An important part of a mint condition car is what travels with it. Put it this way: Imagine there's a sympathetically restored sports car that has been rescued from an uncertain fate, with the bodywork troubles addressed and the interior re-trimmed to rid it of ripped bolsters and musty carpets. But, crucially, the handbooks that originally followed the car have either disappeared or become ruined through exposure to elements. Or perhaps your dog ate them. Whatever the reason for the attached literature's demise, in a complete car it stings a little if the glove box is empty. Luckily, this is yet another matter Porsche has tackled, as it has reprinted hundreds of different user manuals for its classic models.
The reprint work for the Porsche manuals spans models all the way from the 1952 356 to the 996 generation 911, including different language versions to suit either the car's original sales market or its current location. The handbooks can be bought from all Porsche dealers around the world, or they can be ordered online from Porsche Classic.
Porsche notes that the early material isn't just about driver manuals, but that it includes "extensive technical information" along with setting instructions and practical tips — in other words it isn't just about locating buttons and knobs in the dashboard, but how to keep one's classic Porsche running the way the factory intended it in the 1950s. There are figures for body dimensions, too, so refitting a door to match the factory spec can be done. And as expected, the print quality and look of the handbooks, as well as the "wallet" portfolios, match the original literature despite being more or less half a century fresher.
