2004 Special Edition "Car Zero"
 

Here's a story for you guys: we were living in Stuttgart, Germany, and in June of 2006 were in the market for a new Porsche. A "friend of a friend" put us in touch with "Larry", a retired US soldier who has been living in the area--and collecting Porsches--since the '60s. Larry claims to own "...somewhere between 4 and 8 cars, depending on the time of year", and knows most of the Zuffenhausen factory sales reps by name. When we mentioned to him that we were in the market for a US-spec Boxster, he mentioned that he "...had a line on a unique opportunity".

He had found a 2004 Boxster Special Edition sitting in storage at the Porsche Zuffenhausen factory lot--papered as US spec, never titled, and with about 2,750 miles on it. He originally was going to buy it himself, but his wife didn't want another Boxster, so he showed it to us. I was already drooling as soon as I laid eyes on the car, but totally freaked out when I noticed the Special Edition plaque above the shifter: #0000 of 1953.

My "scam alarms" went off in every direction, but after running a VIN search, contacting the factory independently, and having a German neighbor who works for Daimler-Chrysler check it out, the car (and offer) stubbornly remained genuine. We ended up buying "Car Zero" from Porsche--with the hardtop option--for $55K and Larry didn't make a penny from the sale. I don't need to tell a bunch of Porsche enthusiasts about how sweet this car is, but the fact that it is #0000 just makes it sweeter.

Cheers!
Humble Programmer
,,,^..^,,,

http://www.humble-programmer.com/ima...2006.06.05.jpg

Thats effin sweet dude.

Too bad... they had all the kinks worked out by 0001. J/K, very lucky. My friends dad has the first production viper in their basement or something along those lines.

Now you just need to clean the wheels! :D

White calipers?!

You just bought yourself an effin sweet collector car, i mean #0000 out of 1954! Dont mod it, dont add your own accents, dont do bumper conversions and use a car cover and sell her at berret jackson auction in about 10-25 years.

Very nice Box, but looks like tires could use some protection from sun damage.

I still don't get it, though. Was this the first car from the series, and if so, was #0001 the second one? I would have assumed that #0000 (especially if still untitled after 3k miles) would be a pre-production (beta test) model that companies send to magazines for early reviews. What did you find out about the car after doing the research?

Z.

Tires are fine...just muddy that day because of local tractor traffic. Car has been 100% dealer-maintained, garage-kept, and lives under a car cover; we did, however, have the Porsche dealer put a top-notch clear nose cover on it. As my wife and I have said before, half the fun of this car will be watching our three sons fight over it when we're too old to drive it ourselves.

Researching the car, we know that it sat in a warehouse at Zuffenhausen for at least a year (Apr/May '05 through Apr/May '06), and although all the paperwork is stamped as "US Spec", the analog speedometer is still in KM/h, and it has the eurobumpers, i.e., no ugly US bumper warts. Other than that, Larry mentioned that he came to the same conclusion: this was the "Special Edition" show car that was toured around Europe and the US in 2004. He checked with the Porsche sales reps, who could really neither confirm nor deny this theory: anyone got a "car show pic" clear enough to read the VIN number?

Cheers!
Humble Programmer
,,,^..^,,,

Tell us what you know about those white calipers. Ceramic?

Brake calipers are brushed aluminium with "Porsche" in black lettering--they're actually very light silver in color: http://www.humble-programmer.com/ima...Detail-med.jpg

For those with higher bandwidth, a full-res version is here. Before anyone starts giving me grief about the rust, this photo was taken just after the car was unloaded from a trans-Atlantic cargo container...because of the rust!

Cheers!
Humble Programmer
,,,^..^,,,

Wheels look happier now - just take her for a drive with some turns to clear up that rust!

Brushed aluminium calipers... never seen any. Very cool! Anyone ever seen these before? OEM?

They are OEM on the 04 anniversary car. I think I've seen them on some 911's too.

Congrats humble...... :cheers:

You are a very lucky man! Enjoy!!! :cool:

What does the interior of #0000 look like? I assume it's cocoa since the top is. Does it have any other features that the standard car doesn't? I believe the 550 models came with the ROW sport suspension, does yours have it? How many miles are on it now?

I hope you're not driving it now with the weather we're having. Mines been stuck in the garage since November and it's killing me to have to see it but not use it.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37...r/HPIM0373.jpg

That's a great story. In the old days - before humble programmers brought us the internet - you would have read it in Road & Track. Good for you.

jim

Looks hot! omg... +1 on not modding it keep it BONE stock and baby the car.

great story man.
it kinda sux couse now u cant do anything to it lol

thats what sux bout buying something as rare as that, or beter yet one-off

Hmmm...taking pictures of shiny metal with a cheap digital camera is a lot harder than I expected. Hopefully the end result is still legible...

