Tag: 911

1980 Porsche 911 SC coupe

“The Classic Sports Car Evolves”

For 1980, the SC version of Porsche’s long-running 911 continued with the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel-injected 172 bhp 3.0 liter/183 ci flat six. With the standard five-speed manual transmission, Car and Driver reached 60 mph in 6.0 seconds, with a top speed of 130 mph in the 2,700-pound 911 SC (the 2025 911 Carrera weighs approximately 3,350 pounds). Fuel mileage was 16 city/28 highway by the day’s standards with premium gas. With a 21.2-gallon gas tank, a 911 SC’s proud new owner could expect a 340 to 375 mile range with a 10% fuel reserve.

The 911 was certainly not an entry-level Porsche: in 1980, that was left to the 924 (starting at $15,970). The 911 SC’s $27,700 base price is about $119,300 in 2025 dollars and within 10% of what a 2025 911 Carrera coupe costs. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included a front spoiler, tinted glass, a front oil cooler, rack and pinion steering, and four-wheel vented disc brakes. Inside, reclining front bucket seats, a center console, fold-down rear seats, power windows, an air conditioner, a quartz clock, a driver’s side mirror with electric defrost, and an electric rear window defogger were all standard.

Weissach Special Edition & Individual Options

1980 Porsche 911 SC Weissach Edition print advertisement
1980 Porsche 911 SC Weissach Edition print advertisement

For 1980, American customers were offered a Special Edition 911 SC Weissach for a substantial $32,000 ($137,900 now or about what a 2025 911 Carrera T coupe costs). Porsche built 468 units, with included a flexible lip on the front spoiler, the original 911 Turbo Carerra’s wing on the decklid, Bilstein shocks, Fuchs wheels with Platinum Metallic painted centers, Pirelli CN30 radial tires, and Doric Gray leather front bucket seats with burgundy piping. Half were built in Black Metallic and half in Platinum Metallic.

Individual options for the 911 SC included metallic paint ($625), front rectangular fog lights, an electric sliding sunroof ($850), sport shock absorbers, Pirelli tires, and forged alloy wheels ($1,510). Inside, you could add genuine leather front bucket seats ($895), cruise control, a Porsche CR stereo, and an electric antenna with four speakers.

Period Reviews & Production Numbers

It’s hard to believe at this point, but in 1980 it was thought the 911 was on its way out, and car magazines considered this when they reviewed it. Car and Driver‘s tagline for their appreciative review was The Golden Oldie Hangs in There. Road & Track‘s equivalent was The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Porsche sold 4,242 911 SC coupes in the United States in the 1980 model year.

The View From 2025

911 SCs from the 1980s have held their values very well. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1980 Porsche 911 SC coupe in #1/Concours condition is $128,000, with a more normal #3/Good condition car going for $59,000. A targa version can sell for up to $123,000, while a Weissach Edition tops out at $133,000.

Porsche 911 SCs have (of course) excellent club support from many sources and are often available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer. As I updated this blog entry in October 2025, a Zinc Metallic 1982 coupe with a tan interior and 142,000 miles is for sale on Hemmings, asking $60,000.

Make mine Oak Green Metallic, please.

Other eighties Porsches I have written about include the 1980 924 hatchback coupe, the 1982 924 Turbo hatchback coupe, the 1982 928 hatchback coupe, the 1985 911 Carrera Cabriolet, the 1986 911 Turbo coupe, the 1986 944 Turbo hatchback coupe, the 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera coupe, and the 1988 944 hatchback coupe.

Last updated October 2025.

1986 Porsche 911 Turbo coupe

“There is nothing else like it. Nothing.”

After a six-year pause, Porsche brought the 911 Turbo back to the United States market in 1986. The difference compared to other 911s was, of course, the engine, a Bosch fuel-injected 282 bhp 3.3 liter/201 ci flat six with a turbocharger.

With the standard four-speed manual transmission (the Porsche five-speed could not reliably handle the Turbo‘s power), you could expect to hit 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, with a top speed of 157 mph in the 3,000-pound Turbo (the 2025 911 Turbo coupe is about 3,700 pounds). Fuel mileage was an unimpressive 16 city/22 highway by the day’s standards (15/20 by today’s measures) with premium gas, which meant you were paying a $500 gas guzzler tax. A 22.5-gallon gas tank meant a range of 355 to 380 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.

1986 Porsche 930 Turbo print advertisement
1986 Porsche 930 Turbo print advertisement

The 911 Turbo‘s base price was $53,475—about $157,000 in 2025 dollars. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included tinted glass all around, a front and rear spoiler, heatable and electrically adjustable outside mirrors, heatable windshield washer nozzles, integrated fog lights, four-wheel vented disc brakes (but no ABS), and an engine oil cooler. Tires were 225/50VR-16 in the front and 245/45VR-16 for the rear, both mounted to 16-inch forged alloy wheels (both tire sizes are still readily available). Inside, a leather interior, a 4-spoke leather-covered steering wheel, an air conditioner, a central locking system, power windows, and Blaupunkt’s Monterey AM/FM stereo cassette with four speakers were all standard.

