The history of this remarkable 993 Turbo dates back to 6 May 1996, when it was completed on the Porsche assembly line. Originally finished in Grand Prix White with black leather upholstery, the Porsche was fitted as a standard US model with options such as racing-style sports seats and a six-CD remote CD changer.
In preparation for the 1996 event, this 993 Turbo was sent to Rod Millen of Millenworks and Andial (now known as Porsche Motorsports North America), where minor modifications were made, including racing seats, a fuel cell and a full roll cage. On 4 July 1996, Zwart drove the Valvoline 993 Turbo over Pikes Peak to first place in the High Performance Showroom Stock (HPSS) class, with a blistering time of 12 minutes and 34 seconds.
In 1996, Black sold his 700-mile 993 Turbo to an enthusiast living near Fresno, California. The Porsche remained under the care of its second owner for more than 15 years, crediting some 4,000 miles to occasional weekend drives and trips to the track. The current owner, a Porsche collector from New York, recently entrusted this historic 993 Turbo to marque specialist Callas Rennsport, who, with advice from Zwart, restored the car to its original racing specification and appearance.
With just 6,300 original miles and faithfully presented in its original racing colours, this car is virtually unique in the world of contemporary racing Porsches, as it was originally built and sold as a road car.
Jeff Zwart is a modern-day Renaissance man. His career as a photographer has led him to photograph almost every major motorsport event for the best-known automotive media outlets. He has also photographed many of the most iconic advertisements in print media for manufacturers like Acura, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and, of course, Porsche. He photographed fighter planes for the US Navy from the back seat of another fighter plane. Through his work as a cinematographer, he has collaborated on numerous TV commercials and short films, from the Panamera commercial in which 60 years of truly legendary Porsche models raced across a dry desert lakebed to filming an F1 ‘Road Trip’ with Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull RB7 driving on public roads. On its own, this would be an incredible CV for two separate people, let alone one man.
His fascination with motorsport began while living and studying in Germany, where he attended events at Zandvoort, the Dutch Grand Prix and Le Mans, to name a few. During one of the Mazda campaigns he worked on, he befriended Rod Millen, who convinced Jeff to let him build a Mazda rally car for the US ProRally championship. The introduction of the 964 Carrera 4 gave him the idea of entering rallies with a 911. Thanks to his existing relationship with Porsche, he was able to put together a programme over the course of 2 years, and all parts of the Dakar programme in Paris were secured. A short-speed, 125mph gearbox was secured, as were differentials and the adjustable clutch system installed on Jeff’s Carrera 4. After several trials with the suspension, a complete overhaul and the addition of an off-road style suspension, Jeff began winning rallies and eventually finished 2nd in the national championship for the 1994 season.
That same year, Porsche proposed entering Pikes Peak. The 300-hp naturally aspirated 3.8-litre engine he was driving was swapped by Andial and Porsche Motorsport for a 550-hp monoturbo engine that Porsche had used in the IMSA series. With his experience in rally racing and having already spent many hours on and over the mountain for various commercials, Jeff was already familiar with the road surface and could visualise the corners from his time in helicopters. This proved to be a huge advantage and Jeff took victory in his class with an impressive time of 11:53.48. It was Jeff’s first win at the Peak, but certainly not the last.
In addition to Jeff’s versatile creative career, he was also able to add his success as a racing driver to the list. To top it off, he has forever put his name in the history books of one of the most infamous hillclimb races of all time: the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. He has competed in the PPIHC 16 times and has been inducted into the Pikes Peak Hall-of Fame with eight class wins and three class records, and he has driven 12 different Porsches to the top. With a length of 12.5 miles and more than 156 corners, unpredictable weather conditions and finish at an altitude of 14,115 ft, it is one of the most technical and demanding races in the world.
In 1995, Jeffrey Zwart raced the brand new, virtually showroom-stock 993 Turbo on display at the New York. Auto Show. Prior to the race, it was prepared by Dieter Inzenhofer of Andial. On 4 July 1996, Black drove the Valvoline 993 Turbo offered here at Pikes Peak to first place in the High Performance Showroom Stock (HPSS) class, with a blistering time of 12 minutes and 34 seconds. Around that time, Porsche told Jeff: ‘We find it difficult to tout your success at Pikes Peak because you are sponsored by Valvoline. It would be great if you could take part in one of our original sponsorships. That would be a better partnership marketing-wise.’ From then on, a partnership was formed with Mobil One, which sponsors Porsche’s latest and greatest models.
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1996 
