Overview of the Porsche 911 Turbo 930
This is a 1989 Porsche 911 Turbo, chassis code 930, offered from USS Tokyo as lot 65021. Finished in grey and fitted with the five speed manual gearbox that defines the classic 930 experience, this left hand drive coupe shows an odometer reading of 58,071 km, which converts to approximately 36,085 miles. It carries an overall auction grade of 4 with an interior grade of C, and the auction sheet describes a car that was bought directly from a private owner, with Recaro front seats and inspection record book entries running from 2011 through to 2025. This is a genuine, honestly documented example of one of the most sought after air cooled Porsches, and the auction sheet gives a clear and useful picture of where it stands today.
The Porsche 911 Turbo of this era, commonly known by its internal code 930, is one of the defining performance cars of the 1980s. Recognisable instantly by its whale tail rear spoiler and flared wheel arches, this generation carried the reputation of being a demanding, rewarding and occasionally unforgiving machine, one that rewrote what a rear engined turbocharged sports car could do and cemented Porsche's reputation for building cars with real mechanical character. A 3.3 litre example such as this one, built in September 1989 towards the end of the model's production run, represents the final and most developed iteration of the original 930 formula before Porsche moved to the water cooled 964 generation Turbo.
The Drive Review
The 930 Turbo is not a car that flatters an inexperienced driver, and that is precisely why it has such a devoted following. The 3.3 litre single turbo flat six sits behind the rear axle, and power delivery is famously non linear. Below around 3,000rpm the engine feels relatively docile, almost ordinary by modern turbocharged standards, but as boost builds the car comes alive with a surge that earned the 930 its reputation as the widowmaker among enthusiasts of the era. This is turbo lag in its purest and most honest form, and learning to read the engine, anticipate the boost coming in, and manage the throttle accordingly is part of what makes the 930 such a rewarding car to master.
The five speed manual gearbox in this example, listed on the sheet as F5, uses a widely spaced shift pattern typical of the period, with a dogleg first gear on many 930s of this specification. It rewards a deliberate, mechanical shifting style rather than a rushed one. The unassisted steering, a hallmark of air cooled 911s of this generation, delivers huge amounts of feedback from the front tyres, and combined with the rearward weight bias of the flat six engine, the chassis genuinely repays a driver who understands where the weight is and how to manage it through a corner. Lift off mid corner in a 930 and the rear will tell you about it. This is not a car engineered around driver aids or forgiveness, it is a car engineered around involvement, and that analogue, unfiltered character is exactly what continues to draw enthusiasts to it decades after it left showrooms.
Ride quality is firm but not punishing, and the flat six soundtrack, deep and mechanical rather than shrill, is part of the appeal. Cabin ergonomics are simple by modern standards, dominated by the five dial instrument cluster and the compact, upright driving position that air cooled 911 owners know well. This is a car that demands respect and rewards commitment, and it remains one of the purest expressions of what a turbocharged performance car felt like before electronic stability systems and drive by wire throttles arrived to smooth everything out.
Auction Details
This Porsche 911 Turbo 930 was offered through USS Tokyo, one of Japan's largest and most established auction houses, under lot number 65021. The Japanese auction date is scheduled for 1 October 2026. All bids must be submitted before 9PM UK time the evening before auction. The auction start price is set at ¥13,000,000. Autoselecta's own guide bidding range for this car is £43,250 to £80,500. This figure is an estimated bidding range based on the specification, condition and current market for cars of this type, it is not a guaranteed purchase price, and there is no assurance that the car will sell within this range on the day. For the current minimum bid and an up to date landed cost estimate, please refer to the price panel on this page, as these figures are calculated live and change after publication.
Vehicle Specifications
Manufacturer Porsche. Model 911. Grade 911 Turbo. Chassis code 930. Year 1989, first registered September 1989 (Heisei 1). Engine capacity 3,300 cc. Transmission five speed manual, floor shift, referenced on the sheet as F5. Drive layout: the auction sheet does not mark either 2WD or 4WD, however the 930 generation Turbo was built exclusively as a rear wheel drive car, and the rear engine, rear drive layout is a defining characteristic of this model. Steering left hand drive, confirmed and circled on the sheet. Exterior colour grey, though the sheet notes the original colour with a question mark and an arrow suggesting a possible colour change, this is not confirmed with certainty. Seating capacity four. Mileage 58,071 km, approximately 36,085 miles, shown on the auction sheet with the kilometre reading circled. Frame number WP0ZZZ93ZKS000612. Registration plate reference Noda 301 no 6186. Vehicle dimensions per registration length 429 cm, width 177 cm, height 131 cm. Auction house USS Tokyo. Lot number 65021. Auction grade 4. Exterior grade 4. Interior grade C. Fuel petrol, circled on the sheet. Air conditioning box is left blank on the sheet, so its presence or condition is not confirmed.
