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Теги: magazine cars magazine classic porsche
Год: 2023
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ISSUE No.100 NOVEMBER 2023 £9.99 BUMPER 132-PAGE SOUVENIR ISSUE SAFARI EXPRESS 911 S DESTINED FOR PEKING TO PARIS 100 TH L ISSUE SPECIA Y R A N E T CEN EDITION KELSEYmedia 356 A l VIC ELFORD 911 2.0 l EB MOTORSPORT 993 TARGA l 914 l CLASSIC 911 TURBO l 912 TIME ATTACK 964 RSR EVOCATION l 911 2.7 £9.99 NOVEMBER 2023
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Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, United Kingdom EDITORIAL Editor: Dan Furr, dan.furr@kelsey.co.uk Contributors: Karl Ludvigsen, Johnny Tipler, Sharon Horsley, Alex Manos, Chris Wallbank, Steve Bennett, Dan Sherwood ADVERTISING Group Advertising Manager: James Stainer, 01959 543515 or 07948 802130 james.stainer@kelsey.co.uk MANAGEMENT Managing Director: Phil Weeden Publisher: Gareth Beesley Subscription Marketing Director: Kevin McCormick Retail Director: Steve Brown Fulfilment Manager: Andy Cotton Events Manager: Kat Chappell Print Production Manager: Georgina Harris Print Production Controller: Kelly Orriss and Hayley Brown Subscriptions Marketing Manager: Dave Sage SUBSCRIPTIONS Ten issues of Classic Porsche are published per annum UK annual subscription price: £59.50 Europe annual subscription price: £79.90 Rest of World annual subscription price: £89.90 UK subscription and back issue orderline: 0845 241 5159 Overseas subscription order line: +44 (0)1959 543 747 Toll free USA subscription order line: 1-888-777-0275 UK customer service team: 01959 543 747 BIRTHDAY BONANZA Find current subscription offers at: www.bit.ly/subscp Already a subscriber? Manage your account at: shop.kelsey.co.uk/myaccount CONTACT US For customer service support, please visit: help.kelsey.co.uk Customer service and subscription postal address: Classic Porsche Customer Service Team, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, United Kingdom CLASSIFIEDS Tel: 0906 802 0279 (premium rate line, operated by Talk Media Sales on behalf of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Calls cost 65p per minute from a BT landline. Other networks and mobiles may vary. Lines open Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm) Classifieds email address: cars@kelseyclassifieds.co.uk View and upload classifieds at: motorfreeads.co.uk DISTRIBUTION Distribution in Great Britain Seymour Distribution Limited 2 East Poultry Avenue London EC1A 9PT Tel. 020 7429 4000 seymour.co.uk Distribution in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Newspread Tel: +353 23 886 3850 Kelsey Media 2023 © All rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties. Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy. If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy, you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk. Classic Porsche is entirely independent of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. Contents may not be reproduced in any form or stored on any electronic system without written permission. No responsibility accepted for any unsolicited material. Classic Porsche recognises and abides by copyright laws and attempts to correctly credit all material used. If we have used or credited some of your work incorrectly, please contact us and we will do our best to fix the error. NEXT ISSUE ON SALE FRIDAY 17TH NOVEMBER elcome to the hundredth issue of Classic Porsche magazine. A centenary is an impressive milestone in the often difficult world of publishing. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the title’s contributors — past and present — for their hard work, a major contributor to Classic Porsche’s success. I’d also like to acknowledge the raft of new subscribers and advertisers joining our ranks in recent months. Your support is greatly appreciated. Here’s to the next hundred issues. This year has been significant for fans of air-cooled Porsches. Of course, 2023 is the Stuttgart concern’s seventy-fifth anniversary, marking the birth of the 356, but we’ve also been celebrating sixty years of 911, a manufacturing landmark inspiring countless commemorative events all over the world. Throw in preparations for the hundredth issue of Classic Porsche, as well as reaching the 350th issue of our sister title, 911 & Porsche World, and it’s clear to see we’ve had an exceptionally busy summer. When looking back at the previous ninetynine issues of Classic Porsche, it proved impossible to pick out star cars sitting head and shoulders above all others, which is why we decided to feature every major air-cooled Porsche production car in this specially presented souvenir issue. Besides, the scene has changed dramatically since the magazine’s first outing in late 2009 — automotive trends have come and gone. I dare say we’ll look back at today’s Porsche landscape with similar thoughts fourteen years from now. The very first issue of Classic Porsche posed a simple question: what exactly is a classic Porsche? A line was drawn in the sand at discontinuation of the G-series 911. Today, we cover all air-cooled Porsches, including the 964 and 993, considered too new when this title was launched. We’re thrilled to have you along for the ride. Dan Furr Editor @FurrsFleet GET IN TOUCH Visit the Classic Porsche Facebook page facebook.com/classicporschemag View the latest Classic Porsche subscription offers at shop.kelsey.co.uk November 2023 3
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FEATURES 08 34 44 56 64 74 82 94 108 116 124 LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER We sample a gorgeous 1959 356 A T2. IN THE RED SUBSCRIBE TO 4 SEE PAGTEA1IL2S FOR DE The 911 SWB Vic Elford drove to glory. CONSTANT EVOLUTION We pair a 912 with a 993. RACING REMASTERED Behind the scenes at EB Motorsport. BY THE HUNDRED Celebrating 100 issues of Classic Porsche. AGENT ORANGE Paul Leyton’s two-litre 911 restomod. SLIDING-GLASS TARGA Development of the 993 Targa roof. OPPOSITES ATTRACT Introducing the 914 to the classic 911 Turbo. HIGH-SPEED DIRT The 911 S destined for Peking to Paris. ON THE RIGHT TRACK 930 Flachbau becomes 964 RSR evocation. SUBSCRIPTION DEALS 108 Get Classic Porsche delivered to your door. 116 08 94 34 6 November 2023
WELCOME REGULARS 18 24 130 LIVEWIRE The latest classic Porsche news. PORSCHE PRODUCTS New gear for you and your classic. NEXT ISSUE PREVIEW The complexity of 356 restoration. COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION OF ORDER BACK ISSUES bit.ly/issuescp AT 56 44 82 74 November 2023 7
356 A LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER Matt Cramp has owned his stunning 356 A for two decades, during the course of which he’s driven it to far-flung destinations, such as Lucerne and Le Mans, with a restoration at Sportwagen along the way... Words Johnny Tipler Photography Dan Sherwood e all have tales about what first turned us on to Porsche. As I’ve written in these pages previously, around 1962, my father went backwards though a hedge in his pal’s 356. I was smitten from that point onward. I don’t recall Dad being quite so enthusiastic. Then again, he did buy himself a brand-new Beetle 1200 soon after the event. Parental influence is also partly responsible for Matt Cramp’s love of Porsche. He’s the owner of our star car. “As a boy, I used to attend car shows with my dad, who would be driving his Aston Martin DB2 Mk III. I first saw a 356 A on one of our days out together. It was a Speedster finished in black. I was fifteen years old and that was the beginning of my obsession with Porsche.” Fast-forward a further fifteen years. Matt’s desire to own a 356 had grown strong, leading him to take the plunge. By coincidence, Paul Smith, head of renowned Billericay-based 356 specialist, PR Services, was a friend of Matt’s from school days. Needless to say, Paul helped Matt find this car. Why a 356 A, though? “At the time, I didn’t know about the Pre-A,” he admits. “I assumed the 356 A was Porsche’s starting point. I wasn’t as knowledgeable about the brand’s products as I am today. In truth, I probably couldn’t have afforded a Pre-A, anyway — the earlier 356 has always been more expensive on account of its rarity. I’ve always preferred the style of the early 356 models, though. They’re a little curvier and less upright than the shape became in later years. It’s also worth noting, I wasn’t looking for a car in a specific colour — securing a good, solid 356 A was the objective.” After looking at and driving a few 356s, including a red example in Manchester and a Meissen Blue one in Suffolk, Paul informed Matt of the 1959 T2 coupe being offered by Bruce Cooper, head of Volkswagen and Porsche bodywork specialist, Sportwagen, located east of Southend-on-Sea. Aptly registered JSL 356, the car was precisely what Matt was looking for. He’s been in possession of it the for the past twenty years. His ownership experience started off well enough — here was an apparently sound, cared-for A-star silver bullet. There was, however, trouble ahead. It took the form of a wayward garage door. “I’d had the car about six years,” Matt remembers. “I’d just got married, bought a new house and moved in. The garage made use of a big up-and-over door, which contrived to fall off its runners and land on top of my poor Porsche.” Say hello to Sportwagen once more. “My hand was forced into having to shell out for unexpected bodywork repairs. That said, as is the case with all classic cars, you don’t really know what you’ve got until you start dismantling.” Indeed, the more paint Sportwagen took off, the more corrosion Bruce’s team found. “What looked like a beautiful car was hiding tell-tale signs of poor restoration work carried out by a previous owner, possibly in the 1970s, when a 356 had a much lesser financial value and when the quality of automotive restoration and associated workmanship wasn’t anything like as good as it is today.” At this point, with further investigation work required, Matt resigned himself to having reached the point of no return. “More paint came off and more rusted metal required removal. Ultimately, the car ended up having a hefty body restoration in 2009. 356s make use of very convoluted shells and have specific flash points for corrosion. There’s a big team of bodywork specialists at Sportwagen. The company is renowned for being a leading light in the field of 356 and early 911 restoration. All the work is carried out by hand. The 356 is essentially rolled metal, apart from the nose clips, which are major segments available to buy off the shelf. I knew my car was in safe custody.” Here’s the worksheet: Sportwagen completed full structural restoration of both doors, both front wings, both rear quarters, replaced both outer sills, the rocker WITH FURTHER INVESTIGATION WORK REQUIRED, MATT RESIGNED HIMSELF TO HAVING REACHED THE POINT OF NO RETURN Facing page Where once the early 356 was considered laughably basic, it is now appreciated for beauty through simplicity November 2023 9
panel assemblies and applied a full respray in original Porsche Silver Metallic (colour code 5706), along with full anti-corrosion treatment and underbody recoating. The car recently returned to Sportwagen for further attention to each door. Matt tells us the bodywork demanded 250 manhours. As for the cabin, “the interior is actually in very good condition,” he confirms. “It remains as it was when I bought the car. Don’t get me wrong, the upholstery isn’t original. It was re-trimmed long ago, under a previous owner’s rule, but the furnishings and material remain in good order.” There are unlikely advantages to living in south-east Essex, one of which is the plethora of 356 specialists in the area. “I’m fortunate,” Matt smiles. “In this neck of the woods, there are many companies specialising in early Porsches. PR Services and Sportwagen are two such businesses, but there’s also 10 November 2023 Brightwell Motor Company and Karmann Konnection, both within a stone’s throw.” Mechanically, the car has been maintained by PR Services for the duration of Matt’s tenure. “I know Paul and his team well,” he says. “They take care of mechanical work, refit and reassembly, but not bodywork. Cars are handed to Sportwagen for this aspect of a PR Services restoration project. It’s quite a niche market, obviously, but the PR Services team and the Sportwagen crew have worked closely together for many years and pass business to-and-fro whenever it overlaps.” Under Paul’s supervision, the standard sixty-horsepower 1.6litre engine was rebuilt using new barrels and pistons, increasing displacement to 1,720cc. As regular readers will know, this is a common upgrade for a Porsche air-cooled flat-four. “It gives these cars more power, making them more drivable on today’s roads. The increase isn’t massive, obviously. It certainly doesn’t make the 356 a fast car. Despite the change, the host Porsche retains its character, but is a little easier at making progress in modern traffic and when cruising on long journeys.” Matt’s 356 A retains its original appearance, complete with USspec bumpers and single door Above Corrosion proved too difficult to ignore, resulting in a body restoration
356 A Above and below Interior isn’t original to the car, but was in excellent condition when Matt took ownership of the Porsche, which was originally supplied by Max Hoffman mirror, which is an encouraging achievement in itself — we are all aware of the temptation to modify our cars one way or another, but this particular Porsche has been kept on the straight and narrow. All credit to him for doing so. After all, it would have been all too easy to have elected the Outlaw style during restoration. Knowing something of the car’s original owner may have influenced Matt’s decision to stay true to his Porsche’s roots. It was first registered on 1st July 1959 and sold via New York-based Porsche importer, Max Hoffman, the Austrian founder of Hoffman Motor by the 1970s, owned Harry Mann Chevrolet, the USA’s largest Corvette dealer. Turns out, Milne was a colourful character. For example, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s, assisted by his father, he would smuggle liquor into the US from Canada, sometimes being hotly pursued by the Feds. We’re taken by the idea this is where he picked up his love of sports cars. During the Second World War, he served in the army and was stationed in France, Belgium and Germany. In 1948, he landed a job at Harry Mann Chevrolet in Los Angeles. By 1953, when the Corvette was introduced, Milne was general manager of the dealership. When Mann retired in the early 1970s, Milne bought the business and continued to promote Corvette, not only through sponsorship of race cars, but also by careful product placement, chiefly the loan of ‘Vettes to Hollywood stars and film companies. He bought the Porsche specifically to drive it during a European holiday he had planned for 1960. The fact a 356 is a WHEN MANN RETIRED IN THE EARLY 1970s, MILNE BOUGHT THE BUSINESS AND CONTINUED TO PROMOTE CORVETTE Company, the east coast’s premier sales centre for European sports cars during the post-war years. Matt’s 356 A’s first owner was an American named Frank Milne, who, November 2023 11
conspicuous contrast to a Corvette — certainly in terms of construction, size and power — doesn’t escape us. “I managed to trace his daughter, Mimi Milne,” Matt recalls. “She confirmed my 356 A was purchased for her parents’ summer trip to Europe in 1960, and how her dad shipped the car back to Germany in readiness for the holiday after buying from Max Hoffman.” The Milnes visited Mimi’s greatgrandmother in Berlin and her paternal grandmother in Maidstone. PERMANENT VACATION Here, the ownership trail goes cold, though Matt has a tantalising old black-and-white photograph of the car bearing what could be a Zwickau (Saxony) registration plate. “I don’t know whether Milne shipped the car back to the USA or whether it stayed in Europe. Mimi was unable to remember. Either way, he seems not to have kept it for long,” he shrugs. The Porsche was imported 12 November 2023 into the UK from Munich in March 2000, which suggests, perhaps, it remained in Germany for the forty years following Milne’s European vacation. Unfortunately, when cars are imported, it’s easy to lose a clutch of period information. For the sake of context, let’s set this aside for the moment and remind ourselves of the evolution and specification of the 356 A. At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1955, in time for the 1956 model year, the Pre-A 356 was replaced by the much-improved 356 A, which introduced a single curved windscreen in place of two adjoined flat panes of glass. From launch, the model was available with no fewer than five different-capacity flat-four engines: the 1300 with 44bhp, the 1300 Super with 60bhp, the 1600 with 60bhp, the 1600 Super with 75bhp, and the mildly exotic 1500 GS Carrera with 100bhp. The upgrades were known as Technical Programme 1, abbreviated as T1. The 1,582cc engine had a higher compression ratio, enabling it to take advantage of the higheroctane fuels then available, while Zuffenhausen’s Versuchsabteilung experimental department produced numerous suspension and powertrain-mounting improvements, including softening springs by removing leaves from the torsion bars and fitting stiffer dampers. Above Matt isn’t afraid of putting miles on his classic Porsche, taking it all over Europe to events, including the Le Mans Classic
356 A Above Flat-four has been enlarged to 1.7 litres, giving the car a little more pep in its step and more able to keep up with the challenge of modern traffic Better contemporary tyre technology enabled smaller-diameter fifteeninch rubber and wider treads to be used, along with reduced pressures. The front indicators were now integrated in the horn grilles, and all models in the range featured a modified front-lid handle with inset Porsche crest. From March 1957, taillights were teardrop-shaped. At the 1957 Frankfurt Show, the T2 was announced. The tailpipes of the 1600 models ended between the bumper guards to give more ground clearance, while the chromiumplated housing with number-plate illumination and reversing light was mounted below the plate itself. Mechanically, the T2 stopped using roller-bearing crankshafts and the Hirth crankshaft in the Super models, while carburetion switched from Solex to Zenith 32 NDIX. The 1300 models were discontinued with the introduction of the T2, and by the 1960 model year, the 356 A was replaced by the 356 B. Under his watch, Matt’s 356 A, boasting transatlantic heritage, hasn’t sat idle for long. “It’s not a garage queen,” he avers. “It gets driven. It’s done a tour of France, several 356 Internationals, including those taking place in Switzerland and the Netherlands, plus countless weekends away in the UK. I’ve completed two trips to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in this car and, in 2018, I drove it to the Le Mans Classic. My dad came along in his Aston and my father-in-law joined us in his Morgan. We got to drive two laps of the track, pre-race, which is something you can do at the Le Mans Classic. Taking this 356 around Circuit de la Sarthe, running flat-out down the Mulsanne Straight and barrelling through the curves and chicanes, was a thrilling experience and gave a hint of what a 356 must have felt like for drivers campaigning these cars in the main race all those years ago.” As intimated, Matt is a regular attendee of continental club events for 356s. He paints a picture of one of his favourite jaunts, which was to Switzerland in 2019 for the fortyfourth International Porsche 356 meeting. An Essex departure point enabled him to make light work of the sixty-eight-mile run over the Dartford crossing and down the M20 motorway to the Euro Tunnel for a 7:50am shuttle. “The roads were empty,” he recalls, “although traffic built during the drive. At the terminal, I met up with drivers of three other 356s, people I didn’t know personally, but had November 2023 13
corresponded with by email and WhatsApp. Cars are a great leveller — we all have something in common through them. From Calais, we drove 170 miles to Reims for an overnight stay. We couldn’t resist a stop-off at the former Circuit de Reims pits, which is a must-do photo opportunity. Dinner was at an excellent traditional French Brasserie, Le Boulingrin. On the Wednesday morning, we drove 232 miles through lovely rural French countryside, avoiding the Autoroute, and arriving at Hotel Issenberg near Colmar. This hotel is used to hosting classic cars, with safe and secure parking and on-site CCTV. Here, we met up with a dozen 356 drivers making their way to Switzerland.” hundred metres above Lake Lucerne, we arrived at the Burgenstock Resort. This was one of the most spectacular hotels I’ve ever stayed in. I believe it’s listed as one of the top hundred hotels anywhere in the and saw 356s set off on the touring rally through the Bernese Oberland. “The scenery gradually changed from towns to small villages, hairpin hill climbs and, eventually, mountain passes,” Matt enthuses. “The roads got wet from streams cascading off neighbouring rocks. As we climbed ever higher, the temperature dropped and the air thinned. This made my 356’s engine struggle. The carbs were less than happy, but the punchy little flat-four kept going. The views were spectacular, the snow-capped mountains seen through clean IT GOT OFF TO A GOOD START, CROSSING THE ATLANTIC TWICE, PRETTY MUCH BEFORE IT HAD EVEN TURNED A WHEEL MEETING POINT At daybreak, the group headed off in different convoys, taking alternative routes to one another, albeit bent on reaching the same final destination. “The route my group opted for was more direct,” Matt muses. “After a short burst on the motorway, we pulled off at Lucerne. Soon, we were climbing narrow winding roads, like fairground switchbacks, and at five 14 November 2023 world. Built in the 1870s, it was the place to stay during the 1950s and 1960s. Famous actors, such as Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn and Sean Connery, were on the regular guest list. The latter has a plaque dedicated to him by the pool, a consequence of him staying on-site whilst filming Goldfinger. There were at least a hundred 356s of various ages and configurations gathered for the event. The collection presented quite a spectacle, even when lined up in the underground car park.” Until this point of the trip, Matt had been travelling solo, but his wife flew to Switzerland and joined the leg of the drive to Lucerne. Friday was the official first day of the tour. It commanded a nine o’clock start Above Look out for the car at 2024’s 356 International Meet in Estoril Below You might want to update your window sticker, Matt