The interior is cocoa brown leather, and the only major difference from the standard S model is that the center console is missing: there's nothing from the shifter back to the carpet-covered firewall. Heated seats are nice, though...

The Special Edition plaque is mounted against the firewall, immediately below the dashboard, and the picture below is actually a little larger than "life size".

Nice car!

I assume the lower center console (between the seats) is alu look (or artic silver)
Could you tell me if the inside of the armrest box is also painted?
Could you take a picture please?


thanks

now that's a true collector car! sweeeeeet ride!

This is my first post, but I wanted to say great find! I noticed that the rear lights and the front side markers don't look like the US spec. Any thoughts as to why they're different?

In the UK we would call that the 550 anniversary edition. :cheers:

I thought the 550 came with solid red taillights... exception for the reverse lense.

Can you take a picture of the option stick and a picture from the rear? And the black sticker on the door, instrument cluster, and the back of the seats.

And a picture of the air intake & engine bay if you get a chance? (still curious if/which of the 987 intake parts the special edition uses)

The pictures of ROW special editions I have seen had the standard 2003-2004 clear tail lights. When I asked about it on the German or one of the UK boards they said something like they could not a a flashing red turn signal.

Oh i see, good to know. Maybe the US should have a stronger brake light/turn signal law and remove the front bumper laws that cause us to have less exotic looking front ends for the sake of safety.

Special Edition
 

I have a special edition as well. #313 of 1953. Mine appears to be slightly different from your description of the interior. Mine has the silver trimming and has a center console covered with the brown leather (actually it is supposed to simulate oxblood).
The color of the interior and exterior of the car were specifically chosen. The 555 race car had a silver exterior and oxblood interior.
I absolutely love mine. Regarding one of the questions on the forum, one of the differences between this S car and another 2004 S car is the air filter. The air filter and box come from the 2005 987. As a result, the stated HP for the anniversary model is higher than the other 2004 986 S (264 hp).

Limited edition no.0000? If I were you I would pamper it and keep it in garage as collectors car :p

I think the humble programmer that found special edition #0 in a covered barn for years behind PAG headquarters has had a good laugh.

Once I asked for pictures of the VIN he went away.

In all fairness, why should he send you a picture of his VIN. And, if you re-read your previous post, you never asked for a pic of the VIN.

As my 4-year-old would say "Poopy on you"...I didn't go away--and don't have a problem answering questions about the car. I'll try and get you picture of the option sticker and the rear of the car when it's convenient--but right now it's sleeting in CO, so our Box isn't leaving the garage. As for the VIN number, I'd prefer to keep that out of the public domain, if you don't mind.

Hmmm ... 0000-1953
 

If Porsche started with 0000 and went up to 1953 is that one too many, 1954 produced?

You are correct. In the first post I asked for a picture of 2 stickers. In the second post I mentioned the VIN.

Both stickers that I asked for have the VIN and I might call in a favor and have it run through the Porsche computer to check the history.

Like I did here.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=12833&hl=canada

Like other owners have asked me to do in my 8 years of Boxstering.

Like I know what the code on the option sticker is for a true special edition. Like I know the country codes

Black out the VIN and just sent me the option sticker via PM or a picture on this board. Like this.

Not hard to do.

Rear:
http://www.humble-programmer.com/images/BoxsterRear.png

Interior:
http://www.humble-programmer.com/ima...erInterior.png

Sticker:
http://www.humble-programmer.com/ima...terSticker.png

The sticker shot isn't blurred for security reasons...it's blurred because I'm a terrible photographer!

On the sticker I can see the correct model designation code for the special edition, and the correct paint and interior codes.

I cannot make out the country code. There should be a C followed by 2 digits. Does the black sticker on the drivers door say it meets US specs. Does the rear bumper difuser have painted metal screens. Is the back of the seats painted in body color.

This is a picture of a display car that I saved 3 plus years ago. At first I thought it could be yours because it is also a tiptronic. But this car does not have door speakers.

Might want to put the camera in macro mode (little flower icon) to get a better picture of the sticker.

The story continues
 

So Car Zero now has a new home in N.C.

Spoke with the original owners, they were lovely people with good stories on the car and seem happy she has found a loving home.

She's now at 11,200 miles and still beautiful.

Pictures! All the old ones seem to have vanished

Sweet! Its close enough to make a trip to flat 6 Innovations for an IMS Retrofit. I have IMS Solution # 000 in my display case that could be installed into it.