Stop crime in style, with an authentic Dutch Highway Patrol 1980 Porsche 911 Targa
When you need a car that can catch speeders as well as it manages traffic jams, sometimes the best option isn’t the most obvious one.
Shopping for state-sponsored Police cars must be a fun job.
In 1967 the Dutch Highway patrol upgraded their fleet of Porsche 356 Cabriolets to the new 911 Targa. Why, you may ask, would a country with a land size less than Tasmania and a penchant for cycling, need an open-top, sports car for traffic duties?
At the time, highways in The Netherlands carried no speed limits and the police needed cars with a bit of pace, that were also reliable, practical and handled well.
Luckily, Porsche had an answer that ticked all those boxes, plus dealt with one crucial additional requirement. The car needed to have an open roof.
The two-plus-two layout of the 911 meant there was space to keep all the police equipment, and the targa roof allowed one of the officers to stand on the seat to see over the traffic and issue directions.
Sensible!
Between 1962 and 1996, the Dutch Rijkspolitie (Highway Patrol) serviced 507 Porsche cars, including the 356 Cabriolet, 911 Targa and convertible, 914, 924, and 964.
Here is your chance to own one of them, a 1980 3.0-litre 911 SC Targa, codenamed ‘Alex 82’.
The 148kW 3.0-litre flat six is mated to a five-speed manual transmission, and the car is mechanically identical to any other that left the factory.
The white left-hand-drive targa features factory fog lamps front and rear, 15-inch cookie-cutter ATS wheels, and all the period-correct Rijkspolitie equipment, including a blue flashing light mounted to the targa bar, sirens, radios and bright orange highway patrol livery.
In place of the rear seats are a set of custom shelves and equipment lockers, complete with all the goodies needed for crime-fighting and traffic management in Holland, including emergency lighting, a medical kit and fire-fighting apparatus.
To complete the look, the sale also includes a bright orange helmet and replica police uniform, plus a scale model of the 911 to keep on your desk!
This car, offered for sale in Belgium, has 305,845km on the clock and official Dutch police papers confirming its authenticity. At €99,950 ($AU150,000) the price is reasonable for any 911 of this era, let alone one with such a storied and rare history as this!
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