No April Fools; a Porsche 964 has been Bought
- Commander
- 3 minutes ago
- 7 min read
No, this is not an April Fool’s joke, even though this announcement is being made on April Fools’ Day. Air Brigade Commander, Jim Moore has finally purchased an Air-Cooled Porsche 964. Introducing the Blu Goblin 964. Blu Goblin is a 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera 4, type 964, all-wheel drive car. The more common name: Porsche 964 C4. Later in the article, you'll see why this Cobalt Blue 964 carries the moniker of The Blu Goblin 964, but for now, enjoy the purchase story..
True to the original goal of acquiring a unique color 964, this one is Cobalt Blue, a four-paint can color according to the PCA paint web site, www.Rennbow.org Over 80% of 964's were Guards Red, White or Black. Another 10% were silvers or greys, so the goal of a unique color meant that I was searching for a 964 in a color that was less than 10% of production.
The Blu Goblin was imported from Germany in 2023 and still features its German license plate. All gauges are in the metric system, reading in kilometers and centigrade. The Blu Goblin was originally delivered in The Netherlands so the operating manual is in Dutch. The car eventually made its way back to Germany to the Barnim District in the state of Brandenburg. This district is Northeast of Berlin near the Poland border. The Blu Goblin still retains its German license plate with the BAR designation and inspection stickers.
The Blu Goblin was featured in a US-owner’s collection in Florida of special color Porsches. The collection was split up due to personal circumstances. Since it was a collection car it had minimal driving accounting for the 109,000 kilometers (approximately 67,700 miles) on the odometer.
The car was purchased at Dick Barbour Performance outside of Atlanta. If it looks familiar to you, regular readers of my journey will recognize it as the very first 964 that I looked at in July of last year (2025). Air Brigade member Allen Peerson joined me on the 964-journey. Driving this 964 was a first for both of us to drive, and experience a 964.
We liked the car, but thought it was priced too high and it had some needs. Nothing serious, just some deferred maintenance items that all older air-cooled Porsches come with. Also, it was the first car we looked at. It is hard to buy the first one you see.
The journey began for the ideal 964. The original goal was a unique color 964 or an RS America, but the journey took a lot of twists and turns along the way. Air Brigade member Allen Peerson was right there with me as we traveled to five countries, and five states looking at Porsche 964’s in one guise or another. We diverted off the goal for a while looking for a 964 RS, but after long, careful consideration I came back to the original goal of a unique color 964.
The Many 964 Models Considered
As mentioned, I looked at and considered many different 964 models, never really diverting from the 964 platform. I looked at, drove and considered several real 964 RS’s, a couple of RS Americas, 30th Anniversary Jubiliee Editions, Wide Bodies, Hot Rods, Projects and stock cars.
It was amazing that in the nine months of looking how prices of 964’s have been shooting up. When I started the search, you could find a stock 964 in the $80,000 - $100,000 and an RS America for $150,000. The average price for a stock 964 now seems to be $125,000 while RS Americas have climbed to $175,000 -$200,000.
I had a lot of help along the way as everyone loves a car search, especially when it is spending someone else’s money. The first line I threw was to Ray Shaffer, of Broad Arrow Auctions. Ray knows the Porsche community and helped me sell my 1968 911. The fact that Ray could not find that unique color 964 attests to the fact of how rarely they come to market.
Then, of course I had my travel partner around the world and the US, Allen Peerson. The Air Brigade community of Charlie Hickey, Don Therien, Carl von Schummer, Rob Cart, Don Zink, David Linton, Mark Feightner, Nort Northam, Karl Lail, Robert Verhelle, Phil Trunnell and Bobby Brewster scoured the internet, their contacts and auction sites looking for me. The modern water-cooled guys of Chris Onulak, Richard Little, David Butler and Rod Trzcinski jumped in too, with options for cars. They all soon learned what a picky, demanding car shopper the Commander is.
And, of course, Linda played a major role in looking at “my latest find” when I shoved my computer in her face with another ideal car. Linda brought me back to earth by reminding me of my goal; a unique color 964, as opposed to just buying what is available.
Why the 964?