Factory Features and Equipment
The auction sheet marks this car with SR, denoting a factory or period fitted sunroof, and PS, denoting power steering. The sales points section also lists ETC, a Japanese electronic toll collection unit, which was likely fitted during the car's time on Japanese roads rather than a factory item. Recaro branded front seats, left and right, are specifically noted under the points to note section, a desirable factory option on 930 Turbos of this era. Boxes for factory alloy wheels (純AW), power windows (PW), leather trim (カワ), television (TV), navigation (ナビ) and airbag (エアB) carry no marks on the sheet, so none of these are confirmed as fitted. The car does wear a set of gold finish aftermarket wheels, clearly visible in the photographs, which the inspector separately flagged as aftermarket parts fitted, with scratches noted to the wheels themselves.
Japanese Auction Report Translation
The following is a full and complete translation of the auction sheet content for this vehicle, translated and checked by Autoselecta. The sheet identifies the car in the classic and prestige car corner as a Porsche 911, grade 911 Turbo, coupe body, chassis code 930, with 3,300 cc engine capacity. First registration is recorded as Heisei 1, September, meaning September 1989. The transmission is recorded as F5, a five speed floor shift manual. Neither 2WD nor 4WD is marked in the relevant box. Odometer reading is 58,071 km with the kilometre unit circled. Fuel is petrol, circled. Steering is left hand drive, circled. Seating capacity is listed as four persons. The shaken inspection expiry is written as year 9, 29 July, with the era not stated, most likely Reiwa 9, equivalent to 2027, though this is not certain. The new car service book box shows neither present nor absent circled, so this cannot be confirmed either way from that box, though separately the points to note section confirms inspection record books are present covering 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025. The import classification box for dealer or parallel import is also left unmarked, and a handwritten note separately asks the same question, dealer or parallel import, unresolved. The original colour is written as grey with a question mark, and an arrow is drawn towards a colour change note, suggesting the inspector was uncertain whether the car has been repainted from another colour, this point is not certain.
Under sales points, the sheet highlights that this is a car bought directly from a private user rather than through a trade channel, that it shows 58,000 km, that it has a sunroof, that it is a Turbo model, that it has the five speed floor manual gearbox, and that it is fitted with ETC. Under points to note, the sheet specifically states Recaro brand front seats, left and right, are fitted, and that inspection record books exist for the years 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025, indicating an unusually long and continuous history of Japanese inspection documentation for a car of this age.
The inspector's own written report notes the following in order. The dashboard panel is lifting. The headlining is torn and dirty. The seats show creasing and peeling. The steering wheel is scratched and scuffed. Part of the interior trim appears to have been removed and refitted at some point, with an unusually high number of screw holes noted, though this specific reading is not entirely certain. The bonnet damper is faulty. Aftermarket parts are fitted to the car and the wheels themselves are scratched. The exterior has been repainted in the same colour at some point, with waves visible in the paint finish, a sign consistent with prior bodywork or panel repair. Small scratches and what may be small dents are also noted, though the second word in this final line was not clearly legible on the sheet.
Damage Diagram and Body Condition
The damage diagram on the auction sheet marks a small crack, recorded as Y1, in the lens of both the front left and front right headlights. At the front centre of the car, near the front bumper, a note reads as paint peeling on the front urethane bumper, though the first character of this note was not entirely clear and this reading is not certain. Around the windscreen or front roof area, a mark reads as possible stone chips or light scratching, again not confirmed with full certainty due to the handwriting. On the left side of the car, at the door, a U1 mark is recorded, denoting a small dent. Combined with the inspector's written comments regarding a same colour respray with visible waves in the paintwork, and the note about aftermarket parts and scratched wheels, the overall picture is of a 930 that has lived an active life on Japanese roads and has had some repair and refinishing work carried out over the decades, rather than a completely untouched, single stage original example.
Taken together, this car sits in usable enthusiast condition rather than at the very top of the collector grade spectrum. The grade 4 exterior and grade 4 overall auction scores reflect a presentable, structurally sound car with genuine age related wear and some historical repair work, rather than a concours standard example. Buyers should view it as an honest, driver focused 930 with real mileage and real history, not a pristine time capsule, and should budget for further cosmetic attention in areas the inspector has flagged, most notably the paintwork and interior trim.
