Air-cooled Porsche owners, your navigation system is here

PORSCHE CLASSIC BRINGS GPS AND BLUETOOTH TO OLDER 911 MODELS

    Smartphones have traditionally been drafted as navigation and infotainment systems in classic cars. But soon there will a safer and more stylish way to find your destination in a classic Porsche than placing your smartphone on a suction cup on the windshield.

    Porsche Classic has developed a retrofit navigation system designed to fit into the DIN-1 slot on the dash, just to the right of the climate controls. Designed to fit 911 cars ranging from the earliest models all the way through the air-cooled 993 series cars, Porsche's navigation system features a 3.5-inch screen.

    In addition, this retrofit system offers a radio, Bluetooth connectivity for smartphones, a USB port, external microphone, and an integrated amplifier that can be connected to the original sound system in the car. And of course, the fascia of the navigation system has been designed to blend in with the austere black plastic interiors of classic Porsches, so that it doesn't clash visually like cheap aftermarket sound systems from the 1990s.

PHOTO BY PORSCHE

    But this system isn't cheap, as Porsche Classic quotes a European-market price of €1,184, which works out to approximately $1,340. The company has not announced concrete U.S. pricing just yet -- that's expected upon completion of testing.

    Whether a system in the neighborhood of $1,340 will get Porsche owners to stop relying on their smartphones for navigation or tunes remains to be seen, but it does appear to be more convenient even if the size of the screen does not hold a commanding advantage over a smartphone on a suction cup. We'll have to wait and see whether classic Porsche owners will shell out for this integrated navigation system, though we suspect that many still prefer old-fashioned paper maps.

    Classic air-cooled Tatra owners: you're out of luck for now.