1992 911 Carrera Cup USA

The history of Porsche’s 964 Carrera Cup USA cars is a wild one that ended with PCNA quietly selling cars through their dealership network with ZERO marketing or information about the cars being released publicly. You see, back in 1992 PCNA wanted to emulate the success of the IROC races of the early ‘70s by bringing the Carrera Cup series to the USA. But because of a certain ‘mishap’ in the ‘80s involving a couple 959s that were supposed to be “race cars,” the DOT and EPA required that any Porsche racing car that looked like a street car must meet all EPA and DOT requirements.

This led to a limited run of 45 US-legal Carrera Cup cars produced by the factory. Once through the port, these cars then had to be sent to Andial in California to be converted into race cars for the series. But during the process, the cost to produce the race cars grew substantially, and Porsche had a hard time finding teams willing to shell out the money. By this time, only 29 of the 45 cars had been converted to race cars, and they were subsequently returned to Andial to be converted BACK to street cars.

Because of the sensitive nature of the situation due to the failure of the series and cost involved in building, converting, and then re-converting these cars back to street versions, they were quietly sold through dealerships like Sewickley Porsche, where this 1992 911 Carrera Cup USA was sold new.

If the above description sounds familiar, it’s not due to a “Groundhog Day” moment, that’s the same description I wrote this time last month when this example sold at a final bid of $262,259. Unfortunately for the seller, the winning bidder failed to follow through and this car went unsold at a final bid of $175,000 yesterday.

At the time, the winning bid was a new twelve-month high and quite remarkable as the highest previous sale was for a sub-1,000-mile example that sold for $330,000 compared to this ones 27,000 miles. This example also has paintwork along with some chips and cracked paint on the right-rear quarter panel. Mechanically, the car is all there and features a number of recent receipts as well as a very well-respected 964 technician who did work on the car chiming in.

It’s currently for sale in PCARMARKET’s Deal Tank with a Buy Now of $245,000. It might seem a little steep today, with a slew of no-sales since that high in August 2021, but in time, I think these will be worth much more.

Two things that go hand-in-hand? Porsche and watches. Every Porschephile I know is also a watch nerd. And like Porsches, watches can be enjoyed at all price points. 

On a recent visit to Pittsburgh, SML subscriber Allan S. tossed me his new Sheffield Allsport watch. Sheffield Watches is a reboot of an old dive watch brand founded in New York in the ‘50s that was synonymous with producing low-price point, quality watches. The weight of the stainless steel case felt robust, as did the feel of the screw-down crown and unidirectional bezel—definitely quality. As for price point, the Sheffield diver punches way above its weight at $108. You can’t buy more watch for the money, period. 

And that’s what Sheffield Watches’ founder Jay Turkbas set out to accomplish, reviving the brand's ethos and creating a watch synonymous with quality, technology, and affordability. Taking inspiration from his original Sheffield watch from the ’70s and his 30-plus years of experience in product development and innovation, he knocked it out of the park with a durable watch capable of exploring the depths of the ocean one day and cars & coffee the next. And all at a price point equivalent to the $13 the watch originally cost back then. Take a moment to give Sheffield Watches a look. I know you’ll be just as impressed as I am.

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