Air-cooled 911s and 356s stopped being cheap about a decade ago, the 2.7 RS and any winning Porsche race car with the number nine at the beginning of its model designation are pure unobtainium, and yet we’re hopeful we’ll ride the next wave, maybe on a 914 or (likelier) a Boxster Spyder. Obvious fact: Most Porsches that aren’t SUVs or hatchback sedans have bright resale values ahead of them, and Stuttgart finally has awakened to the potential of making serious money on these classic rides. Witness the first Porsche Classic Center, which opened in the Netherlands.
Like Mercedes-Benz has done with its Classic Center in Irvine, California, Porsche wants to make the sort of lucre pulled in by the most esteemed independent Euro shops, and cash in on the servicing, parts, and repairs purchased by its most fervid owners. Porsche wants to transform 100 dealerships into “Classic Partners,” which will serve the full catalog of 52,000 original parts and take loving care of its air-cooled beauties, such as with specially formulated oil in Porsche-branded tins. These dealers will employ separate Classic floorspace with trained staff, paint bays, unique repair tools, and routine maintenance?all of which, Porsche promises, will go beyond what an ordinary dealer can do with these cars. More than 70 percent of all Porsche models ever built are still on the road, and beyond the profit potential, Stuttgart wants to take a more direct role in keeping them ru...