356 A Above USDM bumpers highlight an import from America, yet the car was returned to Germany almost as soon as it was sold in New York fresh air and clear blue skies. The journey downhill was faster, while the switchback roads through the Swiss countryside were jawdroppingly exhilarating. We arrived at the Grandhotel Giessbach for lunch, and everyone revelled in how amazing the morning had been. There followed a short drive back to the Burgenstock Resort hotel, giving us time to chill in the rooftop spa and infinity pool with a glass of wine.” On the Saturday, the gathered masses drove their vintage fourcylinder Porsches through Lake Lucerne’s coastal Seeland, stopping for lunch before a drive back to the Burgenstock. “The following day, I bade farewell to my wife as she headed off to catch her flight home. After she left, I hammered on back to Reims for an overnight stay ahead of the final leg of the journey home. As I arrived in the city, however, the car lost power. It felt like it was running on three cylinders. The engine was making a terrible staccato noise.” Flames were shooting dramatically from the exhaust. A worry, for sure, but one quickly quelled when poking around highlighted the cause of the problem: simple exhaust gasket failure. “I have zero mechanical skills, but luckily, I was travelling in convoy with a 356 crewed by two practically minded classic Porsche buffs,” Matt smiles. “Using the few tools we mustered between us, and by referencing a 356 workshop manual on an iPhone, they managed to change the gasket while the car was in an underground car park. This meant I was able to drive home the following day, completing an epic 1,200-mile road trip. It ranks as one of the best I’ve ever done. For 2024, the 356 International will be held at Estoril, Portugal. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a long drive for my 356, and I haven’t quite worked out the route I’m going to take, but I suspect it will involve hopping on a ferry to Santander and a five-hundred-mile run from there.” The fact Matt goes the distance (literally) with his 356 is truly inspirational. As for the car itself, it got off to a good start on its own, crossing the Atlantic twice, pretty much before it had even turned a wheel. Believe us when we say there’s plenty of get-up-and-go left in this long-distance runner. CP November 2023 15
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NEWS LIVEWIRE Our look at what’s happening in the wonderful world of air-cooled classics… MARKET IN STATE OF REALIGNMENT Members of the UK’s National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) are reporting the market is steady, and there is strong optimism this will be maintained for the remainder of the year. “There have been cases of seasonal trend, but overall, auction members have been pleased with the busy summer,” says Paul Hill, NAMA spokesman, following a recent meeting with key industry figures to discuss the current sales climate. Whilst the market is moving at a steady pace, values are down half a percent when compared with those twelve months prior. Furthermore, values have dropped six percent during the past three months, though due to an overall lack of stock, values are predicted to at least remain at their current level for the rest of 2023. “Demand has been impacted by the holiday season, but we are starting to see other external factors, such as the broader economic climate and the cost-of-living crisis, which are having an effect on the demand for mid-priced cars. There has been also been evidence of regional dealers in and around London placing extra emphasis on sourcing ULEZ-compliant cars,” Hill continues. “Trading is steady, though, even with the market dropping by six percent. Historically, this would have been cause for concern among NAMA members, but the consensus is that these trends are to be expected and suggests the market is in a transition of realignment.” SPEED ENCORE Classic and sports car dealer showroom sales across Europe remain strong, with many of our advertisers reporting a spike in interest as the new registration plate season comes into force. Netherlandsbased ER Classics, one of Europe’s largest classic sports car dealers, is experiencing particularly strong interest in its offerings, which include the 1955 356 Pre-A Speedster pictured on this page. Characterised by its Schiefergrau dark grey paint job and twin-tone black-and-grey leather, the open-top stunner features a foldable roof finished in ruby red and rolls on its original Rudge knock-off wheels. Additionally, the car is being offered with a snug-fitting hard top, making it perfect for winter cruising. This attractive classic Porsche hasn’t been treated like a garage queen — its punchy 1.6-litre flat-four and sublime handling capabilities have made it a great choice for a number of road rallies, including Argentina’s Mille Miglia Sport, as well as ten outings in Italy, including the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and, impressively, Nuvolari no fewer than seven times. Subject to a full, bare metal restoration in Germany seven years ago and kept as part of a private collection (frequently emerging for rallies and tours), this excellently maintained and well-documented Speedster is ready and waiting for its next owner. Valuable Porsches, such as this, are often kept unused and hidden from public view. We’re delighted to see this gorgeous 356 used as its maker intended. For full details, visit erclassics.com. 18 November 2023 COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION OF ORDER BACK ISSUES bit.ly/issuescp AT
RUF AUTOMOBILE HONOURS THE 911 WITH NEW 550BHP 3.6-LITRE AIR-COOLED MODEL “Celebrating our sixty-year love affair with the 911, we are bringing back one of the elements shaping the heart and soul of this iconic automotive masterpiece,” smiles Alois Ruf Jr, head of RUF Automobile. He’s referring to the legendary air-cooled flat-six. “We are proud to introduce a new air-cooled engine to our product line. This new development is a testament to our brand’s heritage, which blends harmoniously with contemporary innovation.” The new RUF engine features a block and cylinder heads manufactured from aluminium, three valves per cylinder, camshaft adjustment with valve timing and lift, hydraulic valve adjustment, dry sump lubrication, twin turbochargers and intercoolers, Bosch electronic engine management, fly-by-wire throttle, cylinder-specific knock control, stereo lambda control circuits, static highvoltage distribution, individual coils and two three-way catalytic converters with metal substrates. Delivering maximum output of 550bhp at 6,750rpm and 553lb-ft torque at 4,500rpm, the engine is available as part of a new RUF carbon-chassis performance package. Ah, yes. The host vehicle. 2023 marks not only the sixtieth anniversary of the 911, but also six decades since a 911 first rolled into the RUF’s workshops in Pfaffenhausen, located approximately one hundred miles south-east of Porsche’s headquarters in Zuffenhausen. To pay tribute to both milestones, RUF has developed a new car in which to install its mighty new powerplant. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the new model is named Tribute. “This remarkable vehicle is a nostalgic journey back to our roots, embodying the spirit of Porsche’s classic air-cooled engine, while infusing it with a touch of modernity, such as four-cam technology with variable cam timing, variable valve lift and three-valve cylinder heads,” Alois Jr enthuses. “The engine is THE HOST VEHICLE MIGHT LOOK LIKE A CLASSIC PORSCHE, BUT IT WILL FEEL LIKE A THOROUGHLY MODERN ROCKET SHIP bristling with the character only air cooling can provide, while the chassis is fully carbon-fibre and makes use of our present modular system of double wishbones in all four corners and horizontally mounted dampers lifted directly from motorsport. Our proprietary integrated roll cage stiffens the very lightweight chassis.” All the RUF essentials are combined: steering brimming with tactility, an engine overwhelming the senses (in all the best ways!) and an overall feeling of lightness, agility and strength. This new air-cooled engine adds something special to the modern RUF pantheon, taking the best of the motoring past and injecting the technology of the present to create a flat-six, not to mention a new sports car, quite unlike any other, Porsche or otherwise. “At RUF, we believe in the importance of tradition, consistency and innovation,” Alois Jr highlights. “This new engine pushes our boundaries in engineering and design. The aircooled flat-six has always been near and dear to our hearts, and we are thrilled to be carrying the torch of this iconic layout into the modern motoring age.” The Tribute was announced alongside the new CTR3 Evo and R Spyder at Monterey Car Week. The price of acquiring a Tribute has yet to be announced, but for further information regarding availability, technical specification or to request a brochure, readers are encouraged to visit rufautomobile.co.uk. November 2023 19
NEWS HISTORIC RACING PORSCHES BREAK COVER TO BE OFFERED FOR PRIVATE SALE A private sale sure to get Porschephiles excited is the first-ever 935 race car. The history of 935-001 has its origins in a major revision to the FIA’s Group 5 category. For the 1976 racing season, the FIA changed the rulebook to allow extensive modifications to production-based vehicles homologated in Groups 1 through 4. These “Special Production Cars” followed the ‘silhouette’ rules, permitting major bodywork and chassis upgrades if the basic silhouette remained unchanged. Porsche was prompted to refine the turbocharged 911 and compete for the manufacturer’s championship with a highly developed works entry, resulting in the venerable 935. Development of the model began in late 1975 with 935-001. The car’s radically styled fibreglass bodywork, coil-spring suspension, massive rear tyres and turbocharged flat-six engine came together to produce a competition machine capable of producing 590bhp, with as much as 630bhp available for short bursts, when permitted. Acquired by the current owner from the Drendel Family Collection in 2012, 935-001 has since been restored to exacting, concours standards by the renowned Cavaglieri Restorations, with an engine rebuild carried out by Ed Pink Racing Engines. Presenting accurately in its victorious 1976 Martini Racing livery, 935-001 is being offered for private sale through specialist auction and brokerage business, Gooding & Company (goodingco.com), PORSCHE WAS PROMPTED TO REFINE THE TURBOCHARGED 911 AND COMPETE FOR THE MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP as is 904 chassis 60. Delivered new to Porsche enthusiast, Albert Gwinner, this particular 904 was never raced — Gwinner retained the car strictly for road use. It was later imported to the USA, where it wound up in the hands of Porsche collector, John Wean, of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. Wean owned the Silver Metallic marvel for approximately twenty years before selling it to Ernie Spada of Oswego, Oregon. Under Spada’s ownership, 904-060 was comprehensively restored to show-quality condition and exhibited to great acclaim. Acquired by the current owner in 1998, 904-60 has since benefited from a complete engine rebuild conducted by Porsche in Germany. Remarkably, the car retains its original, matching-numbers engine (99054) and transaxle (904-060), unlike the majority of four-cam Porsches. Available for the first time in decades, 904-060 presents virtually as new. Another Gooding & Company sales sensation is the 1983 TAG-Porsche TTE P01 F1 engine sold at the firm’s recent London auction. One of the most revered powerplants in F1 history (and McLaren’s trusted engine type from 1983 to 1987, during which the team won three drivers’ titles and two constructors’ championships), this historically significant engine sold for £65,000, some fifteen grand above estimate. Gooding & Company has a long and fruitful history of finding new homes for classic Porsche competition cars. In 2022, one of only six 904/6s built by the factory sold at the firm’s Amelia Island sale for $2,205,000, while the Dick Barbour 935 driven by Paul Newman, Brian Redman, Bobby Rahal and Ralf Stommelen at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans sold at the company’s 2016 Pebble Beach auction for a whopping $4,840,000. 20 November 2023
65-67 USA Headlight Assemblies NEW reproduction of the original Hella headlights for the early USA cars. Part # 901.631.102.01 Correct screws with oval head, not just flat head machine screws... and they are chrome plated. Bucket is powdercoated in the correct shade of gray and has a copy of the Hella date stamp as well. Raised script on the glass (sorry no Hella logo), correct SB 19-20-21 script and we used a special glass type called “Borosilicate”... it’s stronger than standard glass and will resist rock chips and breakage better than the standard glass! Complete with the bulb springs, and the correct attachment screw. Perfect fit right out of the box, just install your own 7” bulbs, plug, and play! These have been unavailable for many years. Use with standard 7” USA sealed beam bulbs, or drop in a pair of 7” Hella H4’s, Cibie Bi-iodes, or your favorite LED lighting. We used brass for the trim ring, which is then chrome plated just like OEM. We didn’t just use stamped steel which rusts....and doesn’t fit well. 1965 to 1967 parking brake boot. No slits and no side tabs, all original molding details are correct cars is back in stock! Correct satin brushed finish, and the hardware is included as well New “128” fog lamps are back in stock with the “clear” reflector. Perfect chrome, and correct raised lettering w/ correct logo, 12V bulb included We have the 1969 to 1972 horn grill in stock. Steel alloy, perfect chrome and all done in the USA. Perfect fit! No more trying to fit the gap between the hood and the grill or the grill and the turn signal lense Auto-Foreign Services Tel: +1-206-321-2960 E: autoforeign@gmail.com www.autoforeignservices.com Eric Linden, 29 year PCA member, 29 year 356 Registry member, also writing in the Early S Registry as “Soterik”. All parts manufactured exclusively for us from NOS originals, and guaranteed to fit. Many more items to come!
NEWS SUSTAINABLE FUEL FOR CLASSICS NOW ON SALE Renewable fuel specialist, Coryton, has launched the UK’s first publicly available sustainable fuel. The Sustain Classic range is specially formulated for historic vehicles with internal combustion engines and allows them to be powered by environmentally friendly plant-based fuel without the need for engine modifications. This marks the first time members of the public have been able to purchase the drop-in replacement fuel, which offers a significant reduction in emissions when compared to fossil-based equivalents. Created in Coryton’s state-of-the-art UK laboratory, the specially formulated fuel is a direct replacement for forecourt petrol. The product is formulated using advanced second-generation biofuel manufactured from agricultural waste, including straw and other byproducts, which wouldn’t otherwise be suitable for consumption. Coryton’s first Sustain fuel was released last year, with Sustain Racing proving its worth on gruelling endurance racing events, including the Dakar Rally. Three versions of Sustain Classic are available: Super 80, Super 33 and Racing 50. Super 80 is priced from £4.65 per litre and contains at least eighty percent renewable content, saving more than sixty-five percent of greenhouse gas emissions over fossil fuels. Super 33 contains at least thirty-three percent renewables, cutting more than twenty-five percent of gases and costs from £3.80 per litre. Both are rated to 98RON, the equivalent of traditional Super Unleaded, and contain a bio-ethanol content of less than one percent. Racing 50 is a high-performance fuel rated to 102RON, making it ideal for high-octane applications, including motorsport. Containing at least fifty percent renewables, this Sustain variant saves more than thirty-five percent of gases and costs from £5.24 per litre. “We believe Sustain Classic is the world’s first sustainable fuel catering for classic vehicles, providing a credible and convenient way to run vintage cars without the need for fossil fuels,” says Coryton CEO, Andrew Willson. “It’s fully certified, tested and developed right here in the UK at our world-class blending facility. By creating a collection of secondgeneration biofuels compatible with the needs of classic cars, we hope to provide these muchloved motors with a more sustainable future.” Although the fuels are not yet fully sustainable, Coryton’s Business Development Director, David Richardson, believes they are a significant step in the right direction. “Every kilogram of CO2 we avoid adding to our atmosphere is a win. We don’t instantly have to go for the full switch to start making a genuine impact. We are setting truthful and realistic goals, producing fuels delivering a meaningful difference, whilst meeting the demands of the user. While we could use ‘mass balancing’ techniques to certify this fuel as fully sustainable, we believe it is important to be open about technology’s readiness and traceability. The industry will get there with the right support, which is why we think it’s important to get these products into the hands of consumers now.” Visit coryton.com for info. ADVANCED SECONDGENERATION BIOFUEL MANUFACTURED FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTE 22 November 2023
356 Speedster 911 2.4 S 911 Turbo (991.2) 911 Turbo (991) Signal Red • Black Leather Sports Seats 15” Steel Wheels with Chrome Hub Caps Chassis No. 83032 • Certificate of Authenticity • Tool Kit & Jack • Previously Sold & Serviced by Paragon • 1957 Silver Metallic • Black Leatherette Seats with Houndstooth • 15” Fuchs Wheels Porsche Certificate of Authenticity • LeftHand Drive • Previously Sold & Serviced by Paragon • Matching Numbers • 1972 (K) GT Silver • Bordeaux Red/Black DualTone Leather • PDK Gearbox • 20” Turbo III Wheels • Sport Chrono • Glass Electric Sunroof • Previously Sold & Serviced by Paragon • 18,583 miles • 2016 (66) Basalt Black • Black Leather Sports Seats • PDK Gearbox • 20” Turbo Centre Lock Wheels • Touchscreen Satellite Navigation • Sport Chrono • Carbon Interior Pack • 16,012 miles • 2015 (15) £314,995 £174,995 £102,995 £91,995 911 Turbo (997.2) 911 Carrera 2 (993) 911 Carrera 4 GTS (997) 911 Carrera 4 S (991) Meteor Grey • Black Leather Adaptive Sports Seats • PDK Gearbox 19” Turbo II Wheels • Touchscreen Satellite Navigation • Sport Chrono 33,619 miles • 2010 (60) Arena Red • Classic Grey Leather Seats Manual Gearbox • 17” Cup Wheels Air Conditioning • Previously Sold & Serviced by Paragon • 72,325 miles 1996 (N) Meteor Grey • Black Half-Leather Sports Seats • PDK Gearbox • 19” GTS Centre Lock Wheels • Sport Chrono • Previously Sold & Serviced by Paragon • 33,829 miles • 2012 (12) Guards Red • Black Leather Sports Seats PDK Gearbox • 20” Carrera S Wheels Touchscreen Satellite Navigation Switchable Sports Exhaust • Bose Sound System • 22,782 miles • 2014 (64) £79,995 £74,995 £69,995 £67,995 911 Carrera 2 S (991) 911 Carrera 4 (993) 911 Turbo (997) 911 Turbo (996) Basalt Black • Black Leather Sports Seats • PDK Gearbox • 20” Carrera Classic Wheels • Touchscreen Satellite Navigation • Switchable Sports Exhaust Sport Chrono • 39,561 miles • 2013 (63) Arctic Silver • Classic Grey Leather Sports Seats • Manual Gearbox • 17” Cup Wheels Air Conditioning • Blue Power Hood Previously Sold & Serviced by Paragon 63,365 miles • 1997 (P) Meteor Grey • Black Leather Adaptive Sports Seats • Manual Gearbox 19” Turbo Wheels • Sport Chrono Previously Sold & Serviced by Paragon 60,258 miles • 2008 (08) Seal Grey • Black Leather Seats Manual Gearbox • 18” Turbo II Wheels Fully Electric Heated Seats • Electric Sunroof • Previously Sold & Serviced by Paragon • 47,872 miles • 2003 (52) £62,995 £59,995 £56,995 £54,995 01825 830424 sales@paragongb.com www.paragongb.com We have superb in-house workshop and preparation facilities. Each car is supplied fully serviced with a new MOT and our 12-month/unlimited mileage comprehensive parts and labour warranty. See more of our current stock at paragongb.com PA R AGO N G B LT D F IV E A S H E S E A ST S U S S E X TN20 6HY
