For a cost no object exercise, there are places that specialize in creating a head unit that uses the factory unit as the controller and the guts from a high-end aftermarket unit so that you have the factory look but the best audio benefits. Most of these companies do this for the classic car market for people who want their car to look original but want a better sound system for when they drive.

I imagine for a couple grand, the factory head unit could be turned into a remote control for the head unit of your choice. Since most high-end head units come with remotes, it might not be so hard to do part of the job.

For what it's worth, I just surrendered looks in favor of functionality and sound. The non-nav head unit just wouldn't get the job done for me. If it had native RCA inputs I might have stayed with it, but without them, it was kind of like having a factory-eight-track player sitting there. Pretty but woefully limited.

There actually is a claimed way to get the non-Nav head unit to take auxilliary inputs but its a twisty path. I researched this and found a thread in one of the Porsche groups that claimed that

- the head unit can be flashed by a Porsche or VW dealer to enable the aux function - the hardware is there - check the wiring chart. But the next step past flashing the head unit (which in itself remains to be verified) is to
- buy a $300 CD-changer "emulator" that pretends to be a CD-changer to the head unit, and provides RCA inputs for your auxillary device.

Let's see what one of the guys here gets when his ebay Nav unit and eBay CD changer arrive - maybe he can just plug in the CD changer, put a splitter on the RCA plugs, and run both his CD changer and iPod, with a little DPDT switch in there to change modes... (Oh gee, I bet he doesn't know that part...hehehehe)


When I read all this I decided that for not a heck of a lot more, I could get it done though give up the pretty look. Besides, I didn't want to brick my head unit trying to flash it (assuming I could even find a Porsche or VW dealer willing to play).

So when I bury my Crossfire, I will put the factory head unit back in, take out the stuff I put instead, and move on.