The Quest for Air-Cooled Porsche Authenticity
The pursuit of authenticity is common among air-cooled Porsche owners right down to the correct factory stickers being in the correct factory installed position on one’s Porsche. This is the story of Air Brigade member TD pursuing an illusive hood sticker missing on his 1989 25th anniversary edition Porsche 911 Carrera.
Air Brigade member TD acquired his rare 1989 25th Anniversary Edition Porsche 911 Carrera in 2018 after a two-year pursuit of the car. TD specifically wanted the silver version with silk grey leather interior of which fewer than 160 versions made it to the United States. TD’s car has color-matched Fuchs and the iconic whale tail spoiler.
One thing it didn’t have was the factory applied under-hood sticker that provided the option codes of the car. After more than 30 years since the original production and with several owners in the process, it is not known what happened to it, but to be authentic the sticker needed to be on the underside of the hood as it was the day it came down the assembly line.
The missing sticker is a paper “Option Code Sticker” that was applied on the underside of the front hood as the car moved down the assembly line so the workers knew what options to apply to the car as it passed their station. On TD’s car it was missing, but how hard could it be to acquire one?
It turns out the stickers are not readily available. TD started the search reaching out to other knowledgeable Air Brigade members who appreciate authenticity. Charlie, a lifelong Porsche owner and current 1972 911 owner had heard of a place in Europe that produces the stickers but didn’t remember the name. Further discussion with Air Brigade member and son, Todd, an owner of several early 911 models identified the Polish company Car Bone (www.car-bone.pl).