The automotive world was rocked back on its heels when Porsche unveiled its first true production supercar, the 911 Turbo. A non-running mock-up was shown at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1973, a few months after testing of the new pressurized design had begun, and the following year a fully functioning example appeared at the Paris Auto Salon. Orders poured in, even with a base price of DM 65,800, or about $27,400.

Intended to be Porsche’s new “image builder,” the outrageous flared-fender, whale-tailed 911 Turbo, internally coded as Type 930, put Porsche firmly in the lead of the supercar market, using technology created for its successful racing program. Deliveries began to the “rest-of-the-world” markets in 1975 and to U.S. customers in 1976, even as the new 930 became the basis for the 934, Porsche’s first production-based turbocharged race car.

The new 911 Turbo boasted a three-liter air-cooled opposed six-cylinder engine with a single KKK turbocharger. With maximum boost of .8 Bar, about 11.5 psi, the engine developed an impressive 260 bhp at 5,500 rpm in RoW form. Shifting through the robust four-speed manual gearbox produced 0–60 times of about six seconds and a maximum speed approaching 160 mph. The new Turbo was, quite simply, not only the fastest production car Porsche had ever offered, but the fastest production car on the planet.

To deal with that sort of speed, the 930 was fitted with power-assisted, cross-drilled, and ventilated disc brakes at all four corners. The Turbo’s front fenders and rear quarters were dramatically flared to accommodate new 15-inch-diameter Fuchs forged aluminum wheels, seven inches wide in front, eight inches wide in the rear. The 1975 RoW Turbo also had an additional oil feed line and catch container, a unique fiberglass “whale tail”—its design signature—with a smaller air inlet, a plastic air box (metal on later cars), no rock-guard appliqués on the earliest units, a fuel-enrichment solenoid, and a different interior door trim treatment. Also, many early 1975 cars, such as this example, lacked air-conditioning, tinted glass, and an electric sunroof, items that were made standard equipment when the Turbo Carrera was introduced to the U.S. market the following year. However, there are integrated fog lamps and headlamp washers.

Documents supplied with this handsome European-delivery Turbo indicate that it was eventually imported to the U.S. and into the hands of David Seabrook of DJS Motorsports in Del Ray Beach, Florida. It was then registered to a George Merjos of Virginia Beach, Virginia, circa 1995, with an odometer reading of 68,000 kilometers. In 2000 it was acquired by California Porsche Restoration in Fallbrook, California, and there enjoyed a comprehensive bare-metal restoration to original specification, with detailed invoices exceeding $140,000. It is finished in its factory color scheme of Grand Prix White with a full black leather interior, including Sport seats. The engine has been fitted with oil-fed chain tensioners for added reliability.

This is a gorgeous example of a first-year Turbo, restored at great expense. It would be an excellent example to drive and enjoy or to show with great pride.