo bodies/parts since those too were slow sellers.

My parents were great friends of John Paterak in NJ (356 Porsche restoration expert btw). He bought the car from a dentist in the late 1970s, for about $6,000-7,000(!!) a 1952 America Roadster like the one pictured above (his was gray). One of 16. I believe he actually sold it recently, for somewhere around $500,000USD

[markwemple]

I knew of an america roadster basket case (and this is polite) in the early 90s for~5k and I didn't have the cash. Kinda like the 356c for 500 or the AH 3k 3 carb for 400 I almost bought. Man am I a dumb a$$ or what.

[Manny Alban]

Many limited production cars are sales promotions. Nothing wrong with that. Porsche and other car companies are in the business of selling cars. The RS America was a stripped out C2. They took the sacred RS and employed it into the name. Good thinking on their part. I remember they had a hard time selling RSA's that only came with LSD (no, ac, sunroof or radio). Of course, those are the most coveted models now.

Hard to predict what's going to be valuable in the future. I'm sure many 1988 911 Club Sport owners thought they had the ticket (what was it? 40 or so made). Will it be 997 Club Coupe (only 49 available to the public).

[986SChris]

Nice sled!

[VaSteve]

Many limited production cars are sales promotions. Nothing wrong with that. Porsche and other car companies are in the business of selling cars. The RS America was a stripped out C2. They took the sacred RS and employed it into the name. Good thinking on their part. I remember they had a hard time selling RSA's that only came with LSD (no, ac, sunroof or radio). Of course, those are the most coveted models now.

Hard to predict what's going to be valuable in the future. I'm sure many 1988 911 Club Sport owners thought they had the ticket (what was it? 40 or so made). Will it be 997 Club Coupe (only 49 available to the public).


I hope it's clapped out Crystal colored 944s. Can't get a much "rarer" color. There's always a respray, but the Pebble Beach purists might look in the engine bay and Doublemint is Crystal through and through. :lol:

[}{arlequin]

can someone check if eric stratton's car is still in his garage? looks like someone took it and cut the roof off ;)

nice car. lots of 'leg room' for the ladies.

[racer]

Bump.. I see its on the market http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=415575 .. Too bad I don't see the original wheels, it'd be worth more ;)

[VaSteve]

It's only been 18 months in a shit economy. Bull, please give us the real ROI on this when you sell it. I can't see this as a good time to sell any Porsche. Buy? yes. :)

[Porsche_Driving_Club]

Unless he sells it in Europe or Australia. Then its :-)

[good hands]

I don't see a price.

[Trak Ratt]

I don't see a price.If you have to ask you ain't serious :p

[good hands]

If you have to ask you ain't serious :p

If it's anything that will kick your ass i am serious. :D

[Trak Ratt]

If it's anything that will kick your ass i am serious. :Dbuying lap times... shame :p U-going to WG boy-o :? If I draw a blue stu I can go out in White :twisted:

[dholling13]

I know Ken is long over due for a knee replacement, maybe he's finally going under the knife and therefor giving up his ride for the inevitable rehab time that comes with this procedure.

[bull30]

Life is full of it's little temptations or BIG ones... Like a 993 Turbo S:shock: Who the hell wouldn't be tempted...

BUT, then again... After careful consideration, and a swift kick in the ass by Gina, the Roadster stays :D

Drew, thanks for the consideration, it's greatly appreciated... It looks like the double knee replacement will take place in November... I won't be driving anything for awhile after that - Not even the Ford Escape

[Trak Ratt]

Life is full of it's little temptations or BIG ones... Like a 993 Turbo S:shock: Who the hell wouldn't be tempted...

Why not post the link? Maybe someone else will circum to the temptation :p

[markwemple]

Not sure what the deal is with these cars. When new they'd hang around the dealerships for 2 years plus (along with the speedsters). Now they have value?? Best of luck but I can't remember anything short of a Turbo coming close to 100k new in that era.