LEICHTBAU

Leichtbau

Photographer: Jonny Lau

Blasting beyond the delivery miles on a rare time capsule Porsche.

It’s not often you get to quadruple the mileage of a 30+ year old car in a single sitting, but that’s what the new owner of this rare Porsche 964 Turbo S ‘Leichtbau’ saw fit to do the day he took the keys.

One of just 86 ever built, the car had inexplicably spent its entire life with a mere 61 miles on the clock. Within a few hours of changing hands, that number had reached 232. It was about that point when photographer Jonny Lau was at hand to take photos of it in the only real daylight it’s likely seen since 1993.

When it was new, it would have been about the fastest 911 you could buy. It was built at the tail end of 964 production, just as the 993 was starting to roll out. The Leichtbau ran a considerably uprated engine over the standard 964 Turbo, but it was the weight savings that really made the difference. Borrowing parts from the Carrera RS, they managed to shave 180kg from the base car, resulting in about the most extreme road-going 911 that Porsche had ever produced.

This one was finished in Grand Prix White, with Flamenco Red leather wrapped around every part of the interior imaginable. The control stalks, the dashboard switches, the roll cage — everything. Even where it wouldn’t have been possible, like the inside of the dials, extra care was used to apply a paint finish that would still match the leather, so it almost becomes a game to find the rare areas of the interior that aren’t Flamenco Red.

One of just 86 ever built, the car had inexplicably spent its entire life with a mere 61 miles on the clock. Within a few hours of changing hands, that number had reached 232.

Of the 86 Leichtbaus delivered, this was the very last one. Who’s to say if the extra time it spent in the upholstery shop had something to do with that, we couldn’t possibly say. The real mystery is how it went on to live such a dormant life afterwards. Who among us hasn’t had the same experience? Sometimes, you buy something on a whim and through accident or forgetfulness, you just never find the time to use it. Needless to say, it’s never too late to make up for lost years, or pass it on to a good home where it’ll be used as intended.