Remember the limited-edition Porsche 911 R? At one point, it was one of the most sought-after Porsches on the market. Essentially a GT3 with a manual gearbox, it was the driver-focused 911 purists had been dreaming of. Originally, the 911 R came with an asking price of $184,900, but high demand for the 911 R, which had a production run of fewer than 1,000 units, resulted in prices soaring on the used market.
It got to a point where some dealers charged over $1 million for a used 911 R. Thankfully, the launch of the GT3 Touring Package has resulted in used 911 R prices plummeting, but pristine examples are still selling for around $300,000. There is, however, now a cheaper way to own a 911 R – providing you don’t mind it not having an engine and being significantly smaller.
German toy and puzzle maker Ravensburger has collaborated with Porsche to create a 1:18 scale model of the 911 R. But instead of being packaged as a completed model, it’s a 3D puzzle. Comprising of 108 injection-molded plastic pieces, the completed model looks surprisingly authentic when seen alongside the real thing. Sadly, the miniature 911 R doesn't have the real car's naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter flat six that produces 493 horsepower and six-speed manual, but it does have working wheels so you can drive it around your desk while making infantile pretend engine noises.
“It was a challenge to recreate the iconic shape of the Porsche 911 R as accurately and in as much detail as possible”, says Martin Fischer, development engineer at Ravensburger. “That and dividing up the puzzle segments were the most complex steps from a technical point of view.”
Porsche says the 911 R 3D puzzle is “just the starting point for an extensive collaboration” with Ravensburger in the coming years. The puzzle is available to buy on the Porsche Online Shop retailing for 29.99 euros ($35), at the Porsche Museum and at Porsche Leipzig, as well as from the Ravensburger Online Shop and toy shops.
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