The first and oldest known US delivered 911 (1965)

[preS]

Dave Merz's thread re. "How many '65's were built"

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...5-s-were-built

has lead to two questions:

1.a. what was the first US completed (not tourist program or grey import) 911?
1.b. what was the first US delivered (not tourist program or grey import) 911?

2.a. What is the oldest in existence US completed 911?
2.b. What is the oldest in existence US delivered 911?

I had to split the question in an a. and b. because for instance 300824 (on the site of Carparc USA) was completed on April 2 1965 but delivered (sold) July 11th of 1966. Most likely this has been a company (demo?) car for PC Burlingame for over a year and sold when the new MY 67 was about to hit the showroom floor.

Please reply w/ your VIN if you car was first sold through a US dealer.

Richard

[beh911]

For those interested, some earlier discussion of this topic, which lead to the above kardex posting:
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...-911-in-the-US

[preS]

For those interested, some earlier discussion of this topic, which lead to the above kardex posting:
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...-911-in-the-US

Thanks for posting. This is indeed the thread that ignited my quest.

Richard

[Soterik]

Richard,

Tourist ordered cars, could very well be USA model cars.

Eric

[preS]

Richard,

Tourist ordered cars, could very well be USA model cars.

Eric

Eric

I had not thought about that. Nevertheless would I stick to my 'question', sold / delivered in / through an US dealer. Just the first guy who went to the dealer and signed the order for a new 911 or dealer that ordered it for the showroom floor. What was the first 911 in the US.

BTW how did the tourist delivery work? You went to the local dealer to order a car to be delivered by an European dealer?

Thanks for your input.

Richard

[hesaputz]

Yes - or the factory. My '67 was sold through the dealer here, picked up in Europe, and shipped back here to the dealer 3 months later.

[911T1971]

BTW how did the tourist delivery work? You went to the local dealer to order a car to be delivered by an European dealer?

Yes, but no European dealer was directly involved in the sale. The factory would directly deliver your car, payed in advance in the US. You would order at your US Dealer the car you wanted and specified him the delivery place in Europe (factory or -at optional cost- at ANY other part of Western Europe, including dealers.
You then book a ticket, fly or sail over, pick up the car and drive on Tourist plates while visiting Europe.
Specify the pick up place after the trip and they shipped your car over the pond, you pay duty and use it on US soil, with a US specs car, of course.

This program existed already for 356's and was in use also for 911's.
On Tourist delivery program (PTD), the car's sales price was cheaper than bought directly on US soil. Savings to spend on a trip in Europe... (in the mid-sixties, the $ exchange was 4-time worth of DM, hard currency).

1965:

[Frank Barrett]

Porsche of America, in Teaneck, New Jersey, may well have brought in the first 911 as a test, press, auto show, or demo car; this might be verified by examining period issues of PoA's newsletter, Porschestrasse.

[911T1971]

Porsche of America, in Teaneck, New Jersey.

They also printed the first promotional material for US 911's, independently of factory materiel.

By spring 1966, Porsche of America Corp. NJ was the "Main importer", the distribution was split to 8 "Distributors".
As Raj noted, by 1970 this was the newly Porsche Audi in Englewood Cliffs, NJ being the "Exclusive Importer", now with 14 "Exclusive Distributors".
For Germany, by 1970 it was the newly VW-Porsche Corps. Other RoW importers did not change much.

[Bobs 67S]

WE have a little bit of history that has come to light here:

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ghlight=300013

Car 300 013 was the show car in California in the end of October 1964. It is a white car. (Note this was the week before the model name change to 911 November 10).

300 032 was a first 911 on the west coast, boot legged into the country by Leo Rapp, because a car was unavailable thru normal channels, and Leo really wanted a demo car for his dealership. It was air freighted to CA. (White car #37 below - raced for the last two decades by Dean Watts).

This blue car (a 232 car but as yet unknown serial number) was shown in Milwaukee in December/January 1965:
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...d-january-1965

The Black car 300 128, that eventually became the Daytona class winning -first FIA winning 911, was imported in early spring 1965 to be the Demo out of Brumos in Florida, but it was not sold from the dealership until it was driven 30K miles.

These four cars were in the country but not sold to a "owner" for some time after they arrived.

The leading contender for first car sold to a customer is car 300 064. Sold to Whit Tharin (RIP) in spring 1965. His story is in a 1984 or 1985 Panorama. He had great stories to tell.