Interior Condition
The interior is graded C on the auction sheet, and the inspector's comments give useful detail on what that grade reflects. The dashboard panel shows lifting, a common age related issue on cars of this vintage where the dash covering material can separate from its substrate over time. The headlining is described as torn and dirty, visible in the supplied photograph of the roof lining, which shows wear and looseness around the sunroof surround. The seats, upgraded with Recaro branded front units, show creasing and peeling of the material, again consistent with a car that has covered genuine mileage and seen genuine use rather than storage. The steering wheel shows scratching and scuffing to its surface, and part of the interior trim shows signs of having been removed and refitted previously, with an unusually high number of screw holes noted by the inspector, though this final detail is not stated with full certainty on the sheet. The instrument cluster, visible in the photographs, shows the characteristic five dial 911 layout with the large central tachometer, and the odometer display corresponds with the mileage recorded on the auction sheet. No marks are made against factory power windows, leather trim, television, navigation or airbag equipment, so none of these should be assumed present.
Japanese Auction Grades
Japanese auction houses such as USS Tokyo use a standardised grading scale to describe overall condition at the time of inspection, and understanding this system is essential when buying sight unseen from Japan. Grade 4 places this 911 Turbo comfortably into the presentable, sound car category, typically showing some visible wear, minor repairs and honest use, without being a car needing major restoration, but also without being fully original and unmarked at every panel. Interior grade C reflects noticeable wear inside the cabin, consistent with the dashboard, headlining, seat and steering wheel comments the inspector has recorded here. These grades are independent, professionally assessed guides intended to give overseas buyers a realistic and standardised impression of condition, and they are considerably more rigorous and transparent than a typical used car description, which is one of the key reasons buyers value sourcing cars through the Japanese auction system in the first place.
Model History
The Porsche 911 Turbo, internally coded 930, was introduced in the mid 1970s as Porsche's flagship road car, built to homologate turbocharging technology developed in motorsport for series production use. Early cars used a 3.0 litre engine before Porsche enlarged capacity to 3.3 litres in 1978, adding an intercooler and increasing output significantly. The 930 continued in largely this form through to the end of the decade, receiving the five speed gearbox in 1989, the very last year of production for this generation, which is precisely the specification of the car offered here. This makes late build 930s, such as this September 1989 example, among the most desirable and mechanically developed versions of the model before Porsche transitioned to the 964 generation Turbo for the following decade. The 930's whale tail spoiler, wide rear haunches and rear engine layout made it instantly recognisable and established a visual template that Porsche has echoed across Turbo models ever since.
Why This Model Has Become Collectible
The 930 generation 911 Turbo occupies a unique place in Porsche history as the car that introduced turbocharging to the mainstream sports car market and proved that forced induction could deliver both usable performance and everyday drivability, albeit with a demanding character that owners had to learn to respect. Values for well documented, honestly presented 930s have risen steadily as collectors have recognised the model's engineering significance and its position as the last of the truly analogue, unassisted Porsche Turbos before electronic aids began appearing on later generations. Manual gearbox examples, like this five speed car, are particularly sought after by driving enthusiasts who want the full unfiltered experience rather than a later assisted derivative.
Surviving examples with continuous documented history, as this car has with inspection record books stretching from 2011 to 2025, are increasingly hard to find, particularly outside Japan, where many 930s have been modified, neglected or broken for parts over the decades. The combination of genuine ownership history, a five speed manual gearbox, factory sunroof and Recaro seating in a late build 3.3 litre car gives this example a specification that appeals strongly to collectors and enthusiast drivers alike. As a car built in 1989, it is also eligible for import into the United States under the 25 year rule, opening up demand from American buyers in addition to UK enthusiasts, which continues to support strong global interest in well sorted 930s.
What To Look For When Buying This Model
Buyers considering a 930 Turbo should pay close attention to several known weak points, several of which are directly relevant to this car based on the inspector's own comments. Dashboard cracking and lifting is extremely common on air cooled 911s of this age due to decades of sun exposure, and this car's sheet confirms exactly that issue. Headlining deterioration, as noted here with tearing and dirt, is another frequent age related problem, often tied to sunroof seal wear allowing moisture ingress over time. Seat wear, particularly creasing and peeling of leather or vinyl surfaces, should be expected on any 930 with genuine mileage, and this car's Recaro seats show exactly this kind of wear. Buyers should also be alert to bodywork history. This car's sheet notes a same colour respray with visible waves in the paint, which typically points to prior accident repair, filler work or panel replacement rather than a simple cosmetic refresh, and prospective buyers should factor this into their expectations rather than assuming a fully original, unrepaired body. The faulty bonnet damper noted here is a straightforward mechanical fix. Cracked headlight lenses, aftermarket wheels and scratches to those wheels are all cosmetic items that a new owner should budget to address if originality or concours presentation is a priority. As with any 930, mechanical inspection of the turbocharger, exhaust system, clutch and suspension bushings by a marque specialist is strongly advised after import, regardless of auction grade, given the age and performance nature of the car.