PRODUCTS Hot new products for you and the precious air-cooled Porsche in your life… CLARKE BLUETOOTH BATTERY MONITOR The new Clarke CBBT1 is a must-have affordable gadget for anyone looking to keep a watchful eye on their car’s health, allowing users to monitor key battery-related information via a dedicated smartphone app. Helpfully, the app allows up to four devices to be monitored at the same time. The CBBT1 monitors a range of information from your car’s twelve-volt lead acid battery, allowing you to see charge percentage, voltage and temperature at a glance. The app will even send you an alarm notification if the battery is registering unusual readings. The device can store historical data for up to thirty days, saving the data every two minutes. You can save unlimited historical data within the app. The CBBT1 also records the last known parking position, providing a handy ‘car finder’ function through the app. Price: £28.79 machinemart.co.uk or call 0115 956 5555 GTS CLASSICS SEATS FOR PORSCHES A leading provider of custom classic car seats and boasting what’s thought to be the largest selection of designs worldwide, GTS Classics focuses on high-quality materials, period-correct designs and excellent customer service. Whether you’re restoring a classic Porsche or simply want to upgrade the comfort and style of your car’s interior, GTS Classics has the product to achieve your goals. To serve customers better, as well as improving on expediency, practicality and cost, the company has developed a car seat kit range. By purchasing a seat kit, you can now have the upholstery taken care of locally. The appropriate pre-cut foam and installation hardware is included in each kit. Options include multiple headrest and bolster designs, as well as sliders and tilting brackets. Price: From $695 classiccarseats.com or call +1 702 353 7175 CLASSIC CAR LEDS LIGHTING SOLUTIONS British brand, Classic Car LEDs, produces six-, twelve- and twenty-four-volt LEDs, as well as flasher relays and ancillaries for classic and modern-classic vehicles. New from the company is an H4 LED kit offering superior exterior lighting for Porsches making use of traditional P45T R2 reflectors. These new LED bulbs are a direct replacement for standard H4 bulbs and don’t require fiddly adapters, meaning installation is simple and the look of the host Porsche remains unaffected. Available with a classic warm white output or a cool modern white to suit the look you prefer, these brilliant bulbs are MOT-compliant for cars first registered before April 1986. The bulbs are sold as a pair. Worldwide carriage is offered, with UK deliveries attracting postage without charge. Price: £76.80 classiccarleds.co.uk or call 0800 246 5678 24 November 2023
RECARO CLASSIC LX SEAT RANGE Beauty and safety — an automotive match made in heaven! If you’re looking for sensible seating which doesn’t cut back on individual comfort or sophisticated design, then look no further than the Recaro Classic LX. The moment you sit down, you’ll know this retro-styled seat ticks all the right boxes. The comfort of the Classic LX is enhanced by an extendable front cushion helping to relieve strain on the thighs. The combination of structured and breathable cushion material provides optimal climate control, even in extreme temperatures. And, with a variety of finishes, there’s a Classic LX to suit the interior of your air-cooled Porsche. Proving the point is the online store of Porsche parts and accessories specialist, Cargraphic, which is currently offering the Classic LX with black leather and chequered plaid fabric alongside variants featuring full black leather and a choice of half-leather with houndstooth (Pepita) or black corduroy centres. Runners to suit various models of Porsche can be ordered separately. Price: On request cargraphic.de or call +49 06341 968 911 0 RENNLINE TUNABLE SEMI-SOLID ENGINE MOUNT FOR CLASSIC 911 AND 930 The Rennline semi-solid tunable engine mount for the classic 911 and 911 Turbo (930) offers the ultimate in adjustability for your car. Replacing compliant factory mounts with Rennline’s offering will decrease engine movement, resulting in better acceleration, improved handling and significantly increased shifter feel. CNC-machined from billet aluminium, the mounts are sold in pairs and are supplied with three sets of polyurethane inserts, each presenting its own density. Use the softer inserts (75A) to reduce engine slop and avoid missed shifts in your street car. Utilise the stiffest inserts (95A) to get the most from a more focused track car. You can even mix and match, giving you nine possible combinations allowing you to dial in your personal preference, including a hybrid of street and track use (85A). These superbly manufactured mounts are available to order direct from the Rennline website, where you will also find the company’s range of solid engine mounts. Price: $249 rennline.com or call +1 213 224 7393 PORSCHE CLASSIC PINK PIG DUFFEL BAG Whether a fashionable companion for the gym, the perfect overnight bag or your road trip load lugger, this ‘Pink Pig’ duffel bag from Porsche Classic measures 550x265x265mm and features a spacious main compartment, an inner compartment with zip, two side pockets and a detachable shoulder belt. The bag echoes the livery of 917/20, entered into the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans as a rolling race car laboratory for aerodynamic testing and Can-Am development. Named Trüffel-Jager von Zuffenhausen (Truffle-hunter of Zuffenhausen), 917/20 featured the names of butcher cuts and was a tribute to rillettes, the pork delicacy served local to Le Mans. Buy the bag direct from the Stoddard online store. Price: $200 stoddard.com or call +1 440 869 9890 26 November 2023
INTRODUCING Electronic Fuel Injection Throttle Body Kits Black Anodized “R” F in is h THE CHOICE IS YOURS • Precision CNC Machined and Hand Assembled in Anaheim, California. • All PMO EFI Throttle Bodies are Manufactured Using the Finest Aerospace Grade Materials. • Available in 40mm, 46mm and 50mm Sizes Natural Aluminum or Black Anodized “R” Finishes • Sealed Ball Bearings for Long Life and Utilizing a One-Piece Throttle Shaft for Consistent Alignment and Superior Throttle Response. • Ultra Precise Air / Fuel Metering for Higher Performance. • Tapered 52mm Throats for Significantly Improved Airflow Capabilities. • Billet Fuel Rails Accept Bosch Style Injectors ( 3/4” x 16 TPI female threads ) • Direct Fit on PMO Manifolds and PMO Throttle Linkages Using Extended Arms. • Utilizes PMO Water Shield or ITG High Performance Air Filters. • Compatible with EFI Control Systems including Haltech, Megasquirt, MoTeC and More. Congratulations Classic Porsche On Your 100th Issue!! Phone: 714-421-4970 empius.com | Fax: 310-394-6313 | Email:sales@pmoinduction.com PMO Products are exclusively available through PMO and EMPI distributors
CLARKE DEVIL 370SPD WORKSHOP HEATER Machine Mart has grown its extensive range of workshop and garage heaters with new models from Clarke’s Devil range. The first of these models is the 370SPD remote-controlled quartz halogen heater. Providing instant, clean, odour-free infrared heat, this unit is ideal when spot heating of objects or persons is required. The elements will only heat solid objects, rather than air, which makes this heater extremely efficient — ninety-five percent of input energy is converted into heat output. The 370SPD is made of rugged all-steel industrial casing and is mounted to a lightweight tubular frame. It features a swivel head for direction specific heating, which means it can be used for both indoor and outdoor maintenance areas. This model also features an automatic shutdown timer, six heating settings, a multi-function remote control for ease of use and a stylish LCD panel to show the current heating mode. Output is a maximum of 2.8kW. Supply voltage is 230V. Price: £263.98 machinemart.co.uk or call 0115 956 5555 NUFLOOR POLYMERS FLOORING Create a wow-factor welcome for your Porsche with Nufloor Polymers. Based in Sandbach, Cheshire, the company is dedicated to providing high-performance flooring and resin-bound stone systems transforming garages and driveways, ensuring you can drive your Porsche home to luxury. Working directly with customers all over the UK, Nufloor Polymers tailors each of its installations to suit individual needs and works around each client’s schedule to minimise disruption. The firm is proud to use high-performance coating systems from Vebro Polymers, resulting in seamless slip-resistant floors, which are both durable and easy to clean, with special finishes to withstand the toughest of challenges, including the rigours of heavy machinery and chemical spillage. Able to tolerate extremes of temperature, Nufloor Polymers floors are ideal for domestic garages and workshops, as well as high-intensity commercial environments, and are complemented by the company’s range of water permeable, weed resistant, resin-bound stone driveway systems. Price: From £1,500 (subject to VAT) nufloorpolymers.co.uk or call 07802 571175 AA PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS 74MM FORGED CRANKSHAFT FOR 356 C/912 Based in Covina, California, AA Performance Products is known the world over as the leading manufacturer of pistons and liners for air-cooled Volkswagens and four-cylinder Porsches. In addition to these parts, the company also produces flywheels, connecting rods, cylinder heads and crankshafts for a wide variety of vehicles from Stuttgart and Wolfsburg. Offered through precision Porsche performance specialist, LN Engineering, is this AA Performance Products 74mm forged crankshaft for the 1.6-litre Porsche flat-four fitted to the 356 C and 912. Suitable for the 356 SC and nitrided for strength, this expertly engineered crankshaft is micro-polished, balanced within a gram and features 55mm journals. Manufactured from super-strong 4340 chromoly, this precision part joins a wide range of new Porsche engine hardware at LN Engineering’s Illinois headquarters. Price: $1,367.95 lnengineering.com or call +1 815 472 2939 28 November 2023
DANSK 356 SPEEDSTER BUCKET SEAT FOR HOME, WORKSHOP OR OFFICE The 356 Speedster is one of Porsche’s most desirable products. Among the individual components which make the model so identifiable are its seats, specifically developed to fit the Speedster chassis and taking the form of a metal bucket pressed from a single sheet to ensure lightweight construction. JP Group (the parent brand of Porsche restoration parts manufacturer, Dansk) has now re-launched the 356 Speedster seat as a family of chairs for enthusiasts to park in their showrooms, garages, mancaves or other cosy environments. Bringing the exact seating position of the 356 Speedster from car to chair rack, this hand-crafted Porsche pew maintains the original bucket’s seat angle. The framework is constructed from 22mm-diameter pipe with stabilisers in 6mm steel (choose between chrome or powdercoated black finishes), while the seat bucket is pressed from 1mm rigid deep-draw sheet metal. For enhanced comfort, an exclusive perfect-fit leather cushion can be optioned in either white or black. A reclining frame is also available as an optional extra. Order direct from the Design 911 online store. Price: From £882 design911.co.uk or call 0208 500 8811 ELEPHANT RACING ADJUSTABLE SPRING PLATE FOR CLASSIC 911/912/930 Updating rear suspension camber curve of pre-964 911s (and the 912) to meet the needs of modern, wide, low-profile radial tyres, Elephant Racing’s adjustable spring plates deliver superior grip in turns and straight-line braking, as well as providing the benefit of reduced tyre wear. Replacing the troublesome stock eccentric adjusters, Elephant Racing’s simple double-adjusters allow settings to be dialled in with vehicle weight resting on the tyres, making it easy to read a camber/ toe gauge while changing settings. Quick and easy alterations can even be made trackside when a camber gauge is unavailable. Replacing the stock 1969-1989 spring plate blade and cover, this superb suspension solution is a direct bolt-on. Designed to work with torsion bars or coilovers, these adjustable spring plates are suitable for use with any standard size bushing, although PolyBronze is recommended. The kit requires the splined hub portion from factory adjustable spring plates or the Elephant Racing QuickChange Spring Plate splined hub. Price: $2,500 per kit elephantracing.com or call +1 408-297-2789 WEBCON IDA3C MANIFOLDS Fuel system and intake product manufacturer, Webcon, has announced the availability of its long-awaited inlet manifold sets to suit the Weber IDA3C carburettors fitted to air-cooled Porsche flat-six engines. Beautifully crafted by Webcon in the UK, these fantastic new manifolds are 90mm tall and boast extra strengthening to ensure superb performance and longevity. They also feature the correct-shaped ignition plug lead holes to allow continued use of OEM plug lead grommets. Suitable for both 40IDA3C and 46IDA3C. Price: £790.80 webcon.co.uk or call 01932 787100 30 November 2023
BEVERLY HILLS CAR CLUB SPECIALIZED DEALER OF EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN CLASSIC CARS 1952 Porsche 356 Pre-A 1500S Reutter Cabriolet #14567 Available in a gorgeous color combination of Strawberry Red with a Sand Beige interior. Equipped with a 4-speed manual transmission, 1953 Flat 4-Cylinder 1500 engine, dual carburetors, Telefunken radio, and soft top. A rare and hard-to-find early low production 356 Pre-A that is mechanically sound. For $245,000 1970 Porsche 911E Coupe #16572 1959 Porsche 356A Coupe Outlaw #16806 1979 Porsche 911SC Coupe #16368 1989 Porsche 930 Coupe #14613 With matching numbers and finished in a captivating color scheme of Yellow combined and Black interior this beauty comes equipped with a manual transmission, six-cylinder 2.2-liter engine, widebody kit (front/rear fenders), and customized fuel tank. This 911E is ready to be admired and is mechanically sound. Finished in its factory color Ruby Red complemented with a Black interior. This California car is equipped with a 4-speed manual transmission, upgraded with a Super-90 4-cylinder air-cooled engine (90HP), Dell’Orto dual carburetors, and VDO instrumentation. An extremely exclusive and mechanically sound Outlaw. Featured with matching numbers and finished in its factory color Black (700) combined with the same color interior. Equipped with a 915 five-speed manual transmission, 3.0-liter flat-six engine, dual exhaust outlets, four-wheel disc brakes, and VDO instrumentation. A highly desirable air-cooled 911SC Coupe that is mechanically sound. Finished in its factory color code #550 Linen Grey Metallic and Linen interior. It has a clean Carfax and is equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, Flat 6 Cylinder 3.3-liter engine, air conditioning, and Cibie Pallas driving lights. An amazing and beautiful air-cooled sports supercar that is mechanically sound. For $69,950 For $108,500 For $67,500 For $259,500 1979 Porsche 911SC Targa #16100 1988 Porsche Carrera Cabriolet #16154 Featured with matching numbers that is finished in its beautiful factory color combination of Gold Metallic and Black interior. Well-equipped with a Sportomatic transmission, 2.4-liter engine, air conditioning, 4-wheel disc brakes, Fuchs wheels, ready to be enjoyed, and is mechanically sound. Featured with 70,988 miles on the odometer and finished in its factory color Guards Red and Tan interior. Equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission, 3.6-liter 6-cylinder engine, four vented disc brakes, and VDO instruments. A well-equipped Cabriolet that is mechanically sound. Featured with matching numbers and finished in Arrow Blue with a two-tone Blue interior. Equipped with a manual transmission, 3.0-liter 6-cylinder air cooled engine, fuelinjection, four-wheel disc brakes, single exhaust outlet, VDO dash gauges, and is mechanically sound. Finished in its factory color Black - Schwarz (700) and Grey interior. Equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, Flat 6 Cylinder 3.2-liter engine, fuel injection, four-wheel disc brakes, single exhaust outlet, VDO instruments. A low-mileage Carrera Cabriolet that is mechanically sound. For $86,500 For $74,500 For $46,500 For $89,950 1973 911T CIS Targa Sportomatic #15259 1995 Porsche 993 Carrera Cabriolet #16615 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa #15716 1976 Porsche 914 2.0 #15176 1988 Porsche 928 S4 #16787 1991 Porsche 964 Carrera Coupe #16058 Featured with matching numbers and only 9,103 miles on the odometer and finished in its factory color Guards Red with Black interior. Equipped with a five-speed G50 manual transmission, 3.2-liter flat-six engine. A low-mileage Carrera Targa in exceptional condition that is mechanically sound. Available in its factory color Summer Yellow with Sand Beige interior. Equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, 2.0-liter engine, 4-wheel disc brakes, jack, and spare tire. An excellent original blue plate California car that is mechanically sound. Offered in Black over Black and equipped with an automatic transmission, V8 engine, four-wheel disc brakes, calipers with Porsche script, VDO instrumentation, body-color wheels, and Michelin tires. A well-equipped Porsche 928 S4 that is mechanically sound. Featured with 72,986 miles on the odometer and finished in Violet Blue Metallic (37E) with Gray interior. Equipped with a Tiptronic transmission, 3.6 liter 6 cylinder engine, fuel injection, four-wheel disc brakes and sunroof. A spectacular air-cooled 964 Carrera that is mechanically sound. For $119,500 For $36,500 For $22,750 For $97,500 LOOKING FOR CLASSIC OR LUXURY SPORTSCARS? • We Buy and pick up from any USA location • Worldwide Shipping Please check our website as we have cars being delivered daily Alex Manos, BEVERLY HILLS CAR CLUB 4576 1/2 Worth St., Los Angeles, CA 90063 T: (310) 975-0272 http://www.BeverlyHillsCarClub.com E: sales@beverlyhillscarclub.com
911 2.0 IN THE RED Opening Porsche’s motorsport account in the UK, this surviving 1966 two-litre 911 landed in living rooms with a bang, crash and wallop, before propelling Vic Elford to international stardom… Words Dan Furr Photography Dan Sherwood sk any petrolhead to bring to mind the cars of rallycross and they’ll almost certainly conjure up images of the Austin Metro 6R4, Ford RS200, Audi Quattro S1, Citroen Xsara and maybe even a classic Mini mud machine. Air-cooled 911? Not so much, which is why it may come as a surprise to learn a two-litre 911 was campaigned by Vic Elford in the inaugural rallycross event at Lydden Hill on 4th February 1967. Broadcast on British national television, the event was motorsport like no other, and though we’re familiar with the sight of 911s in various road, race and rally trim today, things were quite different in the mid-1960s. Elford began his professional career as a codriver, teaming up with BMC works pilot, David SeigleMorris (best remembered for running the punishing Gulf London rally in the late 1960s) in a modified Triumph TR3A. Elford, however, harboured desire to become a first-rate driver in his own right, ambition leading to the purchase and preparation of a Mini for the 1961 rally season. Advancement through the ranks eluded him and, come season end, the Mini was sold, but determined to bounce back, the Londoner jumped into the hot seat of a factory-backed Auto Union DKW Junior and began to enjoy success as the 1962 season wore on. Twelve months later, he was back in a Triumph, throwing a TR4 around in such convincing fashion Ford offered him a drive in a works Cortina. This invitation promised the backing of team who could guarantee mechanical reliability, something which had been lacking in all the cars Elford had driven thus far, despite his impressive performances and ever-quicker pace. Ford and Elford enjoyed a successful three-year stint together, but at the close of the 1966 season, he needed a fresh challenge and a new car to compete in. He’d accepted an invitation to drive the relatively new 911 with fellow Brit, David Stone, serving as co-driver for November’s Tour de Corse, and after finishing third overall (pipped to the post by Rolland Jean and Augias Gabriel’s Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA, and event winners, Piot and Jacob-Jean Francois, in the Renault 8 Gordini), the pair achieved the same again in a 911 at the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally, held in January. Needless to say, when the invitation to participate in the following month’s made-for-television rallycross event came Elford’s way, it was the air-cooled, two-litre, German sports coupe he immediately thought of as the perfect tool for the job. There was only problem: despite Elford’s recent podium finishes and obvious talent behind the wheel of the 911, factory motorsport director, Fritz Huschke von Hanstein, had no real interest in rallying Porsche’s flagship product, preferring to concentrate the works team’s efforts on circuit action. Besides, there were no 911s available in Stuttgart for Elford to make use of in February. “Speak to AFN. See if they can help,” came the instruction. The first UK-sold Porsche was supplied to its proud purchaser in 1954 by Archibald Frazer Nash (AFN) from premises at Falcon Works, located on London Road in Isleworth, Middlesex. Two years later, AFN became the sole UK concessionaire for Porsche Cars until the formation of Porsche Cars Great Britain in 1965. By the time of Elford’s enquiry, AFN boss, John Aldington, was Porsche Cars Great Britain’s Managing Director, but even he was without any available 911s, a consequence of the model not being particularly well-known outside of Germany and UK stock levels kept correspondingly low. The only car Aldington could offer was AFN’s own demonstrator, one of the earliest right-hand drive 911s. In standard specification, the red two-litre Porsche wasn’t the ideal solution, but it was the only one at Elford’s disposal. At least, Aldington argued, Elford could attend Lydden in a 911, even if was pitched against motorsport metal specially prepared for the event. Besides, there would be valuable television coverage for Porsche, Elford and AFN to come from the arrangement. Everyone would be a winner. THE RED TWO-LITRE PORSCHE WASN’T THE IDEAL SOLUTION, BUT IT WAS THE ONLY ONE AT ELFORD’S DISPOSAL Facing page A remarkable survivor, given the car’s history doing battle in the heat of motorsport, not to mention failed attempts at restoration and huge mechanical failure November 2023 35
