**Regretfully Withdrawn** 1998 Porsche 911 993 Turbo 'The Last Waltz'

Take your Partner for the Last Waltz.

A very, very special Porsche

1998 was to prove a significant year for Porsche AG and the 911 in particular. Manufacture of the Tony Hatter penned, 993 was scheduled to come to an end in March, and the production lines for the new, water-cooled 996 had just begun to roll. The 993 had proved immensely popular with just over 68,000 of them finding homes and the fact that it was destined to be the last air cooled 911 didn't seem to register until later in the year when the world's motoring press started to pan the 996, not because it was a bad car, but because it looked a bit different, and it wasn't air cooled, and it handled so well anyone could drive it, and it didn't make the right noise and well, you know, it just wasn't a 911. The 996, as we now know, went on to become the most popular Porsche to date, but 1998 will be remembered by the Marketing and Image Department as a very difficult year. In addition, the 10th of June that year marked the company's official 50th Birthday and preparations were taking place all over the world to celebrate this forthcoming event.

These preparations were tinged with some sadness, however, when with just 74 days until the anniversary, Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche (Ferry) passed away on March the 27th. He had taken the reins at Porsche when his father died in 1951 and had been Chairman until his retirement in 1989, but was still regarded as a 'Father Figure' by many at Porsche.

At some point in the Spring of 1998, the decision was made to take (we believe) twenty 993s and create something really, really special. These cars were removed from the production line and hand-built as part of the 'Exclusive Programme'.

They were 993, 4-wheel drive, Turbos with the 450ps M64/60 engines and a 6-speed gearbox. Apparently, all the cars were painted Iris Blue with colour-coded road wheels and brake callipers, and the interior is in a matching blue as are the instrument dials and air vents. The cars were fitted with an Electronic Cut-off in the boot normally only available on RS, GT2 and Speedster models and, we understand, differed from existing models in a number of ways. By the time of the sale, we hope to be able to clarify the exact specification of this unusual car.

Importantly, they all displayed an aluminium Plaque on the dashboard which reads;

In memorial Prof Ferry Porsche."Wahr sind nur die Erinnerungen, die wir mit uns tragen: die Traume, die wir spinnen, und die Sehnsuchte, die uns treiben.Damit wollen wir uns bescheiden."

These plaques are obviously in memory of Ferry Porsche who had recently passed away. The wording appears to be a quote from a German 1940's movie called "Die Feuerzangenbowle" and the wording translates as "Real are only those memories we carry with us; the dreams we spin and the longing that drives us. Let us be content"

We believe the fabulous Porsche we are selling today, is one of those 20. Despite having searched long and hard we cannot find another that has come to market. This left-hand drive, 993 has recently arrived from Japan and has an odometer reading of 10,600kms with service records to verify.

It's fully colour coded in Iris Blue as described above. Decals on the window glass state "50 Jahre Porsche" in reference to the June the 10th, fiftieth anniversary and further graphics read (in English) "The Last Waltz - 993 Turbo" in a sweeping design that also shows the Porsche badge, a couple in evening dress and the figure"98".The sill plates are in brushed aluminium and say "THE LAST WALTZ" in English.

We believe this to be a very, very rare Porsche and a bit of a 'Holy Grail' amongst 911s. Marque specialists Autofarm have confirmed that they are happy to go through the car and find out as much as they can about its history. Priced to sell, you may never find another one.