Why Import This Car From Japan
Japan remains one of the best sources in the world for well kept, low mileage, right specification classic Porsches, largely because of a domestic culture of careful ownership, garage storage and rigorous roadworthy inspection requirements that many other markets simply do not enforce to the same standard. This particular 930 carries an unusually complete run of inspection record books stretching back to 2011, a level of paperwork continuity that is genuinely difficult to find in cars that have spent their lives in the UK or the US. Buying through the Japanese auction system also gives access to an independently graded, professionally inspected condition report rather than relying solely on a seller's own description, giving overseas buyers a level of transparency that private sales rarely match.
USA Import Information
This 1989 Porsche 911 Turbo is eligible for import into the United States under the 25 year rule, having been built well over 25 years ago. Autoselecta can arrange shipment of this car from Japan directly to the United States. Buyers based in the US are encouraged to contact Autoselecta with their city or ZIP code before bidding, so that an accurate delivered quotation can be prepared in advance. Autoselecta can calculate the expected purchase cost, associated Japan side costs, ocean freight, customs related charges and any specific delivery requirements for the buyer's state, allowing for an informed decision before any bid is placed.
Ultimate Guide For Japanese Imports
Importing a classic Porsche from Japan involves several clear stages. The process begins with sourcing the right car through the Japanese auction network, followed by a careful reading of the auction sheet and available photographs to establish genuine condition, exactly as set out in this report. Once a bid is placed and successful, the car is collected from the auction house, prepared for export, and shipped by sea to the destination country. On arrival, the vehicle goes through the relevant import and registration process, which varies by market, including compliance and customs procedures in the UK, or state level registration and any federal requirements in the United States. Working with a specialist who understands both the Japanese auction system and the destination country's import rules removes much of the uncertainty from what can otherwise be a complicated process for a first time buyer.
Why Import Through Autoselecta
Autoselecta provides direct access to the Japanese auction network, including USS Tokyo where this car is listed, giving buyers the ability to bid on cars that rarely appear for sale outside Japan. Every auction sheet is read and translated in full, as demonstrated throughout this report, so buyers understand precisely what the independent inspector found, rather than relying on vague marketing descriptions. Autoselecta assists with vehicle sourcing, bidding strategy, export documentation, international shipping and import support into both the UK and the United States, with vehicle tracking available where applicable and support continuing through to arrival in the buyer's home market. Communication throughout the process is a core part of the service, ensuring buyers are never left guessing about the status of their purchase.
Browse This Week's Japanese Auctions
Autoselecta lists a constantly updating selection of vehicles direct from Japanese auction houses each week, covering classic Porsches, JDM performance icons and a wide range of other Japanese domestic market cars. Buyers can browse current listings on the Autoselecta platform to compare specification, grade and condition across multiple cars before committing to a bid.
Live Auction Search
For buyers looking for a specific model, grade or specification not currently listed, Autoselecta's live auction search tool allows direct searching of the Japanese auction network in real time, giving access to a far wider range of stock than what is shown on the website at any given moment.
Auction Caution
Auction cars such as this Porsche 911 Turbo 930 are inspected before sale, but they remain used vehicles bought sight unseen from a distance, and the auction sheet should be treated as an independent condition guide rather than a mechanical warranty. Older performance cars of this type, particularly a turbocharged 930 approaching 60,000 km of use, may require servicing, maintenance or further refurbishment after purchase regardless of the grade recorded at auction. In the case of this specific car, buyers should note the inspector's recorded issues in full, namely a lifting dashboard panel, a torn and dirty headlining, creased and peeling seats, a scratched and scuffed steering wheel, possible prior removal and refitting of interior trim with additional screw holes, a faulty bonnet damper, aftermarket parts fitted with scratched wheels, a same colour respray showing waves in the paint, small cracks in both front headlight lenses, and a small dent noted to the left door. These points should all be factored into any bidding decision and any post purchase inspection plan. All bids must be submitted before 9PM UK time the evening before auction.
