Those of us who were privileged enough to have Power Wheels cars as kids know the joy of operating a small vehicle in the open air and the warm glow of parents’ driveways on a nice day. While my Power Wheels was cool, it didn’t have a damn manual transmission and a gasoline engine like this incredible Porsche 911 Junior!
This is another gem that lives at the Wunderground mini-museum at the Porsche dealership in Santa Clarita.
Why is there a micro-sized 911 you ask? Well, if I’d been born into some serious generational wealth, my parents had a Porsche or two, and about $4,500 extra laying around in the ’80s, I could’ve had a 911 Junior of my own. It was sold in the United States and Europe by a few different constructors. There’s no real consensus on who built all of them, though a few were known to have been made by Agostini in Italy. Like any Porsche product, exclusivity is part of the package and it’s rumored that around 200 were built and only sold through Porsche dealers.
Not much official documentation exists on the lil’ guy except for some forum members posting booklets that came with the car. No official press shots either! Basically, all I could find were various sale listings and the limited photos I got of the 911 Jr. I saw in person. And I mean, wow, it even has a gasoline engine in the back.
Modeled after a G-body 911 Carrera, the Jr. actually used a single-cylinder four-stroke G100 Honda engine displacing a cavernous 83 cubic centimeters. All of its mighty 2.1 horsepowers thrashed through a two-speed manual gearbox with reverse. It had four-wheel disc brakes (just like a real 911) and a steering rack, as well as a true three-pedal setup. It is the mini-car of my childhood dreams!
Unfortunately, everything old Porsche is worth its weight in illegal drugs lately and the Junior is no exception. They’re trading for around $30,000 these days and that is way too goddamn much, but I will concede that the collectibility factor and intense coolness would make me consider it if I had a good amount of zeros in my bank account.
Either way, this car is now my son. Don’t talk to us, we are simply driving. Bye!
