Every neighborhood has its hero car. The one all the kids on the street turn their heads to gawp at mid-inning during a whiffle-ball showdown. They’re not always what you’d expect, but these cars all make the same impression. And I bet they’re seared into your memory, deeply intertwined with the very love of cars that has you reading Jalopnik to this day.
When I was a kid, the father of my friends across the street had a Porsche 911. On a block where Dodge Caravans, Toyota Camrys, and Ford Tauruses were the the usual fare, the burbly flat six under that white body turning those Fuchs wheels was a real eye catcher. I didn’t know much about it back then (being all of six years old), but it made a dent on me and I never forgot it.
While I can’t remember its exact spec, This 1989 911 Carrera looks to be the closest approximation I can pull up right now. It had the same body-matched Fuchs rims at each corner and it was basically the same. The only major difference is the spoiler. While this one sports a whale-tail, the car in my neighborhood had a clean rear end. I don’t hate the spoiler, but it’s worth pointing out that this was a car going for the “pure” 911 aesthetic, something that I’ve loved to this day.
So what was your neighborhood’s it-car? What was its story? Is it still with us? Let us know in the comments below!