Amazing barn find and a journey of discovery

[alfacat]

I fly out to Barcelona tonight (work, little chance of accessing the net) and will miss the next 10 days of up dates.
So any chance of a sneaky preview of the next few posts
Great story guys can't wait for the next instalment, but I guess I'll have to.

All the best
Ian F.

[210bhp]

I love Barcelona. Have a great trip.

[Bootsy]

I love Barcelona. Have a great trip.

[defianty]

I wish I hadn't clicked on this post whilst at work!

Awesome find guys, can't wait for the next instalment!

[earlybay]

..theres now lots of us refreshing every 10 minutes !!

Like your signature update too ...!

[alfacat]

I love Barcelona. Have a great trip.

Thanks, I shall

[Bruce M]

Versuch and such later tonight,

subtle
I had another theory but it looks less likely now (gift for Vic Elford or a.n.other).
Also tried to hunt down some period images from the Earls Court Motor show but nothing useful either way.

[210bhp]

On further inspection the build number was also the number on the paint code tag (plus the number for light ivory). So we now had the same number 320012 on the original paint code tag buried under a thick layer of paint. This indicates we had unearthed a factory prototype car.

It's long been thought the first ten chassis numbered cars in any model year were put aside for testing. Just look at the 73 RS for instance. The first car is chassis #11. The whereabouts of the first #10 RS chassis numbered cars are unknown (there are rumours) and supposedly lost to testing etc. However this wasn't always the case. It has been documented that at some point in Porsche history this practice did not occur. The year, the model, is not certain but this car would appear to help support the theory that prototypes in some years made it to the showroom floor. That was our first thought but which showroom?

There were lots of unanswered questions as well,

Why was this car RHD?
It had a mixture of 68 and 69 parts so when was it built?
Who drove the car at the factory?
How long was it used as a prototype?
How did it get into 'circulation' and who was it's first registered owner?
How did it end up up in a remote Scottish barn?

[Gary71]

Unanswered until a few days time I guess!

The chances of every new model having ten prototypes then the eleventh being the first production car are slim to non in my experience. It would all depend on the size of the change at the model year. Take your '69 MY: big update, new suspension, many large BIW components, lots of trim. Compare that to 72MY to '73 MY: put the oil system back as it was, paint some chrome trim black...

Modern car companies scrap everything even slightly prototype. Which is a shame in some cases.



P.S Did you see my pm?

[210bhp]

Those early factory prototypes were the Versuch models. Here is a list which was posted on another thread.

Body number is in the left hand door frame
Body No Year Model Chassis Number Number Produced
320-001 1967 911 S (Versuch)   1 of 9.    Whereabouts  Unknown
320-002 1967 911 S (Versuch) 2 of 9.     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-003 1967 911 S (Versuch) 3 of 9.     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-004. 1967 911 S (Versuch) 4 of 9.      Whereabouts  Unknown
320-005 1967 911 S (Versuch) 5 of 9.     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-006 1967 911 S (Versuch) 6 of 9.     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-007 1967 911 S (Versuch) 7 of 9.     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-008 1967 911 S (Versuch) 8 of 9.     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-009 1967 911 S (Versuch) 9 of 9.     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-010 1969 911 S (Versuch) 119300001 1 of 2
320-011 1969 911 S (Versuch) 119300002 1 of 2
320-012.  1969.    911E (Versuch)   119200001.     Our barn find
320-013.                                                               Whereabouts  Unknown
320-014                                                                     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-015                                                                     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-016.                                                                      Whereabouts  Unknown
320-017                                                                     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-018                                                                     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-019                                                                     Whereabouts  Unknown
320-020 1967 Coupe Viersitzer 1 of 1
911 S Targa 68 11850243

(911 S 69 #119300002 Ex Dr.F Porsche)

As you can see 320012 is one of only 5 Versuch models known to exist at present.

[JB-L]

Brilliant thread!

As a hardcore peerer over hedges/ into/behind barns threads like this give me hope, that one day, one day!

[210bhp]

Gary

I sent you an email. Thanks.

[210bhp]

Most of you will know of a certificate of authenticity like this.......


They are quite often wrong or missing information because they are copied by someone(?) from the original paperwork (always subject to human error).

More valuable is the factory build sheet which looks like this




I copied these images freely available in threads online and they do not relate to any car here. If this offends or upsets anyone I will remove. They are only shown here for illustration purposes.

[73SJM]

Great find and well written journey of discovery Mike

Look forward to the next installments and discovering more about the car and what the future holds for it.

[210bhp]

With a bit of work and translation help and one or two threads online we were able to decipher our own birth certificate for the factory prototype. Each box gives numbers and details of each item and aspect of the car up to and including it's despatch from the factory, the names and addressees of the first owners and even the work carried out by the supplying dealer (name also listed) under the first year guarantee including the cost.

Our birth certificate (build sheet) was an eye-opener.

The car was built on the 28th June 1968.

The car was completed as a LHD Versuch prototype and kept by the factory for approximately six months.