Emmisions Legislation Means Porsche 911 ‘Project Gold’ Isn’t Street Legal In Most Countries

At Pebble Beach, Porsche unveiled a brand new 993-generation 911 Turbo dubbed Project Gold. Words can hardly describe how desirable it is but, unfortunately, it cannot be legally driven on the road.

Speaking to Jalopnik, sales and marketing chief for Porsche Classic, Philipp Salm, revealed a number of reasons why the car cannot be registered for road use.

While Project Gold is based on a 993 from the 1990s, the car is actually a 2018 model year vehicle. In fact, the only thing out of the 1990’s on this unique 911 Turbo is the never-before-used body shell. Therein lies the first problem, Salm confirmed.

Because the car is a 2018 model, it would have to follow emissions and noise regulations for 2018 vehicles. According to Salm, there’s absolutely no way for the air-cooled six-cylinder engine with ’90s specs to comply with these regulations, particularly those in Europe.

Interestingly, there do appear to be some places where the car could be road registered. Jalopnik’s Raphael Orlove says he overheard a Saudi businessman quizzing a Porsche representative if he could drive the car on the road. The Porsche employee said that it could be done in certain locations.

Much of Project Gold’s design inspiration comes from the Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series. Consequently, it features the same Gold Yellow Metallic paint and also has a number of gold accents throughout the cabin.

One lucky Porsche enthusiast will have the opportunity to purchase the car when it crosses the auction block at RM Sotheby’s Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale in Atlanta, Georgia on October 27.