This is the rarest (non-supercar) modern Porsche, unless you count the 1976-only 912E as a separate model from the previous 912 iteration. Just 4,665 968s were sold in North America during its four-year production run, and this is one of only two I’ve photographed over the years.
Santa Monica, CA
Photographed July 2016
Santa Monica, CA
Photographed August 2016
Parked in front of the Tilden Mansion, c. 1896. (No, not the home of Samuel J. Tilden, but rather the much-less-famous Charles Lee Tilden, a Bay Area attorney).
This LeSabre is equipped with the Oldsmobile 403 cubic-inch V8 engine, the largest powerplant offered on the LeSabre, and the final year it was available.
Alameda, CA
Photographed August 2019
The SVX never really caught on, partly because it looked so odd and partly because it was so expensive. Just look at those side windows…They may look cool, but are very impractical in everyday driving. The only other car I can recall that had windows like that was the DeLorean.
It was also only available with a 4-speed automatic, stunting the performance from its boxer-six engine; not only that, but the slushboxes were notoriously unreliable. Just 14,257 were sold in the US and it’s rumored that Subaru lost up to $3,000 on every one sold.
Portland, OR
Photographed August 2011
Most cars with “Landau” in their name have a vinyl roof of some sort; it seems that this one’s is restricted to the rooftop, which looks like it has a different texture. This 1981 model likely has the 5.0L V8, unleashing all of 155 horses under full throttle; or 31 horsepower per liter. Compare this to the Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG of today, which makes 355 horsepower from its 2.0L turbo 4, translating to 177.5 horses per liter. That’s over 5 and a half times as many HP/liter! And it gets better fuel mileage!
But that vinyl though…
Portland, OR
Photographed August 2011