This is a 6 foot 10 inch high Porsche Monte Carlo Rally display designed to look like one of those Airfix or Tamiya-style kits requiring you to remove the pieces from a grid and assemble/glue them into place.
It’s designed to be affixed to a wall or floor and used for display purposes. The replica Porsche parts inside have been carefully modified to match the first ever Porsche 911 to compete in a motorsport event – the “147” car that raced in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally piloted by Herbert Linge and Peter Falk.
In January 1965, the Porsche 911 made its motorsport debut at one of the most demanding and prestigious events on the calendar – the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. This is the car from that event, now fully restored. Image courtesy of Porsche.
“147” – The First Porsche 911 To Go Racing
In January 1965, the Porsche 911 made its motorsport debut at one of the most demanding and prestigious events on the calendar – the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. Though Porsche was no stranger to rallying success, the entry of their brand-new 911 model signaled the beginning of a new era for the German automaker.
The car chosen for the event was chassis #300055, a very early production example. It was driven by Porsche development engineer Herbert Linge, a man deeply familiar with the 911’s mechanical limits, and co-driver Peter Falk, who would later become Porsche’s Motorsport Director.
Their mission wasn’t necessarily to win – but to prove the capability and durability of the 911 in real-world competition. That said, by they crossed the finish line they were within touching distance of a podium place.
This car would remain very close to standard production spec, though it did receive several competition-focused upgrades. Its engine was fitted with Weber carburetors which improved power from 130 bhp to somewhere in the region of 140-150 bhp.
The car was also fitted with the newly available 5-speed gearbox – then very much a rarity. It also had twin rally timers on the dash, a roof-mounted lamp that could be controlled by the co-driver, extra spotlights up front, a full roll cage, and rear tow loops for recovery.
Here we see Peter Falk (left) and Porsche race driver Herbert Linge (right) with their race car in 1965 (top) and again recreating the original image in 2016 (bottom). Image courtesy of Porsche.
The 1965 Monte Carlo Rally was famously brutal, with icy alpine passes, heavy snow, and unpredictable weather across hundreds of kilometers. The 911 handled it surprisingly well for such a new, untested production car. By the finish line just 22 cars would remain, from a starting field of 237 entrants.
Linge and Falk finished 5th overall, an impressive result given the high level of competition and the car’s limited preparation. Perhaps importantly, they won their class and proved the 911 could handle the rigors of high-level rallying right out of the gate.
Though overshadowed at the time by the factory’s focus on the outgoing 356 and the 904 models, the 1965 Monte Carlo run marked the moment the 911 quietly stepped into the world of competitive motorsport – an arena it would go on to dominate for decades right through to the modern day.
The Porsche 911 “Monte Carlo Rally” Kit
The display you see here has been designed to look like a model making kit in which you remove all the plastic parts from supplied grids and then piece them all together before applying paint and decals.
This display has a replica Porsche 911 bonnet and deck lid that have both been carefully finished to look like those fitted to the original “147” 911 from the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally.
It’s built around a tubular steel modular galvanised frame which measures in at 2.1 meters high and 2.2 meters wide (6’10” x 7’2″) and can be floor or wall-mounted. It has a replica Porsche 911 bonnet and deck lid that have both been carefully finished to look like those fitted to the original “147” 911 from the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally.
It’s now being offered for sale out of England by Iconic Auctioneers in late August. The price guide is £4,000 – £5,000 which works out to approximately $5,170 – $6,460 USD, if you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Iconic Auctioneers
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.