1977 Porsche 911

1977 Porsche 911 IROC Challenge Series Car

The Porsche story is a fascinating one and its roots go back to the 1930’s when Professor Ferdinand Porsche was instrumental in the design of the first Volkswagen and also Auto Union race cars. By 1939 he had built three Porsche cars to compete in the 800-mile race from Berlin to Rome. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled due to the war and Porsche was forced to focus on supporting the German war effort, however, he had always wanted to build his own cars. In 1944 Porsche was forced to leave Stuttgart and he set up a small operation in Gmünd, Austria. Soon after the Porsche family and many of their engineers were captured and sent to jail. Ferdinand Porsche’s son. Ferdinand junior, or ‘Ferry’ as he was known, was released six months later and he returned to Gmünd to rebuild the family company. Things moved quickly and Porsche was involved with cars again and in mid-1948 the first Porsche 356 was built. It is understood Porsche built some 50 aluminium bodied cars by hand in their small factory at Gmünd before relocating back to Stuttgart, Germany. The rest they say is history as the 356 evolved into one of the most successful sports cars ever built. A hard act to follow indeed . . . but its replacement, the Porsche 911 went on to become a legend!

The evolution of the Porsche 911 is probably the greatest sports car story of all time. First introduced in 1963 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and then designated as a 901, the successor to the 356 took the world by storm. To avoid conflict with Peugeot, who claimed exclusive rights to car names with three digits having a ‘zero’ in the middle, the car was renamed as 911. The first production 911 was built in 1964 and it was powered by an air cooled 1991cc 6-cylinder engine. The car evolved with increases in engine capacity to 2.2 litres, 2.4 litres, 2.7 litres, 3.0 litres and 3.3 litres. There were styling changes also, but one always recognised the car as a 911. Today the first series of 911’s is recognised as the cars built from 1963 to 1989 and include the very popular Porsche 911 and 930 Turbo models. Of these the ‘small bumper’ or ‘pre impact bumper’ cars built up to 1973 are today regarded as the real classic 911, however, that comes at a price. In the last few years astute collectors and enthusiasts have seen great value in 1970’s and 1980’s model 911’s.

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a 1977 Porsche 911 IROC Challenge Series Car.

This Porsche started its life as a 1977 Porsche 911 SC with a 2.7 litre engine. From the service book we know the car was delivered new to Mr Rolly Newman from Melbourne, Victoria by Hamiltons of South Yarra.

Importantly, this car retains its original ID plate, Australian compliance plate and body tag. The ID plate and compliance plate match the stamped chassis number and the body tag confirms that the car’s original colour was ‘sahara beige’ (code 516-9-1).

The car led a relatively ‘normal life’ through until around 2010. The service book is stamped from 1977 until 1985, with the last entry on the 28/09/85 showing a service at 113.531 km. In September/October 2010 the engine and gearbox where upgraded. The existing 2.7 litre engine was replaced with a later model 3.2 litre engine, linked to a replacement 915 gearbox.

In 2013 the launch of the IROC Challenge Series was announced in Australia. The idea behind the series was to give competitors the opportunity to compete in a structured race series in cars that mirrored the original IROC 911 3.0 RS as raced in 1974.

2014 was a formation year allowing competitors to source and build their cars. The series officially started in 2015 and was run under CAMS regulations. The first season consisted of five race meetings. The first race was held at Winton Raceway in Victoria, followed by Sydney Motor Park in NSW, Mallala Motor Sport Park in SA, Philip Island in Victoria and Wakefield Park in NSW.

Phillip Brook from Queensland was one of the people who choose to build a car to compete in the new series. He had acquired this Porsche 911 SC around 2012 and had upgraded it with a 3.6 litre engine. This engine came out of a wrecked Porsche 964 from Japan. With the 3.6 litre engine he’d been racing the car at club level. Brook decided that he wanted to step up to the next level and went on a journey to upgrade this car to IROC Challenge Series specifications. He engaged the services of well-known and respected Queensland based Porsche specialists DHM Motorsport to build his race car. Despite the engine being low mileage and running perfectly, it was completely stripped. It was then rebuilt using new bottom end bearings, new chains & piston rings, ceramic coated pistons and a special IROC cam. The cylinder head was stripped and ceramic coated and fitted with high rpm valve spring kit. The exhaust was also ceramic coated and the gearbox completely rebuilt with new parts as required, including a WEVO internal gate and higher ratio 2nd gear. Dyno testing reports show the rebuilt engine produced around 320 hp, quite a significant increase from the 247 hp put out by a standard Porsche 964 engine! The body was also modified to reduce weight. The car was fitted with carbon fibre doors and lightweight front guards & engine cover. The only glass in the car is the front windscreen. The other windows are all Perspex. A safety cage was installed by Flat Six Motorsport.

With all the modifications the car weighed in at around 1000 kg (dry) and with an engine putting out around 320 hp . . . this is a very quick car. It is a beast!

Needless to say, it was not cheap to build the car. There are invoices on file from when the car was owned by Brook totaling $125,000 for all the upgrades. That number does not include the purchase of the car, the engine or paint work!

Brook only raced the car once in the IROC Challenge Series in 2016 at Eastern Creek. During that weekend he managed to secure one race win and two 3rd places. Interestingly enough, he then decided that he’d ticked off a box on his bucket list and didn’t really have the desire to compete in the series full time. In 2018 the car changed hands and its next owner also used the car sparingly, only racing it a few times.
The car has never been crashed during its racing career in the IROC Challenge Series.

The current owner acquired the car in 2019. He mainly used it as a ‘special occasions’ road car (yes it is road registered!) but never raced it in anger. In his ownership the car has been used sparingly and travelled minimal mileage.

This car comes with a CAMS logbook, its original book set (including the service book) and a good history file.

Importantly, the original interior, the original doors & body panels and a whale tail spoiler will also accompany the car. This basically allows the next owner to transform this car to suit their personal needs.

Highlights:

- Australian delivered 1977 Porsche 911 SC.
- Transformed into an IROC Challenge Series Car by well-respected Porsche specialist DHM Motorsport.
- Car weighs ≈ 1,000 kg (dry).
- Engine upgraded to generate 320 hp.
- Never been crashed when it was raced.
- Finished in its original colour of ‘sahara beige’ (code 516-9-1).
- CAMS logbook.
- A fabulous track day car for the hardcore Porsche enthusiast.

Price: $ 219,950