America's wildest restored Porsches just battled it out and these are the cars that won big

Monterey Car Week isn’t just about shiny new toys. Porsche used the weekend to spotlight some of its oldest, most outrageous classics brought back from the brink.

Some were forgotten in garages. Others were rebuilt from scratch. A few had backstories straight out of a movie.

The stage was the Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge, and the judging was ruthless.

From a record field, only four cars came out on top.

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The restorations that brought home trophies

The showdown took place at Werks Reunion West, where Porsche ran the Area West round of its Classic Restoration Challenge. 

Judges came from Porsche Classic, Porsche Cars North America, and the Porsche Club of America. 

By the end, four builds carried home the trophies.

The Restoration Award went to Porsche San Francisco with a 1985 928 S. 

The car had racked up more than 81,000 miles and was headed for the scrap heap. Now it’s back in Glacier Blue, rebuilt from the inside out. 

In a heartwarming twist, the lead technician actually first learned to drive in this very car. 

Years later, she led the team that brought it back to life.

The Preservation Award was pure Vegas drama. 

Gaudin Porsche entered a 1988 944 Turbo S that someone once won in a single poker hand. 

It then sat untouched for more than two decades before the shop carefully revived it. 

Aside from belts, gaskets, and hoses, nothing was touched. The goal was to keep the car as preserved as possible.

Even the original paint still shines under the lights, proving this car is a survivor in every sense.

Individualization went to Porsche Bend, who transformed a humble 1973 911T into an RSR 2.8 tribute. 

They hammered out steel flares by hand, built a period-correct flat-six with rare Mahle pistons, and painted it in retina-burning Viper Green. 

Inside, they re-wrapped the dash and added houndstooth trim, giving it the right vintage flavor.

Fans had their say too, handing the People’s Choice award to Porsche Tucson, who turned a 1972 914 into an off-road special in Fire Orange. 

Instead of dreaming up the concept themselves, the team asked their community what they wanted to see. 

The finished car looked like a cult classic reborn for the desert, with a big number five on the hood marking Tucson’s fifth year in the Challenge.

The Restoration Challenge is booming

The Restoration Challenge is relatively new, having only started in 2020. 

Five years on, it’s booming. 

This year it had the most entries ever in its history, with 73 from all across the US.

No surprise there. America is Porsche’s biggest classic market.

And with 85,000 factory parts on the shelf, shops can bring almost anything back.

Porsche Classic’s Atlanta HQ adds another layer of support, handling full factory restorations and Sonderwunsch specials.

Next up, the Challenge heads to Carmel, Indiana, on September 5 for the South-Central round, then to New York City the very next day for the East. 

It all wraps on October 4 in Durham, North Carolina, with the national championship, held alongside Luftgekühlt 11.

For now, the West has its winners – cars that could have been gone long ago but survived nonetheless. 

All because someone, somewhere, decided they deserved another shot.

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