Tavarish Buys a Fire-Damaged Porsche 918 Spyder for $145,000

The Unlikely Acquisition

• 💡 Tavarish, known for ambitious projects like a flooded P1, received a cold call about a Porsche 918 Spyder that had been sitting for 10 years in Canada after a significant fire.
• 🎯 Initially skeptical, he decided to investigate, seeing it as a potential "Unholy Trinity" project alongside his P1.

Assessing the Damage

• 🔍 Upon inspection in freezing January conditions, the car was found to be severely damaged from the seats back, with the engine, hybrid drive, battery, and subframe burnt beyond recognition.
• 💥 The carbon fiber bodywork had unraveled, and aluminum components, including parts of a wheel and suspension, had melted.
• ⚠️ The extent of the damage made the car appear to have little to no salvageable value, especially considering the high cost and limited availability of 918 Spyder parts.

Negotiation and Tariffs

• 💰 Despite the car's condition, the initial asking price was $400,000, which Tavarish countered at $80,000, eventually negotiating down to $125,000 with a broker.
• 🤝 It was later revealed the broker was not the owner, leading to a second negotiation with the actual salvage lot owner, settling on $145,000.
• 📈 A significant hurdle arose with new US-Canada tariffs, potentially adding $30-40,000. To mitigate this, the car was disassembled into parts to be tariffed differently.

Engine Rebuild Challenges

• 🛠️ The fire started from a fuel leak igniting on the hot exhaust, leading to a massive fire that required extensive fire retardant.
• 💧 The fire retardant, being corrosive, seeped into the engine's cylinders, damaging the bespoke cylinder liners and aluminum, turning into a mud-like substance over 10 years.
• 🔬 Tavarish is undertaking a full rebuild of the engine himself, a process that is ongoing but has a potential solution from a specialized company.

Project Vision

• ✨ Unlike the P1, the goal is to keep this 918 Spyder a bone stock hybrid example due to the immense cost of restoration.
• 🚗 The video also mentions a sweepstakes for a Porsche 992 at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, encouraging support for car culture.