‘Grudge match’ is the best way to describe what followed. Elford’s former Ford teammates — including Cortina drivers, Roger Clark and Brian Melia — were determined to beat him, immediately turning rallycross into a heavy contact sport. Aldington must have spat coffee all over his tellybox when he saw GVB 911D being smashed to pieces live on ITV. We can’t say for sure whether he ejected caffeine from his nostrils, but we know he was so incensed by what he was witnessing, he immediately telephoned Elford’s wife, demanding to know why AFN’s valuable Porsche was being writtenoff in full view of the entire nation. SMASH AND GRAB By event end, not a single panel was straight, the 911’s windscreen was cracked and its lights were missing in action, yet despite the rear-engined tin-top’s road car specification, it reigned supreme on the mixedsurface circuit — Elford had done the unthinkable and won, albeit by the narrowest of margins. Fellow rallycross competitor and classic Mini driver, Roy Edwards, offered use of his trailer to enable Elford to carry the battered 911 36 November 2023 back to Aldington. To Edwards’ amazement, Elford declined the offer, instead kicking the windscreen free, donning goggles and driving home, where an infuriated Mrs Elford recounted tales of an angry Aldington quizzing her down the blower. Understandably, her betrothed felt more than a little sheepish when he returned the battle-scarred 911 to AFN the following morning. He needn’t have worried. Aldington’s fury had already turned to joy by the time man and machine arrived at AFN’s headquarters — the company’s phones had been tied up with a high number of enquiries from prospective Porsche purchasers impressed by what they’d seen on TV. Motorsport’s win on Sunday, sell on Monday motto was ringing undeniably true. GVB was shipped back to Stuttgart for repair. Huschke von Hanstein, alerted to Elford’s winning ways, asked him what he wanted to do next. His ambition had, in fact, been circuit racing, but working with a modest budget, rallying was all he’d been able to afford. Rallycross, however, proved Elford to be quicker on asphalt than on mud, which is why Porsche agreed to hand the car back to him for participation in the British Saloon Car Championship, a competition the 911 was eligible for due to its 2+2 cabin layout. GVB would be far from the same-spec road dweller it once was, though — by close of March 1967, the car was kitted out with a 906-derived twolitre flat-six in more or less Le Mans specification, including titanium connecting rods, lightweight cam drive, Weber carburettors (in place of the standard Solex units) and many prototype parts besides. Entered into the competition’s two-litre class under the AFN banner, Elford scored a third-place finish at both Brands Hatch outings, a second-place finish at Silverstone and other impressive placings, all of which contributed to the two-litre class win. It’s worth noting, his ontrack rivals included Graham Hill, Jackie Oliver, Tony Lanfranchi, John Fitzpatrick and overall championship winner, Frank Gardner. By now, Aldington was full of enthusiasm for ‘Quick Vic’ and how he could make the 911 sing. Stuttgart, too, was impressed, giving Elford a left-hand drive 911 to contest the 1967 European Rally Championship, which he won. He Above Strangely, the car made use of Jaguar brakes when Rob’s father bought it way back in 1982
was also given a drive in the 906 alongside Dutchman, Ben Pon, for the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was a dream come true and a favour Elford returned to Porsche in the form of a class win, finishing seventh overall after completing 327 laps. FAST FOCUS This was clearly one of the most versatile drivers in the business, and though further outings at Sarthe followed (notably a string of drives in partnership with Richard Attwood, Gerard Larrousse, Kurt Ahrens Jr and Gerhard Mitter, with cars including the 908 and 917 between 1968 and 1971, before a switch to Alfa Romeo’s competition department, Autodelta, and scoring another firstin-class with a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 for Charles Pozzi’s team in 1973), not to mention a career in Formula One (driving Coopers, a McLaren and a BRM P160), all eyes were on what Elford could do with the 911 in 1968. Porsche and AFN were keen for spectators to think the Stuttgart concern was fielding a new car, which is why GVB was stickered with a fictitious registration number: 38 November 2023 BEM 911F. The B referenced chief sponsor, Bill Bradley, the E stood for Elford, while M paid tribute to race engineer, Christopher Maltin. This was, though, every bit GVB. The car was promptly entered into the twolitre class of the 1968 British Saloon Car Championship to pick up where it left off. Preparation for the 500km of Snetterton (the final round of the European Touring Car Challenge) also occurred, work seeing a long-range fuel tank, lightweight polycarbonate windows, wider wheels and fatter tyres fitted to the car, but a regrettable DNF due to a loose camshaft and a ruptured oil pipe meant Elford’s racing glory would need to be earned elsewhere. It didn’t take long for him to find it, winning the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona in a 907 shared with Jo Siffert, Hans Herrmann, Rolf Stommelen and Jochen Neerpasch (Porsche’s first overall win in a daylong endurance race), bagging top honours at the year’s Monte Carlo Rally in a 911 T with his old chum, David Stone, and winning the Targa Florio with Umberto Maglioli in a 907, despite losing eighteen minutes due to a burst tyre on the first lap. Obviously, GVB played a huge part in helping Elford progress his motorsport career, but all things must pass, and so it was with his time in charge of the red road and rally rocket. Indeed, by Easter 1968, his F1 duties and wider responsibilities to Porsche’s global motorsport programme were taking up so much of his time, he exited the British Saloon Car Championship, but not before once again scoring Above This superb 911 helped launch the successful motorsport career of not only Vic Elford, but also Nick Faure
911 2.0 Above The shortwheelbase 911 is a basic car, even before being prepared for racing Below Quick Vic took time out to vandalise the car with a Sharpie the two-litre class win. Subsequently, GVB’s original registration number returned to the car and it was offered for sale through AFN. Enter Nick Faure. A Porsche devotee who achieved fame through racing and selling 356s in the 1960s, he would go on to compete at Le Mans eleven times between 1975 and 1985, racing the 911 Carrera RSR alongside John Cooper, as well as strutting his stuff for Kremer Racing in the 935 K2 with John Fitzpatrick as co-driver. Before all this, however, seeing how competitive GVB was, and identifying the 911’s huge potential to enable him to eclipse his achievements with the 356 in motorsport, Faure co- bought a stake in the car (retaining its 906-sourced beating heart) and, sponsored by Demetriou Group, entered the two-litre Porsche into various races at the back end of 1968, before competing in the bulk of the 1969 British Saloon Car Championship. Faure finished fourth in three British Saloon Car Championship races: Silverstone, Snetterton and at the televised round at Crystal Palace. A sixteenth-place overall finish in championship standings meant he was fourth-in-class come season end. Impressively, his lap times were even quicker than Elford’s. It was a similar story for the next few years — Aldington was so dazzled, he offered Faure a seat as an AFN driver in a Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight for the 1973 British Production Sports Car Championship, before the team switched him to the duck-tailed model’s three-litre successor in 1974. Faure also drove an RSR for Ecurie Francorchamps at the 1974 1,000km of Brands Hatch, leading to the first of his Le Man outings with the RSR a year later (a performance ending with sixth place overall and second-inclass). Once again, GVB had acted as stepping stone for a promising young driver to advance their racing career. Faure didn’t only use GVB to get him around a track quickly, though. To support his time in motorsport, he was working as a freelance illustrator on Fleet Street. Regularly, he’d hop into GVB — which remained road legal, despite its motorsport activities and blaring megaphone exhausts — and floor it all the way across London in the middle of the night to hand his work to editors working on pressing deadlines. BALANCING ACT During Faure’s time with GVB, its original oil tank was modified and relocated to sit in front of the rear wheel, rather than behind it. AFN spanner man, Maltin, reasoned this would help the 911’s front-toback weight distribution, thereby improving handling. It worked, but with Faure setting his sights on more powerful Porsches at the start of the 1970s, and with increasingly more competitive cars taking the fight to the 911 in the British Saloon Car Championship, GVB was once again put up for sale through AFN. The buyer was Christian Favre, ninth generation of the famous Favre family of Swiss watchmakers, who November 2023 39
took ownership in January 1970, but little is known of the car’s activities during the course of the following two years, save for a catastrophic engine bay fire. The cost of rebuilding the 906-specification two-litre flat-six proved prohibitively expensive for Favre, who chose to box all of the unit’s component parts and store them in a friend’s garage with what had become little more than a rolling shell. By 1972, Favre was being asked to rehome his part-dismantled Porsche, which is why ownership passed to sports car enthusiast, Roger Connell. Connell bought GVB as a restoration project (before 911 restoration was fashionable) unaware of the air-cooled Porsche’s illustrious — and, at the time, relatively recent — history, which Favre did little to highlight. It took Connell until 1980 to resurrect the car, grabbing hours at weekends and in evenings as and when motivation to work on the project engaged him. In truth, this extended period of dry storage and retirement from racing is likely what saved the poorly Porsche from being cut, shut and crashed during a time early two-litre 911s weren’t worth a huge sum of money. Even so, Connell commissioned a standard two-litre flat-six and rebuilding the car to as close to AFNfresh condition as he could achieve. In 1982, somewhat disillusioned with the way his time with GVB had panned out, Connell accepted an offer for the car from Peter Russell, who many will know as a key player in establishing today’s classic rally movement. His son, Rob, the car’s current custodian, picks up the story. “I was born in 1973,” he reveals. “As a child, I remember my father saying he’d always wanted an early 911, and shortly before my ninth birthday, he bought GVB. He loved the lack of whale tail and impact bumpers and, as someone active in the rallying scene, reasoned GVB would be an excellent choice for tarmac rally stages.” Rob remembers the day the car joined the Russell household. “My brother and I were hanging off the roll cage,” he laughs. “Dad dropped the windows and booted it through the Dartford Tunnel. The noise was exhilarating!” Russell the Elder (a seasoned ON THE FIRST, HIGHLY ANTICIPATED TURN OF THE KEY, THE OPEN THERMOSTAT ALLOWED DIRT TO BE FIRED INTO THE ENGINE 40 November 2023 a rebuild of the 906 engine to original specification, resulting in a competitive 911 more or less in the same condition as when Faure last sat behind the wheel. Unfortunately, while dormant, spent lubricant in the oil cooler lines calcified. On the first, highly anticipated turn of the key, the open thermostat allowed dirt to be fired into the engine, immediately hammering the bottom end and causing catastrophic mechanical failure. It was a heart-breaking moment for Connell, but he had the good sense to keep hold of the busted boxer, despite sourcing Above Rob was delighted to drive the car by invitation at Goodwood after fearing it might not be compliant with event regulations
911 2.0 Above Engine is a 906-sourced twolitre unit rebuilt by Tuthill Porsche rally man who’d competed in the London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally in a Triumph Dolomite Sprint, often cited as the world’s first massproduced multi-valve car) would use GVB to compete in the 1983 Coronation Rally (hosted in Wales and regarded as the first proper historic rally), winning the two-litre class. Further class wins followed. It came as little surprise when Rob and his brother were also bitten by the bug. “We’d enjoyed family holidays to Ireland in the 911, but by the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, the car was almost exclusively being used for participation in historic rallies. My brother and I would attend these events and, somewhat predictably, I became Dad’s co-driver. During this time, the replacement two-litre engine let go when a cam follower decided to give up the ghost. A protracted period of flat-six restoration took place thereafter, with classic Porsche rally specialist, Frances Tuthill, given the broken flat-six and the boxes of 906 parts handed to us by Roger Connell.” The engine returned to the Russell clan from the Tuthill team made use of the standard crankcase, but was equipped with the 906 cams, titanium rods and Weber 45 carbs, which were recommended for increased drivability over the more aggressive 48s fitted in period. Meticulously serviced ever since, the resilient flat-six provides GVB with a solid, dyno-verified 178bhp. COAT OF COLOUR Time had, of course, taken its toll on this well-weathered 911. A small patch of fresh metal in front of the fuel cell (the same enlarged-capacity tank fitted back in the day) was required, and in response to the original red paintwork starting to peel, the car was treated to a full respray. By now, Rob was rallying as number one driver, first in a classic Mini, then a Nissan Micra and, later, in various Peugeots. In a case of role reversal, Peter served as navigator. As father helped son spread his motorsport wings (“until my girlfriend became co-driver”), the 911 remained largely unused. It would remain dormant for some time to come — in 2000, Peter passed away. “I learned a lot from my father,” Rob tells us. “As is the case with many involved in the rally scene, I take care of most mechanical work and maintenance myself, just as Dad did. As a family, this approach is the only way we could afford to do compete.” Family would also contribute to the car’s next phase November 2023 41
of limited activity — Rob’s first daughter was born in 2002. For the following three years, save for the occasional sprint, GVB was kept in a state of suspended animation. With the emergence of classic motoring events, including the Goodwood Revival, however, a desire to show GVB to an audience appreciative of its historical significance as one of the first 911s to achieve serious competition success led to its recommissioning in 2010. The dampers were sent to Koni for a full rebuild and the remaining suspension was overhauled. The alternator was refurbished and the carburettors were given a new lease of life. Andy Prill, head of Prill Porsche Classics, provided Rob with invaluable advice along the way, but even this celebrated marque expert was unable to explain the presence of Jaguar calipers. “Nobody seems to know where they came from,” Rob laughs. “I suspect they were fitted before Roger bought the car, but with no old photographs showing it with the wheels removed, it’s almost impossible to prove. Because of this, I was unable to get FIA papers allowing me to race at Goodwood, which is why I’ve fitted standard 911 anchors until solid evidence confirming period appointment of Big Cat brakes materialises.” Rob went on to enter GVB into the Historic Sports Car Club’s 1960s Roadsports races at Brands Hatch and Oulton Park for two years Speed display organised by Retro Rallycross. The second was the opportunity to drive the length of Goodwood’s famous hillclimb as part of Porsche’s seventieth anniversary celebrations at the 2018 Festival of Speed. Mission accomplished. Various track days (pleasingly, some at Goodwood) have been enjoyed since. “I’d love to compete in this car again,” Rob confirms. “HSCC events are great. The drivers are very respectful of one another, as well as the value of participating cars. GVB has only covered forty-eight thousand miles from new, meaning there’s plenty of life left in this little Porsche. I don’t have absolute plans, but Dad bought this 911 to be used for high days, holidays and rallying, and I’m determined to continue ownership in the same spirit. Of course, I’m aware of the car’s financial value in the current climate, and I’d certainly hate to prang it, but I’ll continue to use this air-cooled classic long into the future.” This is music to our ears, though it’s safe to work on the assumption Rob is likely to be a tad more considerate than Quick Vic when this radiant red 911 burst onto television screens fifty-six years ago. Even so, take our advice, Mr Russell: steer clear of Cortinas. CP THE DAMPERS WERE SENT TO KONI FOR A FULL REBUILD AND THE REMAINING SUSPENSION WAS OVERHAULED 42 November 2023 running, with third-in-class at the Brands Hatch Superprix and success competing in the Aldington Trophy (named after AFN’s founder and open to pre-1967 two-litre 911s) rewarding his efforts, but with no clear route to generating an invite to Goodwood for either Revival or Festival of Speed exhibition purposes, sporadic use on street and circuit followed. “I drove the 911 to my brother’s wedding in the south of France and to various Porsche Club Motorsport track days, as well as to and from the Pyrenees, but my focus was on securing an invite to Goodwood. I simply wasn’t sure how to go about getting one,” he shrugs. Two key anniversaries provided the solution. The first was a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of rallycross in 2017, when historic rallycross cars were brought out of retirement for a special Festival of Above Rob intends to use the car regularly enough for fans of historic motorsport to enjoy witnessing this special Porsche strutting its stuff long into the future
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912 AND 993 CONSTANT EVOLUTION We continue plotting Porsche’s air-cooled evolution, but take a slight detour by uniting a 912 with a 993... Words Steve Bennett Photography Dan Sherwood nniversaries abound. For starters, this is the hundredth issue of Classic Porsche, a publishing milestone if ever there was one. And, of course, we are celebrating seventy-five years of Porsche as a manufacturer (and therefore seventy-five years of 356), as well as sixty years of 911, without which, it’s doubtful Classic Porsche would exist. Sure, there were plenty of Porsches before the 911, but it was post the model’s 1963 launch that Porsche really found its place in the world, going from a manufacturer of small, cult, quirky sports and race cars, to something altogether more sophisticated and modern, which would guide the manufacturer for the next six decades and counting. The 911 should have been the 901, but for Peugeot’s insistence three number model designations with a zero in the middle was very much the French brand’s territory. Not needing the legal aggro, Porsche capitulated. 901 became 911 and the legend was born. Not that Porsche would know the impact its air-cooled six-cylinder sports car would have. Indeed, given a crystal ball, company bosses might have been shocked at the monster created and its final air-cooled incarnation, that being the 993. We’ll save that bit of time travel for later. Back to the swinging sixties. Porsche mindset was that of creating, developing and satisfying demand for its products. It wasn’t all about the 911, though. If it were, the company might have stalled. Realising its sophisticated new sports car — complete with its 130bhp two-litre, quad-cam flat-six, its five-speed gearbox, disc brakes in each corner and super-efficient aero shape — was, perhaps, a financial bridge too far for its traditional customer base, the pragmatic approach of creating a base model was adopted. Actually, forget the financial bridge too far. It was more a chasm. The 911 was just plain expensive, whichever way you cut it. It was, of course, a massive leap over the 356 in every conceivable way, but at DM22,900 versus the outgoing 356’s DM16,450, Porsche faced an uphill struggle to sell enough 911s to cover the costs of production. Enter, then, the 912. If you count the 901, this was the third three-number iteration of Porsche’s new sports car. In a stroke, Porsche had developed a new car with both a nod to the past and a leap into the future. The 912 is a different prism through which to view Porsche’s rise in the 1960s. Here was a car developed to nurture and assist the 911. To all intents and purposes, the 912 was pretty much identical to the 911, save for the motivating sting in the tail. It might seem almost sacrilege, but that wonderful 130bhp sixcylinder boxer was sacrificed in favour of the 90bhp 1.6-litre overhead-valve flat-four from the 356 SC. Not that it was viewed negatively when Porsche unveiled the 912 in 1965. Nobody had complained about the 356’s performance — ninety ponies were considered more than ample. Besides, an alternative to the 911 was seen only as a good thing, spreading the new coupe’s appeal. In Autocar’s first road test, the UK weekly praised the new arrival for its “consistent, vigorous performance, helped by excellent five-speed gearbox, with perfectly spaced ratios.” The magazine went on to highlight the 912’s “light, rack and pinion steering and outstanding cornering, wet or dry.” It doesn’t get much more unequivocal than that. In terms of Porsche’s continued growth as a manufacturer, the 912 was easily as important as the 911, maybe more so. The first entry-level Porsche? A gateway drug, in modern parlance. It was certainly a product capable of introducing a new demographic of owners to the Porsche way of life. Naturally, the firm’s hope was that 912 buyers would, at some stage, progress to the 911. This blueprint worked miracles for Porsche’s bottom line and, unsurprisingly, its image. After all, the 912 set the marketing template for the 914 and 924 (both projects developed in collaboration with Volkswagen), as well as the Boxster. IN TERMS OF PORSCHE’S GROWTH AS A MANUFACTURER, THE 912 WAS EASILY AS IMPORTANT AS THE 911, MAYBE MORE SO Facing page Adrian owns outstanding examples of both the 912 and the 993, two very different Porsche products, but sharing common DNA November 2023 45
