Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge is back for 2023

With new categories to push the experts to their creative limits, the Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge promises to be a dazzling exercise in ingenuity.

This year’s Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge will task North American Porsche dealerships with restoring a coveted classic from the 1950s to 2000s. Now in its third year, the competition is designed to showcase the skillset of Porsche-trained technicians, who can draw upon a portfolio of more than 80,000 Porsche Classic Genuine Parts. Teams from around the US will breathe new life into tired subjects, and more than 60 dealers are expected to participate.

The 997 generation of 911 is eligible for the challenge for the first time. In total, entries can include Porsche 356 and 914 models, six generations of 911, transaxle models like the 944 and 928, and modern classics such as the Boxster, Cayman and first-generation Cayenne. Importantly, the competition is only open to production roadgoing vehicles.

This year’s challenge has evolved and introduces three different categories. The Preservation category is intended for original restorations, enhancing the vehicle without restoring it to an as-new condition. The Restoration category is for full restorations, returning cars to as-new. Based on the Porsche Sonderwunsch programme, the Individualization category is for those entries fulfilling a special wish. This final category rewards creative use of Porsche’s genuine parts.

The change to the competition means there will be three overall champions, judged by a panel of experts and crowned at the final. Scoring for the competition is based on criteria that includes the quality of the finished vehicle’s engine, suspension and interior, but also its documentation, such as the Classic Technical Certificate that contains original vehicle production information. Entries from three sales areas – East, South-Central and West – will be judged at one of three central events. An area winner in each category will be decided, sending nine cars for display at the final, to be held at Rennsport Reunion, California, in September.