Also in my garage: Porsche 911 engine lids

By Al Volante

| 19 Sep 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: Porsche 911 engine lids

The enduring success of the Porsche 911 demonstrates the marque’s philosophy of prioritising evolution over revolution.

From the first 901s built in 1963 to the last of the original shape, which ended in 1993 with the demise of the 964, the model’s distinctive engine lid remained in the same form and dimensions through 30 years of continuous improvement.

“It is arguably the world longevity champion for a body panel,” says Luxembourg-based 911 enthusiast Mario Laguna, who began collecting almost by accident.

Mario Laguna’s Porsche 911 engine-lid collection includes this Signal Yellow example from a 2.4S

“These days, 911 wrecks that would once have been cannibalised for parts become money-no-object restorations, so original lids are harder to find than 20 years ago.

“I had no intention of becoming a collector; I just thought it was a nice item to hang on the wall.

“I looked at it not as a piece of sculpture but a functional part that tied the Porsche together.”

This classic Porsche engine lid came from a US-spec 2-litre 911L

“My first one came from a crashed 1989 911 3.2 Speedster,” Mario explains.

“The Speedsters shared the stock bonnet for all the Carrera 3.2s. It’s in original condition, in factory Guards Red.

“A few months later, a member of the Porsche Club of Belgium dismantled his Light Yellow 1971 2.2E and I purchased its engine cover plus a couple of instruments.

“It was in fair condition, but I resprayed it in Blood Orange and looked for a period chromed grille and gold lettering.”

Porsche 911 964 panels are the heaviest, thanks to the retractable rear wing

Mario’s third acquisition remains the most unusual: “It is one of the earliest produced, to be found in the O-series with its distinctive support in the middle of the air intake.

“It came from a garage near Liège and was in wonderful condition, but its original 1966 Burgundy Red paint faded with time.

“I chose Bahama Yellow from the same year to give it a fresh coat.”

The original model’s handmade six-pillar, 14-bar aluminium grilles are hard to find, but Mario managed to track down a new-old-stock item from a specialist in Virginia, USA.

This Bahama Yellow engine lid came from an early Porsche 911

“It was the most I have paid for a grille,” he says.

“The badging is peculiar, too, with ‘Porsche’ written as a single word, not in individual letters, and the ‘911’ logo in the bottom-right corner, not centred below the grille.

“It is appalling how careless restorers can be with such details: common mistakes are often found in random choices of grilles, lettering and logos.”

The 1968 Signal Green lid is thought to come from a basic, US-spec 2-litre 911L with its three-pillar, 13-bar aluminium grille.

This is a Porsche 911 3.0 SC engine lid

Chromed posts mark out the earliest specimens, with the more numerous anodised black pillars following before the switch to five-pillar grilles.

“The ultimate pre-1974 evolution is the 2.4S lid,” says Mario, “with all-black grilles and letters, and a chromed ‘2.4’.

“Mine is Signal Yellow, found in excellent bare-metal condition at the Veterama Mannheim autojumble in Germany.”

Later engine lids lost the hand-assembled aluminium grille in favour of black plastic, such as Mario’s 1983 Platinum Metallic 3.0 SC item.

Mario’s most recent find is from a 1988 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera

“It is impossible to know which chassis an orphaned bonnet came from,” he rues, “but, amazingly, my SC lid came with the factory identification tag, telling me it was from an American Cabriolet with eight options.”

The 964 panels are the heaviest, thanks to the retractable rear wing.

“It also needed a bigger air intake,” says Mario, “the most important modification of the dynasty.

“I have three 964 engine lids: one in Grand Prix White, one in a darker shade of violet, and a third still in use, on my Oak Green 1991 964 Carrera 2.

“I’ll keep that one off the wall as long as possible.”

Images: Al Volante

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