Huge sellers, one and all. While it’s unlikely Porsche would ever build a contemporary 912 (never say never!), the modern equivalent would be along the lines of putting the turbocharged 2.5-litre flat-four from the 718 Boxster/Cayman twins into the back of a 992. GRAND DESIGNS In 1965, the 911 sold to UK buyers for £3,438, while the 912 could be had for a more financially manageable £2,466. As near as makes no odds, a saving of £1,000, back when a grand really meant something. Having said this, an MGB would set you back just £855. Regardless, in Porsche product hierarchy, the 912 looked something of a bargain, offering all the style and dynamics of the 911, but minus two cylinders, 400cc and forty horsepower. And what of that loss from a figurative point of view? Flat-out, the 911 was a 130mph projectile, hitting 60mph from rest in 9.1 seconds. Despite its engine displacement, cylinder count and power losses, however, the 912 still managed to reach 119mph and 46 November 2023 despatched the dash to 60mph from a standing start in thirteen seconds dead. Kerb weight helped — the 912 tipped scales at a skinny 970kg, the 911 weighed in at a full-fat 1,080kg. Neither car is porky, but 110kg gets noticed. Porsche was right about the 911 potentially being a slow burner and the 912’s position as support. As we now know, however, the 912 was much more than that. Was it Porsche’s intention the entry-level model should outsell the main act? This isn’t clear, but sales is sales — during its first nine months in production, some 6,401 912s were produced, either by Porsche at Stuttgart or the Karmann Karosserie in Osnabrück. By way of comparison, just 3,390 911s were sold in the same period. The story was much the same the following year, with 3,730 911s produced against 9,090 912s. It would be 1968 before sales of the 911 overtook those of its ‘budget’ brother. Perhaps, then, it was job done for the 912, particularly since the base 911 L was only 20bhp up on the four-cylinder car? The 160bhp 911 S was launched in 1967, marking the introduction of a three-model 911 line-up against the 912’s singular offering. As it was, the 912 made it to the 1969 model year, inheriting the 911’s extended wheelbase, achieved by lengthening the rear suspension trailing arms and slightly modifying the rear arches. This was Porsche’s first stab at improving the occasionally wayward handling of its products. Was the 912 really that close to the 911? The power sacrifice was Above Irish Green was a popular choice among 912 buyers when the model was new
912 AND 993 Above and below Though the base 912 was originally offered with a three-dash layout (mimicked in the later Boxster), Adrian’s car benefits from the full quintet a given, and the base 912 made use a four-speed version of the Type 901 gearbox, but many buyers optioned the fivespeed option. Otherwise, it was the very same bodyshell and the same 2,211mm wheelbase. The same disc brakes, too, plus rack-andpinion steering, rather than the 356’s rather vague ZF steering box. Very early 912s had a three-dial dash, but very soon reverted to the full-five. Standard rubber floor mats were usually substituted for better-quality, square-weave carpet. Seats were the same flat and bouncy perches. The 911 of the 1960s could never be described as in anyway luxurious. two thousand examples were manufactured between April 1965 and July 1969. This wasn’t quite the end of the line, though. In 1976, Porsche introduced the 912 E, a curious mix of G-series 911 and 110bhp flatfour. This US-only model was devised, so the story goes, to account for a delay in introducing the 924 as a replacement for the 914, as well as to use up a stockpile of Volkswagen two-litre engines. Unlike the original 912, it’s fair to say few people saw the point of the 912 E. Very soon, it was little more than a footnote in Porsche’s past. Having said this, the 912 E has a champion in Wheeler Dealer, Mike Brewer. Maybe reappraisal is due? We digress. How about a 912 appraisal right now? The very traditional Irish Green example pictured on these pages is owned by Classic Porsche reader, Adrian Malthouse. He also owns the 993 Carrera 4 we will journey toward, thus bookending more than thirty years of air-cooled Porsche product development. Indeed, Adrian has dismantled both these cars and can INSPECTION PROVED THE 912’S FLAT-FOUR WASN’T ORIGINAL AND, BIZARRELY, THE ENGINE LID WAS PUNCTURED BY A BULLET HOLE The 912 was no different. Much was made of the 912’s handling, giving it an alternative dynamic to the 911, which from the get-go had developed something of a negative reputation, albeit one only punishing the most cackhanded test pilots. As mentioned, weight is the enemy. Not only is the 912 110kg lighter overall, but most of this weight loss is from the rear (the flat-four being substantially lighter than the flat-six) with less weight overhanging the rear axle. To get technical, the weight distribution of the 912 is 44/56 front/rear. Compare this to 41/59 for the 911. With the 911 model range covering all bases, there was no point in developing the 912 any further. It was very much a case of ‘job done’ for the 912. Thirty- November 2023 47
confirm, remarkably, they possess interchangeable parts. Adrian’s path to Porsche ownership comes via the muchtrodden MG route. Like so many British sports car enthusiasts, his interest in Stuttgart’s finest was piqued by curiosity — “to see what all the fuss was about,” as he puts it. Interestingly, he also attended the same Sheffield school as Porsche maverick and dreadlock enthusiast, Magnus Walker, albeit not quite at the same time. STATES OF PLAY Typically, Adrian’s 912 hails from California, which is where the bulk of production was originally sold. A right-leaning 912 is a very rare thing, but left-of-centre 912’s are relatively abundant after the seemingly mass importation event started by Volkswagen fanatics in the early 1990s. That said, there are still plenty of survivors in the US. With this in mind, in 2015, Adrian — via popular online classic car marketplace, Hemmings — found this 1967 example in Ohio. He paid £26,000, or “a straight swap for an MG TD.” The Porsche was fairly typical of the breed, being 48 November 2023 a little scruffy. Despite being a US car, it was also surprisingly rusty, although its condition was nothing compared to what an unrestored UK car would resemble, providing you could find one. Not untypically, the car had little history to speak of, save for the fact it had been owned by Porsche Club of America (PCA) member, Mike Robbins, for twenty-six years. Robbins is well known in PCA circles for clocking half a million miles in a 356 Speedster. Inspection proved the 912’s flatfour wasn’t original and, bizarrely, the car’s engine lid was punctured by a bullet hole. This definitely wasn’t a factory option. Then again, Elvis Presley was famous for shooting his De Tomaso Pantera after it wouldn’t start for the umpteenth time. Maybe the fad caught on?! As is the case with so many 912s heading to the UK from North America, the car’s first port of call was to see Max Levell, founder of marque specialist, Revival Cars. In Max’s care, the car was treated a tidy-up in advance of a period of general use before the main Above and below The power offered by the 912’s punchy flat-four might be modest, but a greater percentage of its output is more readily and more frequently accessible on the public road than that of a same-age 911
event: a full rebuild by Adrian and trusted collaborators. A new floorpan was installed, but all main body panels were retained and repaired, save for the need to fit a new driver’s door skin. Body preparation and paintwork was entrusted to Alan Ribbens Ltd in Marden, Kent. Mechanically, Adrian certainly pushed the envelope, commissioning Revival Cars to rebuild the gearbox, while the engine was stripped and rebuilt by Prill Porsche Classics. The refreshed powerplant makes use of a balanced bottom end, hand-finished heads and capacity increased to 1,720cc. Prill Porsche Classics boss, Andy Prill, insisted on reverting to original-specification Solex downdraught carburettors, a move contrary to the perceived wisdom Webers rule. Power? A solid 116bhp. We remind you, the 912 weighs but 970kg. Aside from the engine, the rest of this 912 has been rebuilt to standard specification and was largely reassembled by Adrian himself. The engineering after a lifetime of MGs? “I was certainly impressed with the build quality and longevity,” he says. Mind you, as we’ve already established, you could buy nearly three MGBs for the price of a single 912. What of the driving experience? Let’s find out before we make the great leap forward. Let’s get the noise thing out of the way first, shall we? Crank the THERE IS ONE CAR, WHICH COULD, OR INDEED SHOULD, HAVE TAKEN PORSCHE INTO THE 1990s, BUT WAS CANNED 50 November 2023 front Koni dampers had the original 1967 date stamp on them and were in perfect condition. The rear Bilsteins were equally serviceable. Keeping the car on the road is new period-correct 165-profile Pirelli Cinturato rubber supplied by Longstone Tyres. The interior was treated to new dashtop, door trims and originalstyle square-weave carpet from Lakewell. Neat touches include an original Blaupunkt radio hot-rodded to incorporate twenty-first century Bluetooth technology. The work was carried out by classic car in-vehicle entertainment specialist, Chrome London. Adrian’s thoughts on Porsche Above The 993 is known for being the last of the aircooled 911s and is therefore viewed my many enthusiasts as the last model remaining true to the original 911 concept
912 AND 993 Above and below Largely unchanged since introduction of the 901 in 1963, the 911’s dash layout was decidedly cluttered by the time of the 993, although the interior as a whole was far more sophisticated 912 and you might recoil at the clattery machinations from the rear. The flat-four clearly doesn’t play the same tune as its six-cylinder sibling, lacking the turbine-like shriek, but the four possesses its own distinct vibe and soundtrack. When perched on the bouncy seats, you notice a distinct spring to the controls, as well as the usual contortions required to operate the pedals in a Porsche of this vintage. The cable clutch pushes back against your foot, while the dog-leg five-speed gearbox works on the reverse plane of a standard H-pattern five-speed. This is to say first is back and to the left, while second is forward, with a jink to the right. It’s a race car thing. The gearbox itself is precise in slotting into gear, if a little wobbly around the gate. Sitting upright behind the thinrimmed wheel, progress at first feels vague, but you soon realise the meaty steering associated with later 911s isn’t present. The thinner tyres react immediately to inputs, but on account of the much-reduced footprint and front-end weight, the feedback is delicate and detailed, rather than heavy with grip and kick-back from the 911’s wider rubber. There’s a similar poise to the ride quality — a 912 drifts over broken surfaces with the deftness coming from a light body, low unsprung weight and tyres with an unfashionable profile. The weight balance compared to that of a 911? The numbers don’t lie — the 912 has a balance all of its own. As for the Prill-built motor, it’s a gutsy, torquey thing for sure, but with a balanced smoothness and a willingness to rev, where the standard flat-four is reluctant. The 912 is a different take on Porsche’s air-cooled development trajectory. It’s time to walk the path rather more trodden, leading us to the end of the air-cooled 911 era. We’ll have to crank up the time machine, of course. In a blur, we’ve left behind the A-to-F series 911, including the Carrera RS 2.7. The ‘impact bumper’ cars and the mighty 911 Turbo (930) are history, while the modernising 964 is a mere blip in the timeline. The 993, on the other hand, is the end of the classic 911 story and the culmination of all things aircooled Porsche, starting with 1948’s Gmünd-built 356 roadster. Quite the legacy. FIVE ALIVE Before we delve into the 993, there is something of a 1980/90s development footnote. It is integral to the 911 story, the 964 in particular, and to a lesser extent, the 993. Why look back? Because there is one car, which could, or indeed should, have taken Porsche into the 1990s, but was canned just eighteen months ahead of its 1991 launch. We’re talking about the ill-fated Type 965 (the model designation often incorrectly applied by enthusiasts to the 964 Turbo). Confusingly, the 965 was a 959-influenced sports car scheduled November 2023 51
to be sold as the 969. It would have sat alongside the 964 as a sophisticated alternative to the 911 and was aimed squarely at a different customer base. It would have introduced water-cooled engines ahead of the 986 Boxster and 996. V6 and V8 concepts were evaluated and tested, both developed from Porsche’s Indy motorsport powerplant. The engines would have been used in both the 964 and the 969. Sadly, internal factions at Porsche battled it out over the future direction of the 911 and proposed range-topping 965, of which sixteen prototypes were built, complete with requisite development V6 and V8 engines. All but one 965 was crushed following discontinuation of the project. Crushed too were Porsche’s finances. After much investment in essentially a twomodel 911 range, the resulting 964 was all that could be salvaged. It didn’t last long. Some of the 965 project’s styling cues, however, managed to jump a generation and were implemented on the 993. The front-end treatment, for example, 52 November 2023 is pure 965 (and 959 before), as was the distinctly wide-hipped rear. Porsche’s styling ambition was to restore a sense of agility and modernity to the 911. To this effect, the ‘greenhouse’ was subtly modified, with the windscreen moved forward by three millimetres. The rear quarter windows were pushed out by seven millimetres. Amazingly, perhaps, at the start of the 993 project, there was still talk of using a water-cooled V6 or V8. An Audi V8 was fitted to a test ‘mule’, but as ever, money was too tight to mention, meaning the 964’s 3.6litre air-cooled flat-six came in for a thorough re-working. It’s a stretch to call the resultant engine all-new, but it wasn’t far off, benefiting from many engineering improvements making the unit much stronger, lighter and more reliable. As launched, the 993 Carrera developed 272bhp, a useful 22bhp up on the equivalent 964. At model end, with Varioram, 285bhp was very much peak air-cooled production flat-six. Other 993 developments included a six-speed version of the Getrag G50 gearbox and, at the rear, a sophisticated multi-link suspension and engine cradle set-up, another carryover from the stillborn 965 project. At a stroke, the 964’s stodgy handling was addressed. Perhaps the only aspect of the 993 that disappointed was the all too familiar interior design and layout. Be careful what you wish for, though, because the replacement 996 interior hasn’t exactly stood the test of time. At least the 993’s fivedial layout can be traced all the way back to the 901 of 1963. Launched in 1993, a full thirty years on from the 901, the 993 was Above 993 did away with ‘torpedo’ front wings and introduced a softer body style, typical of automotive design emerging in the early to mid-1990s
912 AND 993 Above and below Adrian was adamant he wanted a Variocam-kitted 993, hence his decision to buy this beautiful late Carrera 4 met with universal approval. Here was an all-new 911 (well, nearly) designed to appeal to Porsche customers old and new. Enough of the original 911’s character was retained, but in a modern package pointing toward what we now know would become a water-cooled future. And, despite burning bright for just four years or so, the 993 range was the most comprehensive the 911 had ever presented. Base Carrera and Carrera 4 models were introduced, plus fatter S versions of both. Cabriolet and all-new sliding roof Targa versions came along (as To Adrian’s really rather lovely 1996 Carrera 4 and the aforementioned great leap forward. “I didn’t plan to own examples of early and late aircooled Porsches at the same time,” he says. “It just sort of happened. As far as the 993 is concerned, however, I was adamant I wanted a Varioramkitted car.” This is exactly what we have here. It hasn’t always looked this good. Adrian bought the Polar Silver stunner in 2021, when it was somewhat down at heel after a succession of owners had failed to lavish the required amount of love. This was reflected in the car’s eventual price, reached after a fair bit of haggling. Bottom line, Adrian has rescued and restored this 993 to near as-new condition. And while you might argue to buy a good 911 is a better (and, perhaps, more costeffective) strategy, he likes to be hands-on, so much so he stresses stripping a car to its bare essentials is the best way to understand not only its true condition, but also what makes it special. STRIPPING A CAR TO ITS BARE ESSENTIALS IS THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL documented elsewhere in this issue), as did the four-wheel drive, twin-turbocharged Turbo. There were homologated racers in the form of the Carrera RS 3.8 and GT2 and much more besides. With the 993, Porsche managed to turn the tide and snatched success from the jaws of defeat, but arguments at boardroom level couldn’t be allowed to continue. It was recognised from within that the era of air-cooled Porsche production was over, curtailed by impending emissions and noise regulations. Enter, then, new company boss, Wendelin Wiedeking, and the mother of all shake-ups. The 993 was the last pre-Wiedeking Porsche. Some would say it was the last ‘proper’ Porsche. November 2023 53
Originally supplied by Glenvarigill (now Porsche Centres Edinburgh and Glasgow), this 993 suffered (as all Scottish cars can) the harsh northern climate and the UK-wide insistence on salting roads during cold snaps. While corrosion wasn’t extensive, much of the underside and aluminium components were in need of refurbishment. As was the case with his 912, Adrian dismantled the 993 in its entirety, restoring or replacing suspension components as necessary. He did the same with the brakes and brake lines. The shell was handed to Adrian’s favoured body and paint specialist, Alan Ribbens, for a fresh blast of Polar Silver. The wheels were dispatched to Lepsons for a makeover and were equipped with N-rated Michelins. Adrian chose Charles Marsland in East Malling, Kent, to check over and overhaul the engine, gearbox and running gear. Charles is one of those specialists who rather flies under the radar, his work largely generated by reputation and word of mouth. In other words, if you know, you know. We’ve mentioned time travel. If I were Dr Who, I would take this 993 back to Porsche’s 1960s 911 development team and show them what they were working toward. To jump from an air-cooled operation and rich in feedback, the low-profile tyres transmitting a more precise reading of the road than the 912’s skinny interpretation. Crucially, even on the Surrey roads we are travelling, the ride quality is compliant, rather than iron-fist. The 912 delicately drifts its way around corners before almost falling over on itself when speed builds and body roll takes over. The 993 has a flatter and more stable platform with which to generate its grip. Perhaps this is the greatest difference between Adrian’s two cars? If it were raining, of course, the 993 Carrera 4’s abilities would be even more magnified. There is the small matter of another two cylinders and the extra 169bhp. Even with the 993 clocking 1,420kg, the 912 can’t compete. The 993 has it all — the power, the torque and, ultimately, the glory. A fascinating exercise. Not just in air-cooled evolution and Porsche’s development flightpath, but also in vehicle dynamics. It’s still ongoing. Equally fascinating, one day, would be a similar plotting of the watercooled trajectory, where I’m not sure evaluation of Porsche’s progress would be quite so flattering. CP PLACING A HAND AT TWELVE O’CLOCK ON THE STEERING WHEEL AND BEING ABLE TO TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE WINDSCREEN 54 November 2023 Porsche manufactured in the 1960s to one built in the 1990s is fascinating. Despite being more or less dimensionally identical, the interior of the 993 feels much tighter. The transmission tunnel and door furniture pin you in, as do the modern, supportive chairs you sit into, as opposed to perch on. There is still that trick of placing a hand at twelve o’clock on the steering wheel and being able to touch the inside of the windscreen by extending a middle digit. It’s compact. Two-up, you’re rubbing shoulders. Operationally, the 993 has a lovely, well-damped feeling, like it has been dipped in syrup. Gone is the springiness of the controls. The hydraulic clutch is smooth and complements the precision of the gearbox. The steering — power assisted to cope with the upfront 205/50 ZR 17s — is linear in Above The 912 and 993 are cut from the same cloth, but are separated by two cylinders and almost three decades
Keep it Classic. CocoMats. First introduced for the newly developed 356, CocoMats were the original factory accessory floor mat. New and improved, CocoMats are the only period-correct auto mat that will complement any classic Porsche®. Available for 356s to Macans. www.cocomats.com 001.803.548.4809 The Original Auto Mat.