I had long-term ownership of a 1968 Sports Purpose F-body and a 1986 3.2 Carrera, but had never owned what I consider to be a “Modern Air-Cooled Porsche”, a 964 or 993. By modern, I mean that it has a driving nature closer to the water-cooled cars with a coilover suspension, comfort and safety amenities such as working air conditioning, ABS and airbags. Linda requested that I consider a newer 911 offering modern safety features (which meant a 964 or 993) since the car will be used regularly on mountain driving adventures.
Many people were suggesting the 993 but I was drawn to the 964 platform for several factors:
1. Body styling more closely resembling the F- and G-body classic 911 look.
2. The rarity of the 964 as evidenced by how hard it was to find one in a unique color (defined as a four-or five-paint can color by Rennbow.org.
3. A drive more closely resembling Classic 911 driving but offering the refined G50 transmission, more power and smoothness of the 3.6-liter engine and the sure-footedness of the coilover suspension.
How the Blu Goblin 964 Came Back on the Radar
I liked the Blu Goblin 964 from the first day I saw it and drove it. I kept thinking about it and watching the Dick Barbour site to see if it was still available. My shopping partner Allen said multiple times: “Why don’t you just buy the blue 964? It is a good solid car.”
I had a problem though, I thought it was overpriced and it had some needs.
Finally, one morning I looked at the site and after nine months, the price was dropped $10,000. Now was the time! I contacted Alex at Dick Barbour immediately and negotiated a further reduced price and he agreed the three major problem areas would be fixed:
1. Blinker check system was working
2. Emergency brake wasn’t working
3. Sunroof did not close
The decision was made. The Commander was finally pulling the trigger on a unique color Porsche 964. The Cobalt Blue is a four paint can color on a 964 platform so it met my goal.
Now to close the deal and get the car to Asheville.
The first call was to Paul Kaperonis, of Hagerty to get the car insured and on my policy. I have insured my Porsches with Hagerty since the mid-90’s when they used to run a small ad in the back of Panorama. I never needed them until last year when my ’86 was totaled through a hit by another driver. The claim was taken care immediately, payment was made and I was on my way looking for a new air-cooled Porsche.
The original plan that Allen and I had was to buy the salvage 964 RS at the Monterey Auctions and then drive the car cross-country back to Asheville. This didn’t happen, but instead I took delivery of the Blu Goblin 964 in Atlanta and drove it four hours back to Asheville.
Why did it take me four hours, when the north side of Atlanta isn’t that far away? Well, I had fun with my new car. In Clayton Georgia, I stopped for lunch and then turned off the straight route home to drive Warwoman Road over to 28 and up to Highlands. These are two great driving roads and gave me the first taste of the fantastic handling and power of the 964 as I blasted along these roads. I say blasted, but since I didn’t know the car, I drove at a good clip but stayed all within the legal limits as I learned the capabilities of the Blu Goblin 964.
Where did the Blu Goblin Name Come from?
My background is advertising, marketing and branding, so one of the first actions was what is this car going to be called?
I started with what is the origination of Cobalt? I turned to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI to learn about Cobalt and I immediately found an opportunity. Gemini AI gave me information on Cobalt as a chemical element, a description of the color and the etymology of the name, or as AI described it “The Goblin Connection”. Here is the legend and where the name Cobalt originated:
· The name has a surprisingly spooky origin. It comes from the German word kobold, meaning "goblin" or "evil spirit."
The Legend: Medieval miners in the Harz Mountains of Germany found ores that looked like silver but were difficult to smelt and released poisonous fumes (actually arsenic). They believed "kobolds" had stolen the silver and replaced it with this "useless" and dangerous substitute.
· This is where the chemical element Cobalt gets its name, 16th-centrury German miners named the “troublesome” mineral after the spirits they believed were haunting the miners.
I liked the idea of tying Goblin into the name, but Linda felt a Goblin was too negative of an image, so I added “Blue” to the name to soften it a touch because a Blue Goblin makes it more whimsical than spooky.
I now had a name that would fit the car and be a great license plate to announce it, but North Carolina only allows eight letters and Blue Goblin is 11 letters with the space. However, BluGoblin was the required eight letters and added some differentiation spelling Blue as BLU.
The Blu Goblin 964 was it! Now, I hope there is not another BLUGOBLIN license plate out there. Until I receive my normal plate from NC DOT, I can’t apply for the Vanity Plate.
Surely there can’t be two Blu Goblins; can there be? Time will tell…
