1987 Porsche 911 Supersport Cabriolet
Special order for the Dubai Royal Family, specified with extensive special equipment

Delivered new to Switzerland by special order for Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, of the Dubai Royal Family and Ruler of Dubai, on 22nd May 1987, this exceptional Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet possesses a provenance and specification quite unlike the majority of surviving examples.

The Porsche remained within the Royal Family following delivery and is understood to have spent time at the family's villa on Lake Como, Italy, before being shipped to Dubai in February 1988.

Importantly, the accompanying documentation includes a Porsche vehicle identification and specification report for chassis WP0ZZZ91ZGS151105. This records the car as a 1986-model 911 Carrera Cabriolet, manufactured in Stuttgart, Germany, with a 3,200cc engine and black hood. The Porsche documentation also records the interior as full leather.

The factory equipment detailed within the accompanying Porsche records includes sports seats with electrical vertical adjustment for both left and right seats, electric hood, automatic speed control, Turbo Look, anti-theft device and graduated green-tinted windscreen. This provides valuable documentary support for the car's particularly desirable original specification.

Once in Dubai, the car was registered in the UAE and subsequently entrusted to a specialist for a number of further period enhancements commissioned for its use in the Middle East.

These included an uprated air-conditioning system, together with an LE-style leather-covered dashboard incorporating additional air-conditioning controls and instrumentation within the centre console.

The car also features uprated drilled and ventilated brakes, which are believed to be Porsche 917-type racing brakes, together with BBS split-rim wheels and heavy-duty anti-roll bars over and above the Turbo specification. These fascinating period additions contribute considerably to the individuality of the car and reflect its unusual early life.

Particularly significant is the substantial history file accompanying the Porsche. This contains period correspondence and documentation relating to the car's time in Dubai, including correspondence from Al Nabooda Automobiles and Porsche Cars Great Britain.

Correspondence dated May 2000 from Al Nabooda Automobiles in Dubai confirms that its records relating to the car had been examined. Further correspondence from Porsche Cars Great Britain, dated 29th September 1999, encloses the Porsche report detailing the vehicle's original specification and supplying dealer information.

The Porsche was subsequently sold to an English gentleman who worked in Dubai and had connections with the family. Shortly before leaving Dubai for the United Kingdom in September 1997, the car underwent a service in Dubai. It subsequently received a major service at Pollard Porsche in Cambridge in April 1998.

The car remained with this gentleman and was first registered in the United Kingdom on 14th June 1998 under registration C286 KER.

The current vendor purchased the Porsche from his friend in London on 29th October 1999 and, remarkably, it has remained in his ownership ever since – approaching 27 years. Throughout this exceptionally long period of ownership, the car has predominantly been dry-stored in a heated garage.

The accompanying history file is particularly comprehensive, containing correspondence, invoices and dated documentation charting various stages of the Porsche's life in Europe, Dubai and subsequently the United Kingdom.

Six historic MOT certificates are included within the file, with the most recent MOT having been carried out in November 2003 at a recorded 44,251 kilometres.

Since then, the Porsche has largely been kept on display at the current owner's property rather than being regularly used on the road. The vendor informs us that the car turns over and runs; however, given the considerable period it has spent off the road, a thorough mechanical inspection, service and recommissioning are recommended before returning it to regular use.

Visually, the combination of black bodywork, factory Turbo Look wide arches and substantial rear spoiler gives the car tremendous presence, further complemented by its period BBS split-rim wheels. Together with the Cabriolet body style and its unusual documented specification, it represents a particularly distinctive interpretation of the classic 1980s air-cooled 911.

What ultimately sets this Porsche apart, however, is its story. A special-order 911 supplied for the Ruler of Dubai, documented factory Turbo Look specification, further period enhancements commissioned during its life in Dubai, substantial supporting documentation and almost 27 years in the ownership of its current custodian combine to make this a genuinely fascinating example.

Summary

• Special ordered for Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the Dubai Royal Family and Ruler of Dubai
• Desirable factory Turbo Look Cabriolet with extensive special equipment
• Porsche documentation records sports seats with electrical adjustment, electric hood, automatic speed control, anti-theft device, full leather interior and graduated green-tinted windscreen
• Further period upgrades commissioned during the car's time in Dubai
• Substantial history file including correspondence from Porsche Cars Great Britain and Al Nabooda Automobiles
• Current vendor has owned the Porsche since October 1999 – approaching 27 years
• Predominantly dry-stored in a heated garage during its long-term current ownership
• A highly individual air-cooled 911 combining Royal provenance, unusual specification and exceptional long-term ownership