If you’ve driven by certain indiGO Auto Group Porsche dealerships in the past year you might have noticed a remarkable looking bus parked outside. A Porsche bus.
Wait. A Porsche bus?
That’s right. There is such a thing as a Porsche Bus and indiGO Auto Group owns it. To be specific: A 1963 Gillig Model 590 Porsche bus that has been converted into a one-of-a-kind enclosed car hauler.
The previous owner, Jerome Peters of Atlanta, purchased the bus in 2016 from another private owner and put it through a refurbishment and modification process.
The Bus was then purchased by indiGO Auto Group in May of last year and driven from Atlanta to the Porsche North Houston dealership and then onto the Porsche dealership in Palm Springs.
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Before its remarkable restoration the bus had been in Hayward, Calif., where it was used as a school bus.
The restoration turned it back into a bonafide Porsche Bus – specifically a tribute to the “Buster,” the Brumos Porsche enclosed car hauler.
The Buster was a Mercedes hauler originally converted from a passenger bus. It’s one of just two ever built, and it was used by Porsche to cart countless iconic racing machines to and from races – so it’s not just part of Porsche history, it’s part of the history of motorsport itself.
The exterior of the bus features aluminum bodywork finished in red and gray with Porsche livery.
The right side and rear doors were rebuilt, and custom windows, side and rear-view cameras, and underbody storage compartments were added.
The bus sits on custom aluminum Budd wheels that were powder-coated gray and mounted with Michelin XZE2 11R22.5 radial tires.
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Inside the Porsche Bus, a bolstered driver’s seat and matching passenger seat are trimmed in burgundy upholstery.
The machined aluminum dashboard houses Stewart-Warner gauges, including an 85-mph speedometer and a 3,500-rpm tachometer.
The rear cargo area has black walnut flooring, foam insulation behind Formica wall panels, and an overhead sound system linked to a touchscreen head unit.
The real highlight of this bus conversion is the replacement, rebuilt 7.0-liter Detroit Diesel 6-71 turbodiesel inline-six paired with an Allison automatic transmission.
The engine of the Porsche Bus was rebuilt in April 2015 by Clarke Power Services of Cincinnati, Ohio. Additional features include Cummins Onan diesel generators, air conditioning, and custom aluminum rear ramps.
The total mileage is unknown.
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Our custom Gillig bus is indeed a unique and impressive vehicle for any car enthusiast or collector.
Now, it will become a traveling Porsche Bus, moving within the indiGO company from dealership to dealership for special events. It was recently featured at the Luftgekühlt event in San Francisco where more than 1,000 people got to experience the bus first-hand during walk-throughs.
Want to see it up close?
The Porsche Bus will be coming back to Porsche Palm Springs in time for the Porsche Parade June 18-24, and finally back up to Northern California for the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, California, for the Sept. 27-Oct. 2 Rennsport Reunion.
It will then be at Porsche Sugarland soon after that.
Stay tuned!
In the meantime, check out our Porsche inventory for something as awesome as the Porsche Bus.