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SPECIALIST RACING REMASTERED Born from of a passion for racing air-cooled classics, the team behind EB Motorsport has turned pastime into profession and is now regarded as one of the very best in the business for the restoration and recreation of historic Porsche road and race cars... Words Dan Sherwood Photography Chris Wallbank ne-stop shop. In automotive circles, this is a term often bandied to denote a company capable of accomplishing a wide range of services under one roof. While it may indeed work as a sweeping description for many businesses, few are in a position to offer the depth and breadth of expertise, experience and facilities as historic Porsche specialist, EB Motorsport. Based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, the firm is owned and directed by brothers, Mark and James Bates, both of whom are keen motor racing enthusiasts with a predilection for Stuttgart’s finest. The company is renowned the world over, not only for its flawlessly manufactured replacement parts for classic Porsches, complex repair solutions and painstakingly meticulous nut and bolt restorations, but also for the incredible accuracy of its reverse-engineering, enabling rare or unobtainable components to become once again available to enthusiast owners. While this exalted position in the pantheon of Porsche professionals is one the Bates brothers are extremely proud of, it was never planned. EB Motorsport has, in fact, grown from the pair’s indulgence in their own personal pastime. “The EB brand was founded by my father, Edward Bates, back in the 1950s,” Mark reveals. “He patented the first automatic livestock watering system, which he followed with numerous innovations concerning the design and manufacture of storage and conveying solutions for the agricultural, industrial and renewable energy industries. The company’s focus was on innovation, durability, cost-effectiveness and, above all, product reliability.” Back then, the firm was known as EB Equipment and, under this moniker, has continued to operate as a global leader in its field, persistently investing in the latest technologies to ensure its products can continue to be built in- house at the firm’s four-hectare site, which includes a 6,000m2 manufacturing facility. “My elder brother, James, and I took over the business from our father when we were still in our teens,” Mark remembers. “Like us, dad was also a bit of a petrolhead, but he was more into luxury marques, such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, whereas James and I have always preferred fast sports cars.” The brothers had grown up racing karts, cars and motorbikes and, eventually, got hooked on the thrill of trackdays organised by Porsche Club Great Britain. As time went by, they ventured further afield, tackling some of Europe’s bestloved circuits, including SpaFrancorchamps and the Nürburgring. “At the time, we were driving water-cooled Porsches on track,” says Mark, “but my true Porsche passion always lay with historic racing 911s. With this in mind, when an opportunity to acquire an F-series 911 presented itself, I jumped at the chance.” He admits he bought the car as an investment with a view to selling for a profit after a round of improvements. “I’d always loved S/Ts, hence deciding to turn my newly acquired 911 into an S/T replica. It was a far from easy task and involved much in the way of research before I could source the appropriate parts, which were bought from all over mainland Europe.” It was while preparing the car for racing that Mark and James discovered a distinct lack of high-quality composite body panels and related components for early 911 race and rally cars. “The scarcity of genuine parts and the poor quality of replica parts was astonishing,” James interjects. “As a result, we decided to use the design and manufacturing skills we had in-house at EB Equipment to begin producing our own Porsche parts, starting with a range of composite body panels.” The finished S/T build was used by Mark on the road before it was committed to a racetrack. Initially, he thought the car’s public visibility would be a good EVEN THE CLINICALLY CLEAN WORKBENCHES AND CABINETS LOCATED AROUND THE WORKSHOP WERE FABRICATED IN-HOUSE Facing page When it comes to classic Porsche restoration and 911 race car preparation, every aspect of a project is carried out in-house November 2023 57
way of raising its profile in advance of sale, but as time progressed, the car became a test mule for the development of new parts. PERSONAL MISSION “All the components we either sourced or made were originally only intended for use on our own cars,” Mark reveals. “When fellow Porsche enthusiasts saw the quality of our work at the various race circuits our cars frequented, however, we began to receive a high number of requests to supply the same parts for individual owners, so much so it made sense to build a team and expand our facilities to accommodate this demand.” This new venture became EB Motorsport. Although extremely disparate in their end users, the two sides of EB’s business share many commonalities, namely excellence 58 November 2023 in design, engineering and manufacturing, as well as a skilled workforce embracing the very latest in cutting-edge technology. “It’s vital we move with the times, certainly in terms of the equipment we use, thereby ensuring we can always produce everything in-house,” says Mark. “This is why we have invested in machinery designed to work with a wide range of exotic materials, not limited to titanium and magnesium. We also make use of a variety of computer-controlled HAAS Automation three-, four- and five-axis CNC machines in order to create complex shapes for bespoke automotive componentry.” Additionally, EB has embraced 3D scanning and printing, fusion welding and injection moulding, while retaining traditional manufacturing equipment, such as hand-operated lathes and English wheels. In fact, such is the gamut of skills, equipment and experience on display, there’s very little EB can’t make in-house, as can be seen by the wide range of unobtanium-level parts being assembled during our visit. From reproduction Fuchs wheels machined from a solid block of billet aluminium, to polycarbonate windscreens and headlight lenses, carbon-fibre engine shrouds, custom magnesium engine blocks and Type 915 transmission internals, each and every part EB produces is of the very highest quality. Even the clinically clean workbenches and cabinets located around the workshop were fabricated in-house. This includes a wall-mounted display case housing a horde of gleaming silverware, the result of numerous successful track outings. Above Some of the company’s standout projects include a faithful 911 R replica and an astonishing copy of 911 Carrera RSR Turbo 2.1 R13
SPECIALIST Above and below Fabrication and creation of individual engine components for historic Porsches is an everyday occurrence at EB’s Barnsley workshops “One of the trophies holding a special place in our hearts was awarded to us following our firstplace finish at the four-hour trophy race on the Nordschleife, held as part of the forty-third Oldtimer Grand Prix weekend in 2015,” Mark smiles. “To achieve a win against experienced drivers, including Olaf Manthey and Frank Stippler, on what is regarded as one of the world’s most challenging circuits, was a dream come true, especially considering we did it in a car we prepared ourselves.” We notice a pair of World successfully campaigned Carrera RS 3.0 and RSR race cars for many years, we added a short-wheelbase two-litre 911 to our fleet, which finished first-in-class at the historic Spa Six Hours in 2015. With this experience under our belts, we were keen to explore lightweighting. We put our skills to the test by creating a faithful replica of a classic 911 R.” The car Mark and James built served as a showcase everything their company can achieve. Completed in 2017 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the 911 R’s record-breaking 20,000km endurance speed run (clocking an average speed of 209km/h in Monza, Italy), the build was based on a 1967 short-wheelbase 911. “The car was a real mess when we received it in 2013,” recalls Mark. “It was riddled with corrosion and almost beyond saving, but during the next four years, our in-house team carried out a fastidious restoration incorporating 911 R specification, resulting in a classic Porsche tipping scales at scant 804 kilograms.” THIS FIRE-BREATHING PORSCHE IS RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MODELS IN PERFORMANCE MOTORING SportsCar Masters Series trophies, handed to the brothers in recognition of back-to-back wins in 2011 and 2012. “Historic motorsport underpins everything we do,” says James. “Having November 2023 59
Loaded with hand-finished details, from bespoke brake parts and 906-style inlet manifolds, to the firm’s own lightweight doors, arches, bumpers and exhaust system, the development of the EB 911 R produced many unique components swiftly added to the company’s parts catalogue. In doing so, Mark and James were allowing other passionate Porschephiles to build their own interpretations of this most legendary of 911s. THE REAL THING “It took an exceptionally long time to research, source, design and fabricate all the parts we needed to build a faithful replica,” Mark highlights. “Luckily, we had a customer who owned an original 911 R. We spent many months exchanging information about the details of various components. These conversations allowed us to recreate original factory parts to our own exacting specification.” Another of the company’s standout creations is its Martiniliveried Carrera RSR Turbo 2.1 replica. Launched little more 60 November 2023 than a decade after the 911’s introduction, the RSR Turbo was both the first factory-entered 911 to race at Le Mans and also the first turbocharged car to ever compete in the legendary endurance race. Today, this fire-breathing Porsche is recognised as one of the most influential models in performance motoring history. “Just four examples of the RSR Turbo were manufactured, each one unique,” explains Mark. “Our painstakingly accurate reproduction is based on chassis R13, the car finishing second at the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans with Gijs van Lennep and Herbert Müller at the wheel. Our car has been engineered and manufactured to an exceptional level of detail, requiring thousands of hours of research by our dedicated team.” Many people, including renowned engineer-turned-Porsche-racingdriver, Jürgen Barth, advised Mark and James not to attempt to reproduce the car, because, despite the basic 911 silhouette, virtually nothing is standard on an RSR Turbo. “Everything from the floorpan up is bespoke,” Mark highlights. “It took us a year to produce the unique body panels and to manufacture the required tooling. Moreover, every fastener on the factory car was made from titanium, meaning we’ve had to reproduce the same in order to meet strict requirements to attain the FIA technical passport allowing the car to race. It took us two years just to find a period-correct turbocharger,” he adds. This homage to the golden age of Porsche motorsport has only been possible with EB Motorsport’s Above and below Thoroughly modern methods of design and production, including 3D scanning, are used to recreate no longer manufactured Porsche parts to ensure the cars we love remain on the road for many more years to come
SPECIALIST Above and below EB’s paint shop ensures the company has complete control over the finish of every build passing through its doors extensive in-house capabilities, including design engineering, advanced machine shop functions, pattern making, composite production, fabrication, graphic design, paint and assembly. Rare parts, such as late 917 ‘endurance’ brake calipers, titanium hubs and driveshafts, have all been reverseengineered and re-manufactured to replicate originals down to the finest of details. The calipers were one such component crucial for the team to get right. Based on the 917’s original cast calipers, they were reshaped to hold a deeper pad with more friction material for longdistance racing. Cooling fins were oriented transversely (rather than vertically), making them a part easily recognisable, but complicated to replicate. “Casting can be unreliable and produces a lot of wastage,” Mark explains. “This is why, to produce our version of this particular 917 caliper, we used state-of-the-art software to accommodate scanning, digitisation and design processes before the final part was made from a solid billet of aluminium in a fiveaxis CNC machine overseen by a skilled operator.” To complement the billet bodies, EB Motorsport machines caliper pistons from aluminium, while the rest of the fixtures and fittings, such as the crossover pipes and bleed nipples, are machined from solid titanium. The company even makes its own handbrake mechanisms and brake pads. “Of course, making a part that works and complies with FIA regulations is one thing, but having it look period-correct is another,” Mark stresses. “In the example of these calipers, we had to give them the appearance of the original cast items to ensure they didn’t look out of place when fitted to the car.” This level of detail runs through every aspect of an EB Motorsport restoration. James and Mark are particularly proud of their team’s prowess with paint. “Complementing our full chassis fabrication services, which are aided November 2023 61
by a Celette body jig, plus plasma and water jet cutters, all finishing is taken care of in-house,” says James. “Only the best will do for our cars — in 2016, we installed a Dalby spray booth.” Developed for the exacting demands of high-volume OEM production lines, but also suitable for independent owner-operator businesses, all of Dalby’s UK-manufactured spray booths are capable of producing the very highest quality finish. “We also make use of the Glasurit 22 Line paint system specified by Porsche. The results on our own builds have been nothing short of stunning.” Motorsport’s replacement or replica composite body panels as part of a road or race build. “Our 911 SC RS front and rear bumpers have been a big hit in and good of classic Porsche collectors and enthusiasts — Lord Mexborough, owner of a 959 and Rennsports of the 2.7-litre and three-litre variety, is among the company’s clients — you don’t need to be a lottery winner or member of the aristocracy to benefit from the massive passion for Porsche and extraordinary skillset in this corner of South Yorkshire. While a full nut and bolt restoration to accurate historic racing specification will obviously require deep pockets, the huge range of remastered legacy parts offered by Mark and James gives owners a lifeline to components otherwise horrendously expensive or, worse, impossible to procure as the genuine article. In years to come, the enduring legacy of EB Motorsport will surely be the fact Mark and James have ensured some of the most historically significant Porsches ever constructed haven’t been lost to time. For this, they can be rightly proud of themselves. CP THE WHEELER DEALER RUNS CUSTOMISED VERSIONS OF EB’S BUMPERS ON HIS BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED 911 SC BODY LANGUAGE You don’t need to commission a full restoration to take advantage of EB’s paint and bodywork services — Mark and James are happy to offer them to enthusiasts looking for the very best finish for their cars. The work might involve simply repainting standard cars to a flawless factory finish, but equally, a customer may wish to install a selection of EB 62 November 2023 the UK and across Europe, but also in North America, where they can be purchased through our US distributor, Rothsport Racing,” Mark confirms. Many 911s now benefit from the cleaner lines, lower weight and lack of corrosion (to metal bumper blades) EB’s SC RS front and rear bumpers bring. TV’s Mike Brewer owns one such Porsche. The Wheeler Dealer runs uniquely customised versions of EB’s bumpers on his beautifully restored 911 SC, a car taking up residence alongside a restored 912 E in his personal Porsche collection. While EB Motorsport’s clientele does indeed run to the great Above We can’t wait to return to EB Motorsport to show you some of the company’s Porsche projects in detail
100 100 ISSUES OF TH L ISSUE SPECIA Y R A N E T N CE EDITION The Classic Porsche editorial team takes a trip down memory lane to celebrate the hundredth issue of the world’s only magazine dedicated to air-cooled Porsches... ere we are! The hundredth issue of Classic Porsche. The magazine has come a long way since the very first issue back in late 2009. Increases in publication frequency, pagination and even the type of air-cooled Porsche featured in our pages have changed significantly over the years, which is why we decided to take a look back at the evolution of Classic Porsche by way of highlighting key editions of the magazine, from the very first all the way to the bumper souvenir issue in your hands right now. If you’re feeling nostalgic, back issues can be ordered direct from bit.ly/issuescp. And, of course, you can get Classic Porsche delivered direct to your door by taking advantage of our latest subscription deals at bit.ly/subscp. ISSUE NO.1 Where it all began! Classic Porsche’s sister title, 911 & Porsche World, had been in print since 1990, making it the very first independent magazine dedicated to the Stuttgart brand’s products. Others came and went, but 911 & Porsche World was (and still is) the world’s biggestselling Porsche magazine, covering all ages of Porsche sports car. What if you didn’t care for kettles, though? Enter Classic Porsche. Featuring exclusively air-cooled cars, the magazine got off to a strong start, although there were arguments in the office regarding which models should make the cut. The first and easiest decision was to include all 356 variants, but then came the tricky bit: what about 911s? Launch editor, Steve Bennett, who contributes to the magazine to this very day, announced the cut-off point as being arrival of the 964. In other words, all 911s up to discontinuation of the Carrera 3.2 and 911 Turbo (930), as well as both iterations of the 912, were fair game. The result was an eclectic mix of metal in a bumper pilot publication. Would there be a second issue, though? ISSUE NO.2 As Barry Manilow once sang, looks like we made it! In early 2010, after an overwhelmingly positive response to the first issue of Classic Porsche, the magazine was launched with quarterly publication frequency. Steve Bennett stepped aside to concentrate on his duties as editor of 911 & Porsche World, allowing Volksworld founding editor, Keith Seume, to take the helm. The planets were aligning: Porsche was taking huge interest in its legacy products, establishing Porsche Classic to reintroduce long discontinued parts, while the Porsche Museum was massively upgraded and extended in the northern district of Zuffenhausen, next to the company’s headquarters. Appetite for air-cooled classics was on the rise. 64 November 2023
CENTENARY ISSUE NO.3 The second time’s a charm, but what about tricky number three? Would the novelty of a magazine focusing only on air-cooled Porsches have worn off by the time the third issue of Classic Porsche landed on newsstands? The answer was a resounding ‘no’. Key content in this issue included a homage to Björn Waldegård’s Monte Carlo 911 S/T, the progress of a 904 Carrera GTS at the Le Mans Classic (where Jean-Marc Luco and Jacques Nicolet won the Class 6 race in a 936), a highly modified 914-6 and the story of long-time Porsche owner and racer, John Watson, who told of his love affair with the manufacturer’s Rennsport-branded products. Additionally, an immaculate, low-mileage 911 SC argued the case for this particular breed of classic Porsche to be considered one of the greats. It was, after all, the first 911 manufactured to appeal to motorists outside Porsche’s traditional customer base. “There are some truly ropey examples out there, and us press chaps have done our fair share of rubbishing, but please take these pages as my attempt to rehabilitate what is actually rather a significant Porsche,” wrote Paul Davies. Did his words fall on deaf ears? ISSUE NO.8 Released with a cover date of November-December 2011, the eighth issue of Classic Porsche proved this was a magazine capable of going the distance. The cover featured an award-winning 356 B Super 90 (owned by reader, Rene Santos), one of the stars of Porsche Club Great Britain’s fiftieth anniversary concours. The supporting cover car, meanwhile, was a beautifully restored 1968 911 T. A product of the then young independent classic Porsche sales and restoration specialist, Canford Classics, the car was transformed from total basket case to “one of the finest short-wheelbase cars we’ve ever driven.” Praise indeed. Hot news concerned the sale of Steve McQueen’s Slate Grey 911 S, featured in his motorsport movie magnum opus, Le Mans, and later shipped to Los Angeles, where it served as the King of Cool’s personal Porsche. Ten years prior, it sold for between $20,000 and $30,000, but as Classic Porsche reported, RM Sotheby’s recorded an astonishing-for-the-time $1.4m hammer price. The car would be featured in the June 2021 issue of the magazine, alongside McQueen’s 908/02, entered into 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans to capture action sequences for the film. ISSUE NO.11 Is the RSR 2.8 the ultimate Carrera? This was the question posed in the eleventh issue of Classic Porsche, dated May-June 2012. An attempt to answer was presented in the form of the magazine’s cover car, chassis 911 360 1099, which rolled off the Zuffenhausen production line in October 1973 and, shortly before the magazine went to press, was reunited with its original engine (6930152), making it one of the few RSRs boasting all-important matching numbers. With heightened interest in Classic Porsche encouraging a switch to bi-monthly publication, special ring binders were introduced to keep back issues safe. Speaking of which, by mid-2012, all copies of issues one through three had sold out. Now considered collector’s items, they fetch a pretty penny when presented for sale. “Social networking websites are all the rage these days.” Yes, these words were actually printed in the magazine, alongside a call to action inviting readers to visit the newly established Classic Porsche Facebook page. Today, it has 19,000 followers. November 2023 65
