Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet - The mystery of the red convertible

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet - The mystery of the red convertible

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Created on March 29, 2024

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

30

Porsche AG

7

Bruno von Rotz

2

Archiv Porsche AG

2

Wolfgang Blaube

1

Archiv

5

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - this SC was built around one month before the presentation in Geneva

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - classic 911 Cabriolet

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - ready to hit the road

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - crisp rear end

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the license plate S-ET-9100 was only mounted for the photos

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the early factory cars did not have a large front spoiler

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - without rear spoiler, like all original Cabriolets

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - certainly one of the oldest 911 Cabriolets ever

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - was this convertible at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show?

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - as you know it

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - it also ran over 230 km/h as a convertible

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.8 s according to the factory

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - on the road in a very early 911 Cabriolet

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - when the sports cars from Zuffenhausen were still narrow

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - when it was still possible without a wind deflector

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the 911 is simply even more fun open-top

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - Confronting the environment

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - on the road in Germany

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - was this car planned as a convertible from the outset?

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the turbo "widenings" are also likely to have been added later

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - View of the interior

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - classic Porsche cockpit

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - were the white elements in the dashboard retrofitted?

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - just under 162,000 km in just over 40 years of ownership

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the color scheme of the dashboard of the 1982 Geneva Motor Show car was exactly the opposite

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - two buttons for the electric windows on the right were actually only available on right-hand drive cars

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - unusual - two power windows on the passenger side

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - as with the saloon car, the tarpaulin doesn't quite fit

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the type lettering on the saloon car was matt black

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the three-liter boxer in the rear

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Porsche 901 Cabriolet prototype (1964) - exactly identical to the 901 up to the rear door edges

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Porsche 911 Turbo 4x4 Cabriolet (1981) - Porsche wanted to test public interest with this study - IAA 1981

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Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet study (1981) - shown at the IAA as the forerunner of the 911 SC Cabriolet

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show - Porsche offers a full convertible again for the first time after a 17-year hiatus

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabrio (1982) - the open-top 911 was the centerpiece of the Porsche stand

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the folding top could not be fully lowered

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - Presentation at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show, this time with black tarpaulin

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabrio (1982) - at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show - elegance is combined with the temperament of an extremely powerful 2+2-seater

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - the second convertible on the Porsche stand at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show was white

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1983) - for the first time since the 356 there was a fully open sports car from Porsche again

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Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet (1983) - in use as a test car

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Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet (1983) - an attractive sight even with the hood closed

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - year of assembly 1983, with other 911 models in front of Monrepos Palace in Ludwigsburg

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - Pre-series convertible from the testing department

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - Pre-production convertible

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - Pre-production convertible

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Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet (1982) - Pre-series convertible

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Summary

In March 1982, the Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet was shown to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show. The center of interest was a red example. Did it survive? At first it looked like it had, the photos were in the can. However, in the style of the not particularly successful Edgar Wallace film from 1961 entitled "The Mystery of the Red Orchid", the search for clues then turned into a real detective job ... This vehicle report follows the research work and shows the early Cabriolets in historical and modern images.

This article contains the following chapters

First Frankfurt, then Geneva
Sophisticated design
Two Cabriolets in Geneva, more elsewhere
The red Cabriolet 140991
Questions upon questions

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Premiere vehicles are always interesting. A car that took center stage at its world premiere at the IAA Frankfurt or the Geneva Motor Show deserves increased attention even decades later. We were therefore delighted when an Zwischengas reader got in touch and told us that he would like to show us the Porsche 911 SC 3.0 Cabriolet, which was presented to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1982. And because we were there ourselves at the time, we also had original photographs of the car. So a well-rounded story? Certainly at first glance, but it soon became apparent that things are not always as they seem ...

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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