American Porsche 911 S/T Buyers Can't Be Trusted With Ownership

Porsche has come up with a genius method of ensuring that911 S/Tbuyers don't flip the car for profit as soon as they take delivery: American customers do not have ownership transferred to their names until at least a year has passed.

When the911 S/T was revealed, its recipe was clearly catering to the palette of the serious driving enthusiast. Rather than just a smattering of expensive paints and leathers joining special wheels and decals, the 911 received the engine of the GT3 RS, unique suspension and bodywork, and all the luxury and tech you could need to drive the car daily.

But as Porsche learnedwith the exquisite 911 R, not everyone who buys a car wants to drive it. Some only want to keep it long enough to see demand skyrocket before flipping the car for a profit, and, according toThe Drive, this is how Porsche plans to prevent that.

Speaking during a media roundtable at last week's Rennsport Reunion 7, Frank Moser (head of the 718 and 911 model lines) explained how Porsche came to its decision.

"When the 911 S/T - marking 60 years of the 911 - was announced, we received unprecedented interest in the car, far outnumbering the number destined for the US," said Moser. "We want to ensure that cars are available [to] reach true enthusiasts, to be driven and enjoyed for years to come. For this reason, those allocated a 911 S/T in the US will be required to adhere to an agreed minimum retention period set at one year. In practice, this will mean that cars in the US will initially be leased for this period before ownership is transferred."

It's no surprise that the American market has been singled out. In January this year, a Porsche dealer in California was selling a 911 Sport Classic with amarkup of a quarter million dollars, and that's far from an isolated incident.