This gorgeous long-wheelbase 912 was delivered new from Stuttgart to its first owner, Boris Georgeff of Portland, Oregon, on 7 October 1968. After writing to several German Porsche dealers for price quotes, Mr. Georgeff decided to buy the car through Porsche’s Tourist Delivery program and placed an $800 deposit with Riviera Motors in Portland on 17 September. He signed the confirming paperwork and paid the balance due on 23 September. Georgeff specified the car be finished in Tangerine (6809) over Black leatherette upholstery. He also ordered the optional five-speed manual transmission; a tinted windshield, rear window, and side glass; a Blaupunkt “Hamburg” AM push-button radio with antenna and speaker; a pair of under-bumper fog lamps; bumpers with rubber inserts; a set of chromed steel wheels with Semperit 165/15 tires, and from the Porsche accessory catalogue, a Karo rain-gutter-mounted ski rack with leather straps along with a set of Sport Leidemann wood skis and poles. Georgeff arranged to have his new car shipped home from Bremen aboard the SS Norbrott, where it arrived 25 November. All told, the retail price was $4,979.07.

Georgeff drove the car sparingly and around 1976 sent it to its second owner, Mr. Jon Harrison of Roseburg, Oregon. Again, the owner gave the car minimal use, finally parking it for about five years before it was acquired by the most recent owner, John Dixon of Dayton, Ohio, on 22 May 2003, where it joined his Taj Ma Garaj Collection. Under Dixon’s care, this 912 has been lovingly preserved and maintained to an exceptional standard.

The four-cylinder 912 probably helped the company avoid failure in the mid-1960s, when the new but much more costly 911 met a chilly reception in the United States, Porsche’s most critical market. Given that the 912’s introductory base price of $5,235 was much closer to that of the outgoing 356 SC, it is no wonder that “Twelves” vastly outsold the 911 from the outset. It wasn’t exactly a “poor man’s 911,” but it offered a larger, more modern and comfortable upgrade from the 356 with the well-proven and only slightly detuned version of the SC’s 1,582 cc overhead-valve four. The 912 was no laggard, either; its performance was not much less than that of the early 911. It also offered relaxed cruising at high speeds, all the while delivering as much as 450 miles from its 16.4-gallon fuel tank. Porsche sold about 32,000 912s from 1965 to 1969, most coming from Reutter. The Karmann factory produced just 2,482 units. The 912 was revived briefly in 1976 as the one-year-only, fuel-injected 912 E, again to provide a lower-cost entry point to marque ownership.

A careful examination of this 912 coupe shows how meticulously it has been kept by its three owners over its half century of life. Indeed, testing with a paint meter shows the exterior finish to be clean and smooth, consistent with the factory’s original application. Only one very small area of paint on the engine lid above the multi-ribbed aluminum grille was found to be slightly heavier than normal, but within an acceptable range. The floor pans with factory undercoating, undercarriage, and engine bay are in equally impressive and original condition. The interior shows just a slight amount of wear consistent with the car’s age and limited mileage. The carpeted front trunk retains its original chrome wheel and spare tire, jack, and a pristine set of tools. Door and window seals, rubber trim, and badging are in excellent original condition. This 912 is in all respects an exceptionally original and unrestored example. One has only to hear the click when opening a door or the wonderful vault-like thud when the doors shut to illustrate the point.

Showing just 12,899 miles at the time of cataloguing, this three-owner 912 wears its original-issue blue-and-yellow Oregon license plate and is supplied with an extensive file of documents containing Car Shipment Program paperwork, Mr. Georgeff’s original Tourist Delivery catalogue and price list, order receipts and factory confirmation, original import and MSO forms, freight documentation, Bill of Lading—all items that are rarely preserved—insurance from new, a factory color chart, written correspondence between the factory and Mr. Georgeff, and an array of service and ownership documents through 1976.

For the connoisseur of the 912 Porsche family, this gem presents an opportunity not to be missed. It would make a great addition to any collection of fine sports cars and would most certainly be a serious contender for preservation-class honors at Porsche club events.