This Rainbow-Coated Targa Hybrid Will Be the Coolest Porsche at Monterey

A new restoration shop is breathing new life into air-cooled Porsches, and brightening them up in the process.

BBauto_911Targa_3

Photo by: Galpin Motors

Brian Silvestro

By: Brian Silvestro

Aug 14, 2024 at 12:30pm ET

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Galpin Motors, a dealership conglomerate in California, has resurrected the German tuner shop bb-Auto.
Its first product is this 1986 911 Targa, restored and given a 4.0-liter flat-six paired to an electric motor.
The car has a colorful paint job reminiscent of bb-Auto's collaboration with Polaroid in the 1970s, and makes 550 horsepower.

Monterey Car Week, as it is every year, will be littered with cool Porsches. From survivors to restomods, they'll be no shortage of amazing 911s prowling the streets of Northern California. But this one will undoubtedly be the coolest.

Restored by bb-Auto, a restoration firm resurrected by Galpin Motors in California, this 1986 Porsche 911 Targa is far more than just a brightly colored paint job. It's sporting a 400-horsepower 4.0-liter air-cooled flat-six from Ed Pink Racing—the same shop that supplied engines for Singer's early reimagined 911s. But that's not all.

There's also a 110-kilowatt electric motor from Vonnen—the people who made the first 911 hybrid street car—sandwiched between the engine and the G50 five-speed manual gearbox. Combined, the two power sources make a healthy 550 horsepower. There's also bespoke "997 GT3-style" suspension geometry with coilovers and adjustable sway bars, custom Brembo six-piston brakes, and two-piece Fuchs style wheels wrapped in Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires.

BBauto_911Targa_1

BBauto_911Targa_4

BBauto_911Targa_6

Galpin Motors

The funky rainbow design isn't an entirely new thing. It was first used in 1976 by a German workshop, also called bb-Auto, on a Turbo Targa in collaboration with Polaroid for that year's Photokina photography show. The funky design would go on to be featured on the covers of magazines like Auto Motor und Sport and Road & Track.

This Targa Hybrid's cabin is equally as flashy as the exterior. The modern power seats, as well as the door cards and dashboard, are covered in a spectacular bright blue cloth material. There's a rainbow pattern on the floor carpets, and a polished wooden shift knob. The gauges have been revamped and customized, while electric air conditioning has been installed to keep the cabin cool, even with the extra sunlight from the glass targa roof panel.

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“This project is a true labor of love, blending classic Porsche heritage with our own Galpizined style,” Galpin Motors CEO Beau Boeckmann said in a statement. “Honoring the iconic bb-Auto company and continuing its legacy with our team was our mission.”

The bb-Auto Targa Hybrid will make its debut at the Werks Reunion in Monterey on Friday, August 16. Want your own? Order books are open now.

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