First rally for No. 57

Together with the former owner of the original 911, Bernd Ibold, Trödeltrupp host Otto Schulte has driven the car in the 11th running of the “Hamburg-Berlin Classic” classic-car rally.

In 2014, the TV team headed by host Otto Schulte of the junk-hunting reality show Der Trödeltrupp – Das Geld liegt im Keller found the rare original 911 from the 1960s in a barn. The discovery turned out to be one of the first 911s ever produced: the red Coupé had been built in October 1964 as one of the first series models of the sports car, which still bore the type designation 901. Mere fragments of the red 911 were still to be found under the centimetres-thick layer of dust. Both front fenders had gone missing and rust had claimed entire sections of the vehicle, including the brakes and the engine. The Porsche Museum acquired the original 911 for 107,000 euros, closing an important gap in its collection of seminal classics produced by the brand.


Bernd Ibold, Otto Schulte, l-r, No. 57, Bremen, 2018, Porsche AG

Bernd Ibold (l.) and Otto Schulte in Bremen

Porsche painstakingly restored the original 911 from 2014 to 2017, reconstructing it as authentically and true-to-the-original as possible. Three quarters of a year after the end of the restoration work, the red Coupé will now once again take up the occupation for which it was built: driving. The “Hamburg-Berlin Classic” will be its first rally. Over the coming three days, some 600 kilometres lie ahead of the red Coupé with chassis number 300 057. And it’s not just the car that will be making its rally debut. It will be the first rally for Bernd Ibold and Otto Schulte as well.

This year’s running of the “Hamburg-Berlin Classic” took drivers from Bremen to Hamburg through picturesque landscapes of northern Germany. The finish line for the classic models was the famed Hamburg Fish Market. Alongside the early 911 (start number 75), two other 911s from the company’s collection also took part in the “Hamburg-Berlin Classic”: a 911 SC 3.0 Targa (model year 1981; start number 130) and a 911 2.7 (model year 1975; start number 142).