Factory Lightweight Porsche 968 Clubsport Is The One You Really Want

This one recently sold at auction for about $77,000
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RM Sotheby’s

At RM Sotheby’s recent Duemila Ruote auction, there were literally hundreds of cars on offer, and a decent percentage of them were Porsche lots. While there was a 959 that sold for over a million, as well as a Carrera GT and a 993 GT2, the one lot that really stood out to me was this front-engined watercooled transaxle track day special. There was a lot of special iron in this auction, but this 1993 Porsche 968 Clubsport was the diamond in the rough, in my eyes anyhow. Where there were just under 10,000 968 coupes and cabriolets sold between 1992 and 1995, only an additional 1538 Clubsports were produced for worldwide consumption, and we did not receive them here in the US so of course they’ve always carried a bit of that “forbidden fruit” appeal. It’s a rarity, even rarer in fact than my one-of-2099 built 912E. Probably a good bit more desirable, though.

The Clubsport was only about 110 pounds lighter than a standard 968 coupe, but it benefitted from bespoke 20mm lower and stiffer suspension, 17X7.5 and 17X9 “Cup” wheels, and an optional limited slip differential. Inside, buyers of the clubsport got a set of Carrera RS buckets, deleted rear seats, and an Atiwe “959S” style smaller diameter steering wheel. The car was pared down to the minimum, as the central locking, electric windows, adjustable wing mirrors, electric hatch release, engine compartment lighting, and rear speakers were all deleted for weight savings (which also netted a lighter wiring harness). While the listing for this car does not include any information other than the VIN (WPOZZZ96ZPS815283), the car appears to have been optioned as light as possible without a stereo. 968 Clubsports could be had with air conditioning, and I’m not sure if this one has it or not, as the compressor, when optioned, is mounted low in the engine compartment out of sight in the photos provided. In any case, this rare factory lightweight is exactly what collectors are looking for in GT3 RS models right now, and I expect these to continue their march upward in value.

This particular car sold for 72,800 euros or about 75,000 US dollars (Wow, the Euro is really weak right now!), and while that is a lot of money for a transaxle Porsche, it’s certainly not outside what you should expect to pay to get a nice one. This appears to be a nice one.