Some stories are unfathomable, and how this 911 2.5 S/T could be transformed from a GT class winner at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1972 into a wrecked shell in a barn near San Francisco may never be fully known. The condition of the once-celebrated racing car could be described as devastating. What remained was either rusty, bent or badly repainted. After its celebrated racing triumphs, this extraordinary 911 must have lived a very different life.
The last traceable race entry dates back to May 1975 in Riverdale, with then-owner Don Lindley behind the wheel. After passing through two more owners, the trail of this rare 911 goes cold. That changed in 2008, when the first clues emerged pointing to a potentially sensational barn find. In 2013, a Swiss collector flew to California to rescue the S/T from obscurity—and to restore it to its former glory. Given its condition, it would be no easy task – and it was clearly one for the Porsche Classic experts in Stuttgart.
Resurrection in Light Yellow
At the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur in Zuffenhausen, the remains of the 2.5 S/T were first completely taken apart and stripped of paint. After all, this legendary 911 was to be perfectly restored from the ground up. Once the bare body had been realigned on the straightening jig, the painstaking process of replacing the missing parts began. Using original sheet-metal gauges and technical drawings, the missing components were fabricated from scratch. More than 1,000 hours of manual craftsmanship went into the bodywork alone.
To preserve this work for the long term, the specialists sealed the bare body with a cathodic dip coating – state-of-the-art corrosion protection, just like in today’s series production vehicles. After two and a half years of restoration, the car was finally delivered to its owner in 2016 – in its original colour Light Yellow, code 117, just as it had been 44 years earlier. It was in perfect, factory-fresh condition, with every detail just as it had been when the S/T left the production line back in 1972. The period-correct sponsors’ decals were added after delivery and, just as it had been for its class-winning victory at Le Mans in 1972, the car was given the starting number 41.
A legend reimagined
The same applies to the modern-day 911 S/T, which now shares a garage with its forebear. At the owner’s request, Porsche Sonderwunsch created a perfect new edition of the 1972 Le Mans GT class winner. Its most striking feature is undoubtedly the identical paint finish in Light Yellow, code 117 – a colour that has not appeared in Porsche’s palette for decades. The paintwork was applied by hand in a meticulous process and it presented a particular challenge, as the light shade offers low coverage, especially on the numerous carbon components of the new 911 S/T. But then this is precisely the kind of challenge that the experts at Sonderwunsch are trained to master.
Porsche completed the look with lightweight forged magnesium wheels in Darksilver, black brake calipers and a black interior. The technical foundation of the car remains untouched. At the heart of the 911 S/T is a naturally aspirated four-litre flat-six, which revs to 9,000 rpm and delivers 386 kW (525 PS, 911 S/T: Fuel consumption* combined (WLTP) 13.8 l/100 km, CO₂ emissions* combined (WLTP) 313 g/km, CO₂ class G , CO₂ class weighted combined G ) – in a car with a kerbweight of just 1,380 kilograms. And, of course, it has a six-speed manual gearbox. This allowed Porsche Centre Zürich to deliver a perfect continuation of the reborn original S/T.
Porsche Sonderwunsch: virtually no limits
The 911 S/T duo impressively demonstrates how legends can be preserved and reimagined as part of the Porsche Sonderwunsch programme. On one hand, we have the faithful restoration of a classic. Thanks to extensive documentation of the original vehicle in the Porsche archive and masterfully executed craftsmanship, it feels like time travel has been made possible. The expertise of Porsche’s specialists also allows them to integrate modern technology where it makes sense – such as the advanced corrosion protection that makes the revived classic even more timeless.
On the other hand, the Porsche Sonderwunsch team creates unique vehicles based on modern series production models. Whether following in the footsteps of historic icons or forging entirely new paths, their creativity knows virtually no bounds. There is, however, one area where compromise is never an option: every Sonderwunsch creation must meet the same quality standards as its production-line counterparts. No exceptions – and with full factory warranty, too.