ISSUE NO.12 “Porsche’s legendary road-racer turns forty”. This was big news for the July-August 2012 issue of Classic Porsche, which attempted to further broaden the title’s appeal by reaching out to readers thinking about dipping their toes in the waters of Porsche ownership. “Every journey begins with a first step, and the journey into the world of classic Porsche ownership is no different,” we argued, before presenting a selection of air-cooled cars for audience consideration. How much to pay, though? Here’s where this issue shows its age. A 356 A, so it was said, could be yours for £15,000 in project form, stretching all the way to £60,000 for a minter. A 912? £5,000 for a doer-upper, £12,000 for a perfectly presentable example and £25,000 for a finished restoration. How about £6,000 for a 911 SC in need of work? If readers didn’t fancy getting their hands dirty, it was claimed £18,000 would return a stunner. As a real world example, a 1982 SC (the subject of a buying guide), complete with Pasha trim, was being pitched as available for purchase at £9,995. Oh, for a time machine. We couldn’t help but flick to the magazine’s classifieds pages. Imagine the teeth sucking when we spotted an unmarked late Carrera 3.2 going for £6,995. ISSUE NO.24 We’ve wound the clocks forward to the July-August 2014 issue of Classic Porsche. The design of the magazine saw a change insofar as cover shots now covered all the available space. A temporary return to the earlier ‘boxy’ layout would occur later in the year, before even more layout changes, which we’ll address later in this article celebrating a scarcely believable hundred issues. The then editorial team’s apparent amazement at the power of social media (and the internet in general) continued to make itself known. “It’s an amazing world in which we live,” ran the opening line to this issue. “How easy it is to get information at the press of a few keys on a keyboard and the click of a mouse on a mousemat.” One can only imagine how mind-blowing the arrival of the smartphone was at Classic Porsche headquarters. Still, this is a magazine dedicated to air-cooled Porsches, and as such, it’s only right it has a foot entrenched firmly in the past. You can leave your Betamax videos at the door, though. Thinking about it, you can leave anti-lock braking systems, semi-automatic transmissions and power-assisted steering outside, too. Long live analogue motoring. Long live Classic Porsche. ISSUE NO.36 Dated June-July 2016, the thirty-sixth issue of Classic Porsche introduced an updated logo and a far simpler cover layout. Regarding the former, the Classic script was updated to reflect the look of the OEM Carrera script. A nice touch and one continuing to grace the cover of Classic Porsche to this day. Further tidying the design of the magazine was the decision to switch to a singlecar cover, giving the star Porsche an opportunity to shine on the newsstand without the distraction of supporting feature cars or large amounts of text muscling in. It was a brave move at a time magazine distributors were urging publishers to fill covers with as much shouty text and as many signposts to content as possible. Reflecting the aesthetic of ‘collector’ magazines, Classic Porsche’s new look would remain largely unchanged, save for recent updates to typography. As for the cover car, it was a freshly restored 1973 911 S 2.4. The build had been closely followed in these pages, leading to the showcase feature. 66 November 2023
ISSUE NO.43 Motorsport was the focus of Classic Porsche’s March-April 2017 issue. What better machine to lead the charge than the Salzburg 917 short-tail, winner of the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, Porsche’s first overall victory at Circuit de la Sarthe? Newsflash! The cover car wasn’t the actual 917 driven to victory (against all odds) by Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann. The original (chassis no.23) was converted to a Spyder by the factory in 1971, sold to Vasek Polak in 1972 and subsequently rebuilt per Le Mans specification, before being sold to the Matsuda collection in Japan and repainted in the triumphant 1970 Le Mans livery of red with white scallops. The car was then sold to Symbolic Motors and, by the time the March-April 2017 issue of Classic Porsche came around, was in the possession of historic Porsche race car collector, Carlos Monteverde. The cover car? It was none other than 917 chassis number one, prepared by the Porsche Museum as a tribute to 1970’s Le Mans victor, the car responsible for ending Ford’s domination of the famous French enduro. ISSUE NO.50 Classic Porsche had two reasons to celebrate when the December-January 2018 issue of the magazine went on sale. For starters, this was the fiftieth issue of the magazine, which had come a long way since rearing its head in 2009. Eight years on, demand remained strong — the editorial team was busier than ever, inboxes doubly filled by press releases and event invitations relating to Porsche’s seventieth anniversary as a manufacturer. To celebrate these landmarks, a free double-sided poster was given away with each issue purchased in-store. One side featured the fourth and final 911 R prototype (also pictured on the cover), the other exhibited specially commissioned artwork from Mark Morgan, who many of you will know by his artist name, Triple Espresso. Inside the magazine, the life of former Porsche CEO, Peter Schutz, was documented, as was the restoration of a rare right-hand drive 1974 Carrera 2.7 MFI. The team visited the Pelican Parts breakfast meeting and discovered a hidden gem under the skin of an old race car. ISSUE NO.52 One of the most historically significant classic Porsches graced the cover our MarchApril 2018 issue. The 901’s scarcity explains why the Porsche Museum lacked an example to sit alongside its other treasures until a German television production crew uncovered chassis number 300 057 in a lock-up in Brandenburg when filming a documentary about abandoned barns and their contents. Under the expert supervision of Porsche Classic, the car was acquired and restoration began. Back in Brandenburg, 057 had spent decades laid up alongside a gold 1968 911 L in a similar state of disrepair. Porsche bought both cars, along with two pallets of assorted spares. Among the mix of parts was a pair of 911 seats. It was assumed they belonged to 057, but closer inspection revealed them to feature five pipes (the name given to the vertically stitched subdivisions of each cushion). 901 seats feature six pipes. Fortunately, disappointment turned to joy after a Porsche Museum technician realised the car’s original seats were bolted into the cabin of the 911 L accompanying 057 to its new home. Phew! 68 November 2023
CENTENARY ISSUE NO.60 Continuing the ‘barn find’ theme, the January-March 2019 issue of Classic Porsche starred an IROC-styled 911 SC owned by reader, Ryan Hoegner. This was, perhaps, the first issue of the magazine truly demonstrating the diverse nature of the historic Porsche scene — Hoegner’s lean, green, 260bhp restomod machine took up residence on our pages alongside a supercharged 356 Pre-A and an early 911 soft-window Targa. The day’s news concerned Wolfgang Porsche’s appointment as the first honorary member of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in recognition of “his lifetime of experience with one of the world’s most respected automotive brands.” His brief was to “offer advice, exchange ideas and foster discussions about future plans for the museum.” The long line of Porsche exhibitions at the Petersen since the announcement is probably complete coincidence. Ahem. Back to the classifieds, and there’s a distinctive Magenta Carrera 2.7 Targa up for grabs. This car has bounced around a number of different owners and sales centres in recent years, but in early 2019, it was yours for £155,000. In fact, 911s topping a hundred grand were, by now, the norm, even if only a humble T. ISSUE NO.66 In a surprising break from tradition, the September-November 2019 issue of Classic Porsche featured a 964 in its pages. What’s more, the car featured on the cover. Granted, it was largely hidden by the Chartreuse Carrera RS 2.7 ahead of it, but there was no way newsstand browsers would miss the gorgeous Rubystone Red paintwork worn by the 964 in question. That’s right, the vibrant colour indicated a 964 Carrera RS was in town. Spy vs Spy. Kremer vs Kremer. Carrera vs Carrera. It was the duel we’d all been waiting for. Here were two bookends of the Rennsport legend doing battle, head to head. As if this wasn’t exciting enough, regular Classic Porsche contributor, Johnny Tipler, “won the golden ticket” with a drive in 917 chassis 008. “Imagine my amazement at being given the keys,” he gasped. Truth be told, we’re not sure he has fully recovered from that life-changing day at Donington. The jammy git. Bad news struck the Porsche world with the passing of Ferdinand Piëch, a gifted engineer and father of the 917. He was remembered in these pages. ISSUE NO.75 By 2021, the world had changed forever. The pandemic had struck, bringing misery, pain and enforced periods of lockdown. Like many magazines, Classic Porsche ceased production, a reaction to the closure of the high street and the majority of retail outlets, including newsagents. What publishers hadn’t reckoned on, however, was the world’s sudden insatiable appetite for entertainment. Classic Porsche was in high demand. After closure of the title’s original publisher, Classic Porsche changed hands, landing with leading motoring publication producer, Kelsey Media. With renewed focus and emphasis on reaching readers through non-traditional means (in other words, not limited to the high street), the magazine resumed production and, in time for the January-February 2021 issue, Dan Furr was appointed editor. Launch editor of Ultimate Porsche, former editor of GT Porsche and current editor of 911 & Porsche World, Dan was charged with leading the magazine into a new era. Immediately, he included the 964 and 993 as core cars. The April 2021 issue celebrated thirty-five years of 959. November 2023 69
ISSUE NO.76 By the time of the May 2021 issue of Classic Porsche, the magazine’s future was looking very bright under new direction, so much so, the number of issues produced across the calendar year was increased in order to satisfy demand from a new demographic of reader engaged by the wider range of cars featured. Essentially, the magazine was now covering all air-cooled Porsches, from the earliest examples of the 356 through to the very last 993s, which were considered, perhaps, too new for inclusion when the magazine was launched back in 2009. The cover featured a fantastic shot of a two-litre short-wheelbase 911 restored by Porsche Cars Great Britain for participation in the Peter Auto 2.0 Cup and subsequently painted to reflect the look of 1970’s 917 Le Mans winner. Elsewhere in the magazine, we celebrated one of the first 912s assembled, spent time with the most original surviving 904, looked at the different metals used in classic Porsche production and ventured back down memory lane to look at the origins of Recaro, famed seat supplier to world’s major car makers. ISSUE NO.77 In early to mid-2021, changes to Classic Porsche were coming thick and fast. Already benefiting from more issues each calendar year, the magazine saw a permanent increase in pagination (an additional sixteen pages) in time for the June 2021 issue. What better to fill them with than a celebration of Steve McQueen’s Porsche-tastic Le Mans movie, which was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary?! The cover featured Steve’s son, Chad, driving his father’s 1958 356 Speedster 1600 Super. As mentioned earlier, the car’s time with the Bulitt star was documented inside the magazine, as was the life of his personally owned 908/02, raced triumphantly at Phoenix prior to being converted to a camera car and entered into the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans to capture the required action shots for Le Mans. McQueen’s 911 S was also featured in this issue, as was 1970’s amazing Sonauto 914/6 GT, the lesser known Porsche entered into the year’s French enduro. Elsewhere in the magazine, we sampled a 964 Carrera 4 Targa with a twist. 70 November 2023 ROAD RACER STREET-LEGAL 330 BHP 911 RSR REPLICA 356 RESTORATION 1962 COUPE REBORN NOVEMBER 2022 KELSEYmedia £5.99 Air-cooled Porsche restoration specialist, Mike Champion, was so fascinated by the Jägermeister liveried 934 and Carrera RSRs prominent in the 1970s and 1980s, he created his own version: a road-legal RSR. We took to the streets in and around Silverstone Circuit to experience this awesome orange 911 for ourselves. Like a shimmering trophy in Zuffenhausen’s stuffed cabinet of silverware, the Speedster designation is a glistening jewel in the Porsche crown. Marking arguably the purest incarnations of the manufacturer’s most famous sports machines, the short-windscreened, lightweight legend first slipped into the Stuttgart brand’s output seven decades ago. For this, the November 2022 issue of Classic Porsche, we charted the Speedster story, from the 356 America Roadster, through to each Porsche product to wear the famous badge, including the Carrera 3.2 Speedster. Along the way, we spent time with a 356 replica powered by a 911 flat-six, plus we showcased a beautifully restored 1962 356 B T6 coupe, CarBone’s 911 T ‘Queen’ project and told the story of the one-off Porsche-powered Paxton Phoenix. ISSUE No.90 NOVEMBER 2022 £5.99 ISSUE NO.90 356 AMERICA ROADST ER l CARRERA 3.2 SPE EDSTER STORY OF THE PAXTON PHOENIX l CARBON E QUEEN 911 JP GROUP VISIT l VAR IORAM EXPLAINED 001_CP90_1DF_cover.indd 1
CENTENARY ELECTRIC DREAMS TWIN-MOTOR RUBYST ONE RESTOMOD 935 KREMER SPEC SEBRING SWAP SHOP STAR JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2023 £5.99 If the last few years have taught us Porschephiles anything, it is this: the classic Porsche scene is a broad church. Concours-quality originals, restomods, hot-rods, backdates, forward-dates, race cars, road cars and everything in between. Ours is an exciting corner of the motoring world to take up residence. Like it or not, battery-electric conversions are now part of our scene, encouraged by the rollout of emissions-free driving zones in the world’s major cities. We knew displaying a 911 EV on the cover of our January-February 2023 issue would cause uproar, but reasoned there is no better way to find out what the fuss is all about than sampling a professionally converted 911 EV ourselves. In the event, there were as many admirers of the car as there were detractors. In fact, this was a big-selling issue of Classic Porsche. We can only assume disgruntled readers rushed out and cleared the newsstand of all available issues to prevent anyone else seeing the magazine. Or something. Don’t worry, features focusing on EVs aren’t about to become a regular occurrence, but life would be pretty boring if we all drove the same Porsche, wouldn’t it?! ISSUE No.92 JANUARY-FE BRUARY 2023 £5.99 ISSUE NO.92 CAPE SPORT 911 BAC KDATE l ELVA-PORS CHE 356 CARRERA l STU TTGART CLASSICA l TARGA ORIGINS DAMPER TECHNOLOG Y l PORSCHE TRACTO RS KELSEYmedia 001_CP92_1DF_COVER.in dd 1 ISSUE No.97 AUGUST 2023 £5.99 ISSUE NO.97 964 CARRERA RS N/GT PROTOTYPE RESTORED FORMER FACTORY PRESS CAR 959 PARIS-DAKAR CHALLENGER REVIVED AUGUST 2023 DONALD CAMPBELL 'S 1959 356 A l 912 SWB 911 T HOT ROD l ERN ST PIËCH l GMÜND SL COUPE CHARLES IVEY SPECIA LIST CARS l 356 OUT LAW £5.99 KELSEYmedia Following years of speculation surrounding its identity, we were delighted to feature this recently restored 964 on the cover of our August 2023 issue. Confirmed by former Porsche factory engineer and legendary works racing driver, Jürgen Barth, as being one of two surviving Carrera RS N/GT prototypes assembled under his watch back in 1990, the car fought hard to win the cover spot against a very special 356 A coupe. Owned by land and water speed record breaker, Donald Campbell, the Meissen Blau belter was used by the world-famous sportsman to assist holiday park entrepreneur, Billy Butlin, in 1959’s highly anticipated London-toParis Bleriot anniversary race. Following the Porsche’s recent restoration, we took to the mean streets of rural Bedfordshire, although no prizes for guessing we didn’t drive the car in the spirit of Campbell in charge of Bluebird K7. To commemorate launch of the new 911 Dakar, rather than restore the 1986 Ickx/Brasseur 959 to as-new condition, the Porsche Classic team decided to recommission the car, preserving its hard-won battle scars. We told the story. 001_CP97_1DF_COVER BUMPER 132-PAGE SOUVENIR ISSUE S RI EXPINGRTOES S911ASFA PARIS DESTINED FOR PEK 100 TH CIAL ISSUE SPEARY CENTEN N EDITIO NOVEMBER 2023 £9.99 Here it is! Our hundredth issue! When we began to consider what to include in this bumper souvenir ‘bookazine’ edition of Classic Porsche, we decided to target every air-cooled Porsche production car, from 356 to 993. We’ve squeezed them all into this commemorative 132-page edition of the magazine. What’s more, the 912 and 914 get equal billing to firm fan favourites, including the classic 911 Turbo and 964. While the magazine’s contributors can give themselves a pat on the back for a job well done in shepherding Classic Porsche to this impressive milestone, we’d like to take the opportunity to thank all our loyal readers, subscribers and advertisers. Without you, we simply wouldn’t be where we are today. As always, your support is hugely appreciated. We also need to pay tribute to the huge number of enthusiasts who have granted us seat time in their treasured Porsches over the years. We’re thrilled the scene remains so vibrant. Moreover, air-cooled Porsches are more popular than ever before. Here’s to our next hundred issues. 2023 ISSUE No.100 NOVEMBER ISSUE NO.100 £9.99 .indd 1 KELSEYmedia PORT 911 2.0 l EB MOTORS 356 A l VIC ELFORD l 912 CLASSIC 911 TURBO 993 TARGA l 914 l EVOCATION l 911 2.7 TIME ATTACK 964 RSR 01/10/2023 18:17:55 November 2023 71
959 NEW R QUAIL WINNE CANEPA CAR VICTORY ISSUE No.96 JULY 2023 £5.99 964 CARRERA RS INTO THE BLUE TURKISH DELIGHT BACKDATED 964 CARRERA 4 TARGA ORDER TO DAY! ISSUE No.97 AUGUST 2023 £5.99 ISSUE No.99 OCTOBER 2023 £5.99 ISSUE No.98 SEPTEMBER 2023 £5.99 MISSED AN ISSUE? COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION 1958 356 A COUPE BACKROAD KICKS IN UNRESTORED ICON N/GT PROTOTYPE WHY THE 911 SC WAS PORSCHE'S KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR RESTORED FORMER FACTORY PRESS CAR 357 SPEEDSTER CONCEPT REVEALED 962 RESTORATION 1988/89 RLR LEAD CAR 959 PARIS-DAKAR R CHALLENGE REVIVED AUGUST 2023 COVER STORY 964 Carrera N/GT prototype INSIDE STORIES Donald Campbell’s 356 A, Gaswerks Garage, 911 S, 356/2 origins story, Variocam, Greatworth Classics, 357 Speedster AIR & WATER EXCLUSIVE NEW BOOK ROAD-LEGAL RACER TRIED AND TESTED VIPER GREEN 911 SC OUTLAW BITES BACK TWIN-MOTOR RUBYSTONE RESTOMOD KREMER SPEC SEBRING SWAP SHOP STAR ICON GOES TO AUCTION KELSEY KELSEY RESTORED 1954 356 PRE-A l SBARRO CHALLENGE 912 DUO l 3.1-LITRE FLAT-SIX l 356 B PROJECT 911 R REPLICA l NORTH DEVON METALCRAFT £5.99 £5.99 £5.99 £5.99 RESTORED 911 2.7 TARGA l TYPE 370 CISITALIA 914 RESTOMOD l TURBO-LOOK 993 CABRIOLET WEBCON VISIT l LATEST AUCTION NEWS ELECTRIC DREAMS 935 934/5 KELSEY 356 SPEEDSTER l ROGER BRAY RESTORATION 912 BITSA l 911 TURBO RESTOMOD l 356 COUPE CARRERA 3.2 l ZIMMER 910 S l 550A SPYDER Williams Crawford, 911 2.4 E Targa, Helmut Schmid, hybrid turbochargers, Herbert Linge LAST OF ITS KIND 956/962 ICONS THE BEST AND THE REST KELSEY 912 short-wheelbase, 911 T, 356 Outlaw build, Charles Ivey Specialist Cars, Gmünd SL coupe 964 CARRERA CUP 10 WIN JULY 2023 COVER STORY Unrestored 1958 356 A INSIDE STORIES 993 GT2 conversion, ISSUE No.92 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2023 £5.99 FROM MILD TO WILD 964 CABRIOLET REBORN AS WIDE-ARCH COUPE SEPTEMBER 2023 COVER STORY Restored 911 SC rides again INSIDE STORIES 356 Outlaw, modified 912, ISSUE No.94 APRIL 2023 £5.99 ISSUE No.95 MAY-JUNE 2023 £5.99 Dauer 962 Le Mans, 964 Carrera RSR 3.8, Carrera 3.2 restomod, Classic Fabrications KELSEY 993 GT2 CONVERSION l HERBERT LINGE l EXPORT 56 HELMUT SCHMID l 911 2.4 E TARGA l HYBRID TURBOS WILLIAMS CRAWFORD l GLÖCKLER-PORSCHES ISSUE No.93 MARCH 2023 £5.99 OCTOBER 2023 COVER STORY Backdated 964 C4 Targa INSIDE STORIES 356 B Notchback, 356/2, KELSEY DONALD CAMPBELL'S 1959 356 A l 912 SWB 911 T HOT ROD l ERNST PIËCH l GMÜND SL COUPE CHARLES IVEY SPECIALIST CARS l 356 OUTLAW £5.99 356 OUTLAW l GREATWORTH CLASSICS l VARIOCAM TURBO TECH l 356/2 ORIGINS l RESTORED 911 SC GASWERKS GARAGE l 911 S l MODIFIED 912 £5.99 KELSEY £5.99 £5.99 KELSEY 356 B NOTCHBACK l CLASSIC FABRICATIONS l 911 T DAUER 962 LE MANS l 356/2 l 964 CARRERA RSR 3.8 CARRERA 3.2 RESTOMOD l RUF 901 AT MONTEREY CAPE SPORT 911 BACKDATE l ELVA-PORSCHE 356 CARRERA l STUTTGART CLASSICA l TARGA ORIGINS DAMPER TECHNOLOGY l PORSCHE TRACTORS MAY-JUNE 2023 APRIL 2023 MARCH 2023 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2023 COVER STORY Wide-arch 964 C4 backdate INSIDE STORIES Carrera 3.2, 550 A Spyder, COVER STORY Road-legal 964 Carrera Cup INSIDE STORIES Restored 911 2.7 Targa, COVER STORY Viper Green 911 SC Outlaw INSIDE STORIES Restored 1954 356 Pre-A, COVER STORY Electric Carrera 3.2 build INSIDE STORIES Cape Sport 911 backdate, ROAD RACER 964 356 IF PORSCHE HAD MADE AN F-SERIES GT3 ISSUE No.89 OCTOBER 2022 £5.99 ISSUE No.91 DECEMBER 2022 £5.99 BESPOKE 911SC SHELL SHOCKED STREET-LEGAL 330BHP 911 RSR REPLICA LARROUSSE TOUR DE FRANCE ST REPLICA BASED ON EARLY TWO-LITRE 911 S 1962 COUPE REBORN Elva-Porsche, 356 Carrera, Stuttgart Classica, damper technology, Porsche-Diesel tractors 993 CARRERA RS NEAR 300BHP RENNSPORT JOURNEYS BACK IN TIME TO MEET 1953 356 PRE-A COUPE 906 964 RESTORATION WIDE BODY WORKS GTR 3.8 TARGA Sbarro Challenge, 356 B project, 911 R replica, North Devon Metalcraft, restored 912 duo ISSUE No.88 AUG/SEPT 2022 £5.99 914 restomod, Turbo-Look 993 Cabriolet, Webcon company profile, 956/962 heroes ISSUE No.90 NOVEMBER 2022 £5.99 Vivian Campbell’s trio of air-cooled classics, Zimmer 910 S, 911 Turbo restomod, 912 bitsa CARRERA 6 SUPER-RARE ROAD-LEGAL RACER FLACHBAU TURBO S KELSEY OUTLAW 356 COUPE l JACK HEUER’S CARRERA RS 2.7 LIMITED-SLIP DIFFERENTIALS l GHISLAINE KAES PELICAN PARTS l FOUR-SEATERS l TYRE TECH DECEMBER 2022 NOVEMBER 2022 OCTOBER 2022 COVER STORY Canford Classics 911 SC INSIDE STORIES KAMM Manufaktur 912 C, COVER STORY Street-legal 911 RSR replica INSIDE STORIES 356 America Roadster, COVER STORY 911 Tour de France replica INSIDE STORIES 356 Outlaw, Ghislaine Kaes, 1956 356 A coupe, Austro Daimler Sascha, 356 C design and development, Formula Vee Carrera 3.2 Speedster, Paxton Phoenix, Varioram, JP Group visit, Carbone Queen 911 Jack Heuer’s Carrera RS 2.7, Pelican Parts, tyre technology, limited-slip differentials KELSEY 912 RESTORATION l 936/77 LE MANS WIN l 911 S 2.4 ZAGATO SPEEDSTER Z l BRUN MOTORSPORT 962 JENVEY DYNAMICS VISIT l NICK HEIDFELD 959 S AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2022 COVER STORY 993 Carrera RS revisited INSIDE STORIES 1953 356 Pre-A coupe, Zagato Speedster Z, Brun Motorsport 962, Jenvey Dynamics, 936/77 Le Mans winner VISIT SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/CPOISSUE OR CALL THE HOTLINE +44 (0)1959 543747* *Lines open Mon-Fri 8.30am–5.30pm (GMT). Calls charged at your standard network rate. OR SCAN ME! £5.99 KELSEY 356 AMERICA ROADSTER l CARRERA 3.2 SPEEDSTER STORY OF THE PAXTON PHOENIX l CARBONE QUEEN 911 JP GROUP VISIT l VARIORAM EXPLAINED £5.99 KAMM MANUFAKTUR 912 C l 1956 356 A COUPE STORY OF THE 356 C l AUSTRO DAIMLER SASCHA RINDT VEHICLE DESIGN l FORMULA VEE £5.99 KELSEY £5.99
