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Porsche Can Now 3D-Print Obscure Classic Car Parts

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Porsche Classic Cars

For some motoring enthusiasts, owning, restoring, and finally driving an old Porsche is one of the pinnacles of automotive experience. Getting that done, however, can involve more than just finding the car and being handy with tools.

If you’ve got the money for a classic Porsche 959, you probably have the money to replace any broken or worn parts. But finding those parts can be difficult, if not impossible—in many cases, the parts are out of stock and the tools required to build them again are gone.

Porsche Classic is now remedying this by using 3D printing technology to recreate obscure parts that, on occasion, owners of classic Porsche cars may need. Parts include the rearview mirror base for the 911 Speedster, the crank arm for the 964 version of the 911, and the fuel cap gasket and clutch release level for the 959.


Related: Discover your next pre-owned Porsche model


In total, Porsche is printing eight car parts made from steel, alloy, and plastic. In the last case, Porsche uses a selective laser sintering printer. What does that mean? We’ll let Porsche take it over for us: “A process where the material is heated to just below melting point and the remaining energy is applied through a laser to fuse the plastic powder at a selected point.”

It’s clear that thanks to science, those old anti-piracy ads may actually become relevant. It can only be so long before we can download the schematics to a car and 3D-print it in our garage. Well, one can only hope.


Related: Porsche celebrates 70th anniversary