One of 20 special cars ordered by the Belgian Gendarmerie
1976 Porsche 911 2.7 Carrera MFI 'Belgian Gendarmerie' narrow body Targa
Chassis no. 9116619025
Engine no. 6668025

Ever since the dawn of the motoring age, police forces the world over have used high-performance vehicles in pursuit of criminals, often equipping them with larger or more powerful engines while retaining a standard external appearance. The very special Porsche 911 Targa offered here is a fine example of a 'stealth' police car, being one of only 20 ordered by the Belgian Gendarmerie/Rijkswacht and fitted from new by the factory with the 210bhp Carrera RS engine. Of course, the Gendarmerie could just as easily have ordered 20 examples of the Carrera RS, but they did not want anyone to know the cars' true potential, hence the decision to order a 'hot' version of the regular 911 Targa. Lacking the RS's characteristic 'duck tail' spoiler, these cars retained the stock model's silhouette, making them ideally suited for their intended role. Even the Targa top option had a practical purpose, as it enabled the non-driving officer to stand up and direct traffic more effectively. A full listing of this car's specification is on file together with a copy of the factory Fahrzeug Auftrag (vehicle order).

The cars were supplied via Établissements d'Ieteren Frères and correspondence between them and the Belgian Gendarmerie is on file together with copies of photographs depicting the official delivery of the first car with Baron Roland d'Ieteren present. Other paperwork includes a copy of the convention d'achat (purchase agreement) between the Belgian Government and d'Ieteren. Archive photographs of these police Porsches are available also.

At that time and for many years subsequently these high-performance hybrids were the fastest police cars in the world, and they are also historically significant as the only 'narrow body' 911s built by Porsche with the Carrera RS engine. It is estimated that fewer than five have survived, of which three or four are known to be in police trim and in running condition. It doesn't get much rarer than this.

The first Porsche supplied by the factory for police use was the Type 356, and this programme expanded further following the 911's introduction in 1964. Today, Porsche has delivered over 1,000 cars to national and state police departments worldwide.

Always fascinated by the Stuttgart manufacturer's relationship with police cars, the vendor searched for two years before he found this rarity. After obtaining a list of serial numbers of the 20 Belgian Gendarmerie cars, the owner was cautiously optimistic when he found a Targa in Essex, UK with the correct numbers. It transpired that this 'barn find' car had been imported into the UK in 1987 and sat in storage for the majority of its life following retirement; it had not seen the light of day for some 30 years. Not surprisingly the car needed some attention, but the essential elements were all present: the rotating blue light, the original sirens, telephone and – most importantly - the 210bhp Carrera RS engine. Unlike many other ex-police Porsches, this one remained white, with most of its accessories stored in the boot, also identification plates, special mirrors, etc. still in place. The accompanying Porsche Certificate of Authenticity confirms that the car was supplied as a 'Police version' and photographs of it 'as found' are on file also together with a copy of the UK V5 registration document issued in 1987.

The Gendarmerie had their own garage and mechanics to look after these Porsches, and engines were routinely swapped between cars following overhauls. Thus this example ended up with the engine ('6668025') from car number '013' being the 3rd of the 20 cars. Accompanying paperwork includes an official letter from Porsche confirming that '6668025' corresponds to one of the 20 police cars. The engine was fully and professionally rebuilt by Jos De Bock in 2017/2018 and photographs of the rebuild are available. Also the mechanicals were renewed. All together over €30,000 (Porsche invoices on file) was spent at Porsche alone (excluding the engine rebuilt, brakes and suspension) to bring this Gendarmerie Porsche back to its former glory.

Since cleaning and re-commissioning the owner has driven it often, always obliging police officers who pull the Porsche over so they can take a photograph with their retired 'colleague'. He appreciates the car's history and the enduring pleasure of driving a well-sorted air-cooled 911, and says of his undeniably cool Porsche: "This car leaves nobody indifferent." This is hardly surprising since the sight of the world's most recognisable sports car in police livery is far from an everyday occurrence. Invoices relating to the 2017-2019 re-commissioning works are available. After its re-commissioning this fascinating Porsche was featured by Petrolicious ("1976 Porsche 911 Targa: Dial 911 To Call This Ex-Police Car"), and copies of some resulting articles are on file.

Belgian law permits these ex-police cars to be driven in their full police livery and configuration, and this Porsche 911 is road-registered in Belgium with the very suitable registration 'SOS 901'. The car is offered with a copy of the valuable and sought-after book 'Carrera 2.7' by Ryan Snodgrass (serial number 25), which includes a chapter dedicated to these police 911 Targas as one of the special Carrera and last-of-the-line Sondermodell (Special Edition) models. Also on file is a copy of the Koninklijke Rijkswachtschool certificate/diploma that would be issued following the successful completion of the training course for driving these police Porsches.

Believed to be the first time ever that a 'Belgian Gendarmerie' 2.7 Carrera MFI comes to auction in its Police trim, this example is effectively among the rarest of the 2.7 RS-family.
Remaining in highly original condition although having benefitted from a full engine overhaul, this ultra-rare narrow-bodied 2,7 RS-variant is ready to be used and enjoyed. A 'must have' for the serious Porsche collector.