THE ANDIAL 912

The ANDIAL 912

An original 1970s hot rod built from a Porsche Motorsport gold mine.

“Sloop really is a special car. She’s not just a hot rod, she couldn’t be reproduced. From the 917 exhaust bracket to the 935 roll cage and the SCRS shifter, it’s an unrepeatable amalgam.”

We live in a world with a lot of custom Porsches around, particularly in the last 15 years, in which it seems every tuner has tried their hands at one restomod or another. Occasionally however, we come across a build that feels different, some sense of the way that it fits together that suggests it’s been around a little longer than the others. John Cowell’s ANDIAL 912 is just such a car. It wasn’t built last year, or even last decade. “Sloop” has been around in this form since 1979.

“I was in the shop of Dieter Inzenhofer, the ‘DI’ of ANDIAL back in February with my friend Justin Roeser. It was clearly something special and I was just bombarding Dieter with questions about it, when finally he mentioned that its owner, Kurt may be interested in selling it.

Kurt once worked at Competition Motors where he got to know Richie Ginther, the legendary American race car driver, who ultimately set up his own shop and hired Kurt. Richie was well known to be a very talented driver and mechanic with an extreme attention to detail. Among the cars Richie raced was a 911ST in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 911ST was nicknamed ‘Sloopy Jr’ by Richie.

Kurt told me the story of when it was delivered to Richie’s shop, Richie proceeded to completely take the car apart to apply his fastidious touch, above and beyond the way Porsche had delivered it. I believe it was through experiences like these that Kurt developed his skills and meticulous approach to car building. Kurt acquired the 912 from which ‘Sloop’ was built in around 1979, building it in tribute to ‘Sloopy Jr’ with the help of Dieter and ANDIAL. All the focus was on lightness and utility, using the ANDIAL parts bin of factory Porsche race components.

The car almost feels like an extension of Kurt’s soul. There is nothing random on this car nor is there anyplace where there is compromise. Kurt hand chose every single thing for a specific reason.”

John’s 912 could only really have come from a 1970s race shop. The catalogue of parts on the car, while relatively accessible to the right people back then, would be ruinously expensive to source today. When John bought this car from its original builder Kurt, the responsibility to preserve it properly was not lost on him.

"There is nothing random on this car nor is there anyplace where there is compromise. Kurt hand chose every single thing for a specific reason.”

"When I see an air-cooled Porsche, it just stirs my soul. I can’t articulate it. I feel like they’re the cars I’m supposed to drive."

“There are several things I like best about this car. First, that Kurt trusted me to be Sloop’s caretaker. I’m humbled and honored by this. I think Kurt had a feeling that I could become the right person for it. I never knew him before cold-calling him about buying Sloop. Through the weeks we chatted before (and after) the purchase, I really grew to understand how integrated he was with the car. I think he saw that I really cared and wanted to get into the weeds of his process, even though I wasn’t yet knowledgeable to his extent. Second, it’s how people who know more about Porsches than I do react to Sloop. I love when details are pointed out to me that make the car so unique and special. I’m constantly learning.

I don’t feel like I’ve earned the right to modify anything yet. I’ve only had her a couple of months and I’ve already put a 1000 miles on the clock, but I want to add a bunch more before I land on anything. ST flares would look great, but I’m not committed. Sloop will tell me what, if anything, I need to do.

When I see an air-cooled Porsche, it just stirs my soul. I can’t articulate it. I feel like they’re the cars I’m supposed to drive. They’re the only cars I truly care about and want to learn. I appreciate lots of other makes and models, they just don’t affect me the same.”