Production & Period Reviews

Porsche sold 1,424 Turbos in the United States during the 1986 model year, with many of the eager buyers happy to avoid the vicissitudes of gray market imports.

Like many turbocharged Porsches in the 1980s, the 911 Turbo was somewhat of a poster child for turbo lag. The immortal quote from Car and Driver:

“A cheerleader in a clapped-out Mustang II will have no trouble beating you across an intersection while checking her makeup. As a matter of fact, one did exactly that to us.”

All the buff books agreed that the wider rear wheels and tires substantially improved the handling over 1970s Turbos. However, there was a feeling that the mid-eighties Turbo was not as differentiating as the seventies version had been, perhaps because many other performance cars (including others from Porsche) had closed the gap by 1986.

The View From 2025

After all that has been written about them, I don’t feel I have anything startlingly new to say about the 911 Turbo—perhaps the reason it has taken me so long to generate a blog post about it.

Porsche 911 Turbos have (of course) excellent club support from many sources and are often available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer. 911 Turbos from the 1980s have held their values very well. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo coupe in #1/Concours condition is $275,000, with a more normal #3/Good condition car going for $175,000. As I write this blog entry in April 2025, there’s a Black 1986 911 Turbo with black leather seats and 16,000 miles for sale on Hemmings, asking $182,500.

Make mine Silver Metallic, please.

Other eighties Porsches I have written about include the 1980 924 hatchback coupe, the 1982 924 Turbo hatchback coupe, the 1982 928 hatchback coupe, the 1985 911 Carrera Cabriolet, the 1986 944 Turbo hatchback coupe, the 1987 911 Carrera coupe, and the 1988 944 hatchback coupe.

1987 Porsche 911 Carrera coupe

“The Classic Porsche”

For 1987, the Carrera version of Porsche’s evergreen 911 continued with the Bosch fuel-injected 3.2 liter/193 ci flat six in use since 1984, but with a new fuel mapping that increased horsepower slightly to 214 bhp. With the standard Getrag G50 five-speed manual transmission (also new for 1987), you could expect to hit 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, with a top speed of 149 mph in the 2,750-pound Carrera (the 2025 911 Carrera is about 3,350 pounds). Fuel mileage was 18 city/25 highway by the day’s standards (16/23 by today’s measures) with premium gas.

The 911 was certainly not an entry-level Porsche: in 1987 that was left to the 924S (starting at $19,900) and the 944 ($25,500). For your 911’s $40,425 base price—about $116,900 in 2025 dollars and almost exactly what a 2025 911 Carrera costs—you got four-wheel vented disc brakes (but no ABS) and an engine oil cooler. The exterior included forged alloy wheels, heated power mirrors, heated windshield washer nozzles, fog lights, and tinted glass. Inside, power windows, air conditioning, fold-down rear seats, and Blaupunkt’s AM/FM stereo cassette (either Charleston or Portland) with four speakers were all standard.

By 1987, Porsche had figured out that the real money was in the options—a behavior that continues to this day. They included the Turbo-Look 911 Turbo body components ($12,593!), limited slip differential ($741), sport shock absorbers ($247), and front and rear spoilers ($1,604). Inside, you could add cruise control ($365), power door locks ($334), heated seats ($164 each), an alarm system ($240), and Blaupunkt’s upmarket Reno AM/FM stereo cassette ($133).

Things hadn’t gotten that comfortable, though—that would wait for the 1990s. There was as yet no automatic transmission option, and many (including Car and Driver) mentioned that the ergonomics still showed their 1960s origins when compared to the 928 or 944.

The View From 2025

911 Carreras from the 1980s have held their values very well—especially the coupes. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1987 Porsche  911 3.2 Carrera coupe in #1/Concours condition is $142,000, with a more normal #3/Good condition car going for $75,000. A cabriolet can fetch up to $100,000 while a targa can get up to $133,000.

Porsche 911 3.2 Carreras have (of course) excellent club support from many sources and are often available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer. As I update this blog entry in April 2025, a Grand Prix White 1987 coupe with a black interior is for sale on Hemmings, asking $84,500.

Make mine Silver Metallic, please.

Other eighties Porsches I have written about include the 1980 924 hatchback coupe, the 1982 924 Turbo hatchback coupe, the 1982 928 hatchback coupe, the 1985 911 Carrera Cabriolet, the 1986 944 Turbo hatchback coupe, and the 1988 944 hatchback coupe.

Last updated June 2025.