S$813,188 before COE, 992 units worldwide, and set to arrive in Singapore before Christmas 2020

Update: 7 July 2020. The Director of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur tells us about the background behind the Heritage Edition cars.

SINGAPORE

Fancy a throwback to the halcyon motoring days of the 1950s and 1960s?

The German sports car maker has just launched the 911 Targa 4s Heritage Design Edition, a bespoke version of the Porsche 911 Targa 4S kitted with classic design elements reimagined for a modern sports car.

Limited to just 992 units worldwide (the same number as the model’s series code), the car was designed by Porsche’s own in-house department for special and personalised cars, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, and will be delivered to customers in the third quarter of 2020.

The asking price to own one in Singapore is a cool S$813,188 without COE, and if you’re keen you can get online to Porsche SIngapore now to place your order for one.  A standard 911 Targa 4S costs S$649,788 without COE. So, what are you getting for that additional S$163,400?

For starters there’s the exclusive Cherry Metallic paintwork. If that’s not your type of colour, you can get the car in other usual 911 colours too. The bodywork is topped with exclusive white livery including the pointy lines on the front wings, which Porsche calls its ‘spear-shaped graphic motorsports elements’, that recall the liveries on early Porsche racing cars. 

The badges on the car are also unique, though it’s likely that only true car nuts or Porsche enthusiasts will notice the difference. The crests on the bonnet, steering wheel, wheel centres and vehicle key feature a version of the Porsche logo that comes from 1963, and the same logo is also embossed on the seat head restraints. 

The standard 20/21-inch Carrera Exclusive Design wheels and black brake calipers round off the vintage vibes of the exterior styling. 

Inside the cabin, you’ll find an exclusive two-tone leather interior that combines Bordeaux Red leather with OLEA club leather in Atacama Beige or Black leather with OLEA club leather in Atacama Beige. 

Is a 911 really practical to drive in Singapore daily? Read our review and watch our video to find out!

The seats and door trims feature large swathes of corduroy, a material that was highly popular in sports cars of the 1950s, including in the original Porsche 356. While the dashboard and instrument cluster are entirely modern, they have been given a vintage style makeover with a green-illuminated rev counter and stopwatch. A metal badge on the dashboard highlights the individual limited edition number.

Mechanically, the car is identical to the new 992 generation 911 Targa 4S. Powered by a 450hp, twin-turbo 3.0-litre flat-six engine, power is sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed, twin-clutch auto transmission. 

READ MORE: The lowdown on the all-new Porsche 911 Targa

Porsche reveals that this is the first of four Heritage Edition models that it plans to release over the next few years. All the cars will be developed by the Style Porsche design department and Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, reinterpreting iconic 911 models and interiors of the 1950s through to the 1980s in a modern package. Some of the accessories fitted to the Heritage Edition cars will eventually be made available as options for the rest of the Porsche lineup.

The Porsche 911 Heritage Watch 

Owners of the car get access to another exclusive accessory too: the 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition Chronograph from Porsche Design. The timepiece is available to you only if you place your reservation for one at the time of booking the car, and is also limited to 992 units worldwide. 

The mechanical watch is powered by an in-house developed Calibre WERK 01.100, based on the Valjoux 7750 architecture and modified to Porsche Design’s requirements. The watch clearly features design details inspired by the Porsche 356 and Porsche 911 Targa.

For example, the white second hand and Phosphorus Green rings are obviously inspired by the cars’ speedometer and rev counter while the hours on the watch face are inscribed in a font used for Porsche car nameplates. The watch comes with two interchangeable straps, made of Porsche interior leather.

Porsche Singapore has declined to reveal the price of the watch in Singapore, but does confirm that only buyers of the 911 Heritage Edition are able to order one. We checked that over in Germany, the watch will cost an additional EUR 10,950 on top of the car’s retail price.

What is the story behind the Porsche Heritage Design Edition cars? Boris Apenbrink, Director of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur at Porsche AG tells us in this exclusive interview.

CarBuyer: What is the background behind this limited edition program?

Boris Apenbrink: It goes back to about five years ago, and we were inspired by, believe it or not, reissues of vintage sneakers and iconic shoe designs by sports brands like adidas and Nike. These were emotionally driven items that showed that even in the digital age, there are vintage designs that are still valued by people.

We decided to come up with the Heritage Design Edition Porsche to pay homage to the brand’s rich history in a modern setting, and as it was going to be a limited edition project, the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur department was tasked to take the lead.

CarBuyer: How does Porsche decide on the features that will go into a Heritage Design Edition car?

Boris Apenbrink: We fanned out and discussed with Porsche enthusiast club, our own staff of which many actually own vintage Porsches, the Porsche museum, and also took note of customer preferences when they order their own customised Porsche with Exclusive Manufaktur.

There is a lot of attachment to nostalgic materials like the fabrics used on the seats from a certain vintage, and people tell us about their dream cars from their childhood, or their parents’ Porsche from the 1960s. There was a lot to condense into a single vehicle, and we decided to do it by a theme based on the iconic decades of Porsche’s design history.

We decided early on that to maintain the level of exclusivity, Heritage Design Edition models will be strictly limited, and be built around the 911 body shape. The first one is a 911 targa, and after that we will go on to the different body styles like the cabriolet and coupe.

It’s a long research and design process though, and the next Heritage Design Edition Porsche is probably three years away at the soonest.

CarBuyer: How does Porsche decide on how to allocate the stock to each individual market?

Boris Apenbrink: This is one of the big decisions that the Porsche board decides on, and as you can expect, America and Europe has a big classic Porsche fanbase and car collecting culture so these two market segments usually get quite a big part of the allocation. You might be interested to know that demand for these vintage-inspired Porsches in China is low, because the country still prefers new tech and large cars like the Panamera and Cayenne.

Singapore is one of the more important markets in Asia because despite being a small country the Porsche Club here helps maintain a very strong scene. So Singapore is typically allocated more cars than is expected for a small territory.

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