ON THE HUNT

On the Hunt

Justin Roeser explains his obsession with seeking out the rarest Porsche specs on the planet.

How important is colour to you? When you want a classic car, you first need to pick your priorities. Maybe you’re looking for structural integrity or a car from a dry climate, maybe you’re looking for low mileage or at least some originality. If the colour is right, that’s a bonus, but you can’t always afford to be picky. Unless of course you’re Justin Roeser, in which case crossing oceans to find that ultimate shade of purple just isn’t much of an obstacle.

“The 924 I found in Germany, a dealership I follow posted it on Instagram along with the punchline ‘what’s more 70s than Flieder and Pascha?’ - I called them immediately and snagged it. The 944 belongs to my friend Blaine, he was interested in getting a vintage Porsche and trying out the importing process so I sent it to him when I found it. It’s a Swiss car from the first year of production, in Mauritius Blue with a Brown/Beige Pascha interior. I’ve never seen another one like it pop up.

It’s all about the hunt, finding the right car in the right colour, and it takes EONS. Unfortunately I’ve found that most of the US cars are very conservatively spec’d. Lots of reds, blacks and silvers. You almost never see a Pascha interior here even though it was available from ’78 to ’84. Nowadays there’s more interest in ordering ‘one of one’ cars but back then, I think that wasn’t at all the focus. It’s so interesting to me that at some point, SOMEONE actually ordered these specs, they had good taste and most likely didn’t know or attempt to order a unique car.

Originally I was more into the later 944 and 968 variants, but the appeal of these earlier cars started probably 3 years ago. Even though my moonstone 924 is from 1980, I feel it embodies a more 70s character. It’s more disco than new wave.”

"It’s all about the hunt, finding the right car in the right colour, and it takes EONS."

Traditionally, the front engined “transaxle” cars have always had a hard time finding a home with the Porsche enthusiast base. These were cars introduced in part to try and replace the brand’s well loved rear engined models and that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. However, it’s been nearly 30 years since the last one was produced, prejudices are fading and a lot of people are beginning to appreciate them for their own merits. Justin has his own view of these cars and he began by elaborating on the 924.

"There’s also no other Porsche from the era that you can reliably find in so many iconic paint/exterior combinations."

“The car is so incredibly light and nimble, just point and steer. The early 924 also has this Audi/VW workhorse engine, which never leaves you stranded. I also have to say that today, the design is just gorgeous, especially with the slimmer European bumpers. Oh and the rear glass, I mean COME ON - it’s gigantic. If you removed it, you’d literally have a ute truck. You can easily take it shopping and get amazing fuel efficiency on the way.

There’s also no other Porsche from the era that you can reliably find in so many iconic paint/exterior combinations. The 924 has so many of the greatest hits, signal green, reseda green, moonstone, Monaco blue - Pascha, velour, tartan - it’s all there for your choosing! Blaine’s 944 is the same appeal on steroids. Box flares were such a thing in the 80s and the 944 does them so well. It has more muscle than the 924 but that’s also what makes my car look so sweet and innocent. Both make for great vintage sports cars.”