When announced in February 1993, the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 was to be the highest-performance regular-production model the company had ever produced for sale in North America. This new single-turbo, rear-drive, widebody 911 put out a shocking 355 horsepower. Porsche achieved these eye-watering numbers by finally developing a method for turbo charging the type-964’s new M64 3.6-liter engine and swapping out the previous 3.3-liter powerplant. As the type-964 model drew to a close, however, Porsche decided to release an even more powerful variant, the Turbo S. Designed to be unique, each car would be built by Porsche Exclusive’s Sonderwunsch, or “Special Request,” department and treated to a host of exclusive performance features. Porsche estimated it would build fewer than 100 of these exceptional 911s.

The Turbo S would include the X88 "Works Increased Horsepower" engine with modifications inspired by the engines built by Andial—a company synonymous with Porsche racing in the Seventies and Eighties—for the fabled Brumos Racing IMSA competition cars. The Turbo S engines included a larger KKK turbocharger with increased boost, a more efficient intercooler, modified cylinder heads with larger ports, increased-capacity fuel injectors, a four-pipe exhaust, and more radical camshafts with advanced engine timing. The M64/50S X88 engine delivered a claimed 385 horsepower, nearly 30 horsepower more than the standard 3.6 Turbo. Torque was 384 pound-feet and available at lower rpms, helping resolve complaints of power lag at low boost levels. All of this potency was transferred to the wheels through a G50 five-speed manual transaxle with a ZF-sourced 40-percent locking differential.

Turbo S models were fitted with standard 3.6 Turbo’s suspension, including 21- and 22-milimeter anti-roll bars, front and rear, coupled with Boge shocks and struts. Meanwhile, Porsche racing engineer Roland Kussmaul lowered the ride height by about an inch and a half for enhanced handling.

By 30 November 1993, final production numbers were announced to dealers: the United States was to receive 39 X85 Flat-Nose Turbo S coupes. Porsche Cars North America and Porsche Canada, together with their regional managers, petitioned for a further allotment of Turbo S coupes. Their special request was granted, resulting in among the rarest of all air-cooled Porsche models ever built, the Turbo S “Package.”

These exceptionally rare, North American-delivery 911 Turbo S coupes were built without the X85 Flat-Nose option and are immediately recognizable by their traditional type-964 headlamp design. Like its flat-nosed brethren, the so-called “Package” cars featured asymmetrical 959-style air intakes on both rear quarter-panels, a special front air splitter, a louvered rear wing that enclosed the intercooler, quadruple exhaust tips, and 18-inch “Speedline for Porsche” modular light-alloy wheels, eight inches wide in front and 10-inches wide in the rear, shod with high-performance tires. No matter the body, the Turbo S cars are brilliant performers, serving up sub-four-second 0–60 acceleration times and covering a standing quarter mile in about 12 seconds.

Constructed in December 1993, this example left Zuffenhausen cloaked in the coveted triple-black livery (A1), featuring an all-black exterior finish over a full-leather black interior. It is one of just eight “Package” cars specified in all black and was specified with appointments from the Porsche Exclusive factory customization program. These upgrades include heated sport seats with electrical height adjustment, natural leather (X99), an electric sliding sunroof, a remote six-disc CD changer, a Dark Rootwood shift knob, Turbo S rear fender vents, 18-inch polished wheels, and the coveted X88 Turbo S Increased Horsepower package. A copy of the car’s original window sticker shows these options added more than $17,000 to the retail price, bringing it to a total of $119,837.

The car’s original warranty and service book shows that, following its arrival in the United States, the car was sold to its first owner 12 February 1994 via Isringhausen Imports of Springfield, Illinois. The car would live a pampered existence, accumulating just 5,619 miles by the time it was catalogued for this sale. It is now offered with a copy of its original window sticker, its warranty and service book, an assortment of owner’s manuals, tools, and a Porsche air compressor.

Featuring incredible history from new and over $13,000 in recent service work by its original selling dealer, Isringhausen Imports, it is likely the lowest-mileage example of a Turbo S 3.6 “Package” in existence. One of only 17 built with traditional headlamps and equipped with the most powerful single-turbo air-cooled engine ever created by Porsche for series production, this car offers a remarkable combination of exclusivity and desirable features that will captivate even the most experienced Porsche collector.