911 AGENT ORANGE Paul Leyton rescued a bright orange Singer-lookalike doer-upper and turned it into a 911 S/T-inspired restomod, complete with, yes, purple upholstery. Donning our shades, we check out his astonishing paean to acid-loving hippiedom... Words Johnny Tipler Photography Dan Sherwood o you dream in colours? If so, do they harmonise or clash with one another? Back when mind-expanding drugs were in vogue, psychedelia ruled. The wilder the hues, the better the trip. Paul Leyton harbours no such motives, but he loves to get a reaction to his Orange Blossom Special and its Purple Haze upholstery. His Porsche started life as a 1976 2.7-litre 911. Don’t be fooled by the external oil filler cap — this car was, at one time, on its way to becoming a Singer Vehicle Design wannabe. Paul shows me a photo of the car when newly arrived in the UK from the USA. It was a lovely-looking G-series in silver, endowed with a tea-tray and Fuchs wheels. Under normal circumstances, you’d be delighted with this spec, but clearly, it’s nothing like what we’ve got here. Long story short, Paul bought this 911 as an unfinished project, totally dismantled, and having already had a great deal of work done to its shell, including the dramatic orange paint job. He discovered the car for sale on Facebook Marketplace. And why not? I once sold a house in Portugal by giving it its own Facebook page. True story. Paul’s 911 was stashed at historic race and rally specialist, Tuthill Porsche, having been abandoned at the firm’s Wardington base by its previous custodian. Apparently, the chap had struggled to find a company capable of creating the Singer replica he wanted, and although Tuthill came up with a comprehensive plan to build it for him, he decided to sell up, allegedly buying a brand-new 992 Carrera GTS after being fazed by the numbers he was being quoted. This is when Paul noticed the car on social media. “After being imported, the car was first delivered to classic Porsche restoration specialist, Stuttgart Classica, where it was stripped and its tunnel modified to take a Getrag G50 box,” he muses. “When the cost of the build reached ninety grand, he decided to bail out. I had long conversations with the owner, and also Ty, the painter at Riviera Autobody, who’d given the bodyshell its vibrant coat of colour. I then visited Tuthill in order to look through all the parts accompanying the shell. I was essentially considering buying an air-cooled 911 spotted on Facebook and being advertised by a guy I’d never met. Furthermore, there was no logbook — the car was listed on the Notification of Vehicle Arrivals (NOVA) database as never registered.” Paul talks of sleepless nights as he considered the implications of his purchase and how the project might proceed. “Once I’d agreed a price and paid for the car, I went back to Tuthill’s workshops and collected the aforementioned component parts. I suppose you could say I bought a painted orange shell and three boxes of bits, nothing more.” Logbook aside, he already had ideas about the car’s identity. “Contrary to the previous owner’s intentions, I didn’t want it to be yet another Singer replica,” he stresses. “There are dozens of them out there. I wanted this 911 to be, well, different. Hence, I started playing with interiors, colours and materials. Independent automotive fabric supplier, Boyriven, is located close to where I live. I went to see the company’s sample wall, taking along a swatch of the car’s paintwork. During my visit, I came up with two or three different options for the upholstery. I mulled over each, ultimately deciding to go with purple and orange.” Far out, man (as they’d have enthusiastically exclaimed at Woodstock). After selecting the purple fabric, Paul engaged with trimmer, Stephen Thirkettle, at 13 Stitches, located in Orpington, Kent, and sent him the samples. “He totally got it,” enthuses Paul, “and that’s what I needed, somebody who was going to be on board with my vision. Stephen is well-known on the Volkswagen scene, which is how I knew him — my car ownership history is rooted in air-cooled VWs.” Cooperation and synergy is what drove the build from thereon. The interior received sound deadening from Stuart SINGLE-MINDEDLY, PAUL HAS OPTED FOR THE S/T LOOK, COMPLETE WITH WIDE, BULBOUS REAR WHEEL ARCHES Facing page Many would consider a backdate of this nature to feature a fire-spitting flat-six, but Paul has opted for a modest two-litre unit November 2023 75
Crombie at Accutek and benefits from a new headlining fitted by Paul himself. Stephen installed the heated seat pads in the course of the incredible re-trim operation. “I knew it was going to be a ‘Marmite’ car,” Paul jokes. “You’ll either love it or hate it. Having owned a 1956 low-light Ghia with a snakeskin interior, however, I’m not exactly averse to controversy. This 911’s cabin is a real talking point. To my mind, connecting with fellow enthusiasts is what classic Porsche ownership is all about. This car encourages conversation.” ZEST FOR LIFE Back to the build. Single-mindedly, Paul has opted for the S/T look, complete with wide, bulbous rear wheel arches, accommodating staggered fifteen-inch Fuchs replica wheels with nine inches of with at the rear. They’re wrapped in 205/55 and 225/50 Toyos. He’s also deployed twenty-five-millimetre spacers to kick the wheels out to the max. As he comments, “Ty, who painted the car not once, but twice before I took ownership, said I wouldn’t believe how much work and how many manhours went into developing the arches. There are subtle differences 76 November 2023 with the standard 911. A typical 911 wheel arch, for instance, curves around and goes slightly flat at the top. In contrast, my car’s wheel arches are completely radial. You wouldn’t necessarily notice the difference unless you parked my 911 next to a standard example.” There are a few details even 911 buffs might not notice. The door mirrors, for example, are custommade, while the front lid’s Porsche badge is inset into the metal. There’s an external oil filler, too, suggesting we’re in the presence of a 1972 2.4litre 911. “Initially, I wondered what’s to stop somebody unscrewing it,” Paul says, “but Ty told me Riviera Autobody applies this update to lots of backdated 911s and the filler cap is rarely connected to the oil system. Ordinarily, it’s just for show.” The 993 scuttle panel — an update mimicking a feature of Singer Vehicle Design restorations — and windscreen wiper conversion is a legacy of the early work carried out by Stuttgart Classica, factored in when the previous owner was calling the shots. “What he hadn’t considered,” Paul continues, “is how a 993 wiper motor won’t fit in an early 911 shell. Consequently, we spent a week scratching our heads and then two or three days engineering a hybrid wiper motor assembly, utilising parts from the 993 and parts from a 911 of this vintage.” The car required a new oil tank. Paul was assisted in the making of this by an old friend, Trevor Ward, who used to be a railway engineer and currently teaches design and technology at Winchester College. “He helped me turn two 911 oil tanks into a fit for purpose item for the car. Being a 1976 build, it should have a late-spec oil tank, but when I installed a two-litre engine in place of the 2.7, I discovered the fittings are different. Trevor helped solve this particular conundrum.” We’ll come to the engine momentarily. When Paul bought the car, the front lid already had the central orifice for the fuel filler in place. “It came with the filler cap, but no neck to connect it to the tank. Marste Engineering in Winchester fabricated the filler assembly from aluminium alloy.” All the build-up and mechanical work was carried out by Paul in his garage-workshop at home in Winchester. He also took care of the required rewiring, in which task he was aided by Stuart from Accutek. Above In previous ownership, the Porsche was destined to be a Singer clone, but things changed when Paul swooped in and bought the car, albeit as a shell and boxes of parts
911 Above and below There’s no denying this 911 has a personality all its own, characterised by the cabin’s mix of orange and purple leather and fabric “I cleared my other cars out to ensure the 911 had my garage to itself. Parts were spread everywhere. I then started working my way through everything. The work included lots of trips to see my friend, Ian MacMath, whose 356 and 911 were recently featured in Classic Porsche. He allowed me to take photographs of his orange 911, enabling me to see where parts went and how they fitted back together.” Again, there was more head-scratching. Due to its previous Singer aspirations, Paul’s 911 was missing its heater boxes and heat control flaps, which are hard-to-find control. I installed a petrol heater instead. All the heating equipment is located in the smuggler’s box, meaning the heat exchangers in the exhaust system are redundant. This winter, I intend to find out if the system works as well as I hoped it would!” And now we get to the fundamentals of the running gear. Somewhat radically, Paul has rejected the original 2.7-litre motor in favour of a rebuilt two-litre flat-six. “When I bought the car, I was given the option of buying an engine to go with it, but the boxer in question was dismantled and therefore couldn’t be heard running. It was an unknown quantity. I wasn’t prepared to take the risk of putting it back together, only to find it was in need of major surgery.” At this point, it would have been tempting to install a 3.6-litre M64 flat-six on throttle bodies, but, as Paul admits, “it would have been out of character for this car.” The higher-capacity option was sidelined. He soon came across a fellow 911 enthusiast performing an engine swap. It turned out the discarded engine was a two-litre unit making EASING BACK INTO THE MINDBLOWING CABIN, WE TAKE STOCK OF THE EXTRAORDINARILY BOLD PURPLE SPORTS SEATS components. There was a pragmatic solution. “In the end, I decided upon a heater delete. There are no control flaps and no levers in the dash, hence the uncluttered look, assisted by the lack of stereo and no climate November 2023 77
use of triple Weber carburettors, MSD ignition and a Dansk exhaust. Crucially, it had not long been fully rebuilt. “I bought it, along with a Type 901 dog-leg gearbox. This is the set-up I’ve been running in the car this season.” Following installation of these oily bits, the car went on the rolling road at Stanton Motorsport, Hungerford. Perversely, the session served to reveal a leaking manifold gasket. Paul is due to return for a rerun in due course, when he expects to see 120bhp, midway between a two-litre T and a two-litre S. FRUIT OF THE LOOM Oh, the joys of a fresh rebuild. It turns out we’re privileged to have glimpsed the car in action — Paul reveals the engine is currently in bits again. “On the way to CarFest in August, it blew a head gasket on number two. The gaskets were replaced, but having covered another thousand miles since, I’ve found more niggles, like you do with any new construction. In truth, the engine needs a gearbox with longer ratios. For this reason, a gearbox swap will be taking place in the coming weeks.” 78 November 2023 The suspension consists of Bilstein front shocks, Öhlins rears, Eibach springs, RSR-specification anti-roll bars, adjustable front top mounts and torsion bar delete. Paul reckons the spring rates are too hard for a decent ride in a road car. More for the snagging list. “Currently, my 911 is running 250lb front springs and 450lb rears. I’m swapping those for 150lb and 300lb. I’m hoping the change will make the ride a bit more pleasurable. After all, you want to enjoy the ride, not be banged about. This isn’t a track machine.” His critique of the car’s suspension came after experiencing seat time in Ian MacMath’s similarly coloured 911 at CarFest. “Ian was there with his 356, as well as his orange 911. He took his 356 around the track. I jumped in his orange 911 and had a go in that. It was a revelation. It drove exactly how I want my 911 to behave.” As a result, in addition to the engine and gearbox work, the car’s suspension is scheduled to come apart over the forthcoming winter months. All told, this zesty 911 will reappear in the spring, looking the same, but delivering a more comfortable, more focused drive. The brakes are non-servo assisted, comprising billet alloy calipers (sixpot at the front, four-pot at the rear) and large vented discs, which just squeeze inside the wheels. Stainless steel braided hoses and new brake lines were supplied by Stuttgart Classica. Before Paul’s ownership, Stuttgart Classica also provided the discs, the Bilstein suspension kit, chrome hinges for the doors, the bonnet, engine lid and all the early 911 panels. Paul is impassive. “If I’d Above Man and machine in perfect harmony, although the 911 fights a Tiptronic-kitted Light Clam Pearl 964 Carrera 2 Cabriolet for Paul’s affections
911 Above and below Engine reliability and efficiency is improved through a host of upgrades, including a Classic Retrofit fuseboard and MSD ignition found the car before work started on it, then it probably wouldn’t have ended up looking like it does now. I’d have found it hard to justify the amount of paint and bodywork expenditure that’s gone into this build. Don’t get me wrong, the paintwork is stunning, far better than you’ll find on any of my other cars, but nothing lasts forever, evidenced by stone chips already appearing at the front of this Porsche. At the end of the day, though, there’s no point in having a car like this and hiding it away in a garage.” Many of the new parts for the build came from Design 911. “There were plenty of bits missing when I bought the car. I can’t remember what my total spend is to date, but much of the project budget has been spent on parts from Design 911.” Ian was also extremely helpful to Paul, donating used components from his parts archive, many of which are unavailable from the usual commercial sources. For example, he contributed the glass panes for the opening rear windows. As Paul comments, “Porsche don’t make them anymore. I was told Porsche Classic might put them back into production at some point in the future, but there is no firm commitment. I tried a variety of automotive glass manufacturers, including Pilkington, but no joy. When it comes to parts like these, unless you can find someone with good second-hand stuff, a restoration project can prove very difficult.” Easing back into the mindblowing cabin, we take stock of the extraordinarily bold purple sports seats, which are decorated with orange stripes and contrasting stitching. Purple is the colour of royalty and has religious connotations, but partnered with orange? This has to be one of the wildest colour combinations anyone could dream of. It’s like the bedroom of a child in the 1960s. Get your head around this, baby! JUICY DETAILS Consider the wood-rimmed steering wheel, carrying its wilful Wolfsburg horn button. “At first, I bought a MOMO from Design 911, but you’d have to be an orangutan to reach the indicator stalks with it in place,” Paul laughs. “I decided to look for a steering wheel from the period of my car’s construction. I raided Ian MacMath’s wall of steering wheels and was trying different parts with different bosses. It was at this point I realised the splines on my 911 steering column are the same as those of a Volkswagen Beetle. This opened up the choice of steering wheels at my disposal.” Fortuitously, Aircooled Accessories had started making replica 911 steering wheels, primarily for owners of Beetles and Bay Window buses. Paul ended up buying one of these parts. It’s what you see in our pictures. I think the Wolfsburg crest is actually rather cool. In a way, it’s part of the mystery of this classic Porsche. The gearstick is a Numeric Racing performance shifter, sourced through November 2023 79
Design 911. There’s a short-shift linkage and dog-leg first gear, with a lock-out for the gate, ensuring reverse can’t be selected when changing up from first into second. It’s a neat, modern tweak and the switches are mostly hidden. There’s also a bespoke wooden gear knob, created specially for this 911 by Simon Basil at BuiltByBasil. The gauges are selfevidently originals, providing a genuine period look. Paul reflects on his personal automotive philosophy. “It’s about making a car your own. I suppose this is influence from my background owning, building and personalising countless Beetles and Camper vans. The classic Volkswagen scene is all about individualisation, whereas much of the classic 911 scene is driven by what people think other enthusiasts want to buy, as well as a car’s potential resale value. Many people have told me this interior will affect my car’s financial worth, but I’m not really bothered. I’m configuring the car for me, nobody else. Besides, my first drive in the car was to the annual Stonor VW Show and, straightaway, somebody was trying to buy it from me!” A lengthy history of Porsche ownership going back some thirty years proves Paul knows where he’s coming from. His first 911 was a left- 911. Consequently, a 996 Cabriolet took up residence in his garage. He also owned a couple of Karmann Ghias and a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Pagoda’ powered by a 4.5-litre Ford V8. It wasn’t long, however, before another 964 caught his attention. This time, he found himself in charge of a Tiptronic-kitted Carrera 2 Cabriolet. “The unloved model,” jokes Paul. “I had to have it. It’s finished in Light Clam Pearl. From what I’ve been able to discover, the first owner was Porsche indie, Autofarm, and the car was a special order through the Porsche Sonderwunsch programme. It’s one of few 964s painted this colour at the factory.” In 2024, the VolksWorld Show at Sandown Racecourse will be hosting a display of classic Porsches. Event organisers have cordially asked Paul if he’ll display the acidic orange 911. Fair enough, but next time I speak to him, I’m going to ask if I can take Agent Orange for a serious burn-up. Or maybe a road trip? One thing’s for sure, there’ll be no need for stimulants when behind the wheel of this 911. It does the job for you. CP HE OWNED A COUPLE OF KARMANN GHIAS AND A MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SL POWERED BY A 4.5-LITRE FORD V8 80 November 2023 hand drive 964 Carrera 4, the result of an extraordinary car swap. “I did a deal involving six Volkswagens,” he roars. “I was using the 964 daily, including for work. It was equipped with H&R suspension, ‘Turbo Twist’ wheels and RS bumpers. At the time, my three boys were aged one, two, and three, but as they got bigger, the 964 became less practical. I’d had it completely repainted, but it sold it for just £9,500. That would have been 1998. The 964 was, of course, relatively unloved back then.” To accommodate his growing family, Paul next acquired an Audi RS2 Avant, another car assembled by Porsche. The 964, however, had irreversibly fuelled his passion for the Above A background buying, modifying and selling old VWs influences Paul’s decisions when it comes to personalising his air-cooled Porsches
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993 TARGA SLIDING-GLASS TARGA Inspired by a concept car many thought ugly, the 993 Targa brought striking new style and function to the 911. On offer through successive Carrera ranges, this distinctive take on the Targa concept continues to reward fortunate Porsche drivers and passengers… Words Karl Ludvigsen Photography Ludvigsen Partners, Porsche Corporate Archives hen Ulrich Bez returned to Porsche from BMW and became the Zuffenhausen concern’s technical board director in October 1988, he was met with senior management personnel thinking the 911 had outworn its welcome. “The general view was that we should do something new,” said Bez. “A new car.” This meant not a new 911, rather a new automobile. After the flurry of decision-making marking Ernst Fuhrmann’s reign as head of Porsche, the company had simply pressed on with variants of the cars he and Helmuth Bott created. The traditional surrogate for the Porsche customer, Ferry Porsche, turned seventynine during the month before Bez took office. While Bez took care to cultivate his counsel and support, Ferry could no longer assume his traditional role as the company’s touchstone for new design concepts. Moreover, at Porsche’s helm, interim CEO, Heinz Branitzki, chanted a mantra of stability, not innovation. Branitzki knew a new Porsche product was needed, but in the summer of 1988, he expressed his “anxiety” over its creation. “We have only one shot, primarily because such a new car will cost a billion marks,” he reflected. It would be up to Bez to prepare the recommendation for a new product. As a concept, Bez had immense respect for the 911. “No other car has such strong brand value, such driving qualities. It’s the best of the first hundred years of the automobile.” This bolstered the conclusion he recommended to Porsche’s board. “We should not make something new and different,” he told them. “Instead, we should make the 911 better. This car is the backbone of our company.” He won guarded approval. “I fought so hard with my colleagues and with the supervisory board to make things work,” he recalled. Though he didn’t get the new roof and interior he wanted for the 911, the result was a new and indeed better 911. It took the form of the Type 993. “We had to get the 911 in style very quickly,” said factory engineer, Helmut Flegl. “This is why the 993 was developed.” Speaking of style, when Bez left BMW, he was allowed to take one member of staff with him. His choice fell on Harm Lagaaij, a Dutchman whose abilities he rated highly. “We began at once on the 993,” Lagaaij recalled after his after his January 7th 1989 arrival. “In the same year, we developed the Panamericana.” The latter was featured at the Frankfurt show and was based on a concept sketched by British designer, Steve Murkett. Murkett and fellow designer, Reinhold Schreiber, created by far the most controversial concept car in Porsche’s history. If Bez was hoping to use the Panamericana to communicate the company’s heightened emotionality as a marque — which he was — he succeeded. For new design chief, Lagaaij, the aim of the Panamericana was “to show Porsche is always ready to set new trends in form, colours and trim.” It was, he added, “a unique opportunity to present a car representing everything in which we, as a sports car maker, take pride.” Lost in the furore over its unusual appearance was the highly innovative design of the Panamericana’s greenhouse, the subject of a patent. “A crazy idea was to create a roll cage going around the roof, rather than over it,” said Murkett. “It protected your forehead. We used this roll cage as the template for making a zip-up cover for the car. The notion was inspired by a fascination with boats I shared with my father. Zip-on covers were the norm. For the Panamericana, two zips and you have the roof off.” Combinations of fabric and plastic panels with versatile fixings allowed five different roof conditions, from fully closed to fully open. The result, said Lagaaij, was “not a roadster, not a Speedster, but perhaps a kind of Spyder with visible safety.” LOST IN THE FURORE OVER ITS UNUSUAL APPEARANCE WAS THE HIGHLY INNOVATIVE DESIGN OF THE PANAMERICANA’S GREENHOUSE Facing page Porsche found just the right way to highlight the open lid of the 993 Targa, which in its day provided motorists with the ultimate sunroof November 2023 83
A hint of the Panamericana’s fastback look emerged when Porsche unveiled Type 993 body styles for 1996. One, the Speedster, was produced in very small numbers — only a single Speedster on the new 993 body was made, and that as a surprise birthday present for Ferdinand Alexander ‘Butzi’ Porsche, who turned sixty in 1995. That it was made at all indicated a Speedster was at least considered for production by Porsche’s new management, now headed by Wendelin Wiedeking. It was, however, seen as demanding too much production complexity. Fresh air was a feature of another new body style for 1996. This was a reinterpretation of the Targa, reviving the model name after the last Targas of the original design were made in 1993. Originally created to serve the 911 as a substitute for the Cabriolet, the Targa’s original ‘rollover hoop’ format was no longer required. 84 November 2023 The newer Targa format took up a roof concept previously considered, but ultimately rejected. From 1977 into 1980, Porsche evaluated a new roof design for the 924. Essentially, a glass panel slid above the passengers and over the rear screen to create a spacious sliding open top. Abandoned for various reasons, not least its deleterious effect on rear vision, the idea returned in much more sophisticated form for the 993. “Starting with a standard 911 cabriolet body shell,” said Autocar, “itself based on the old Targa, Porsche’s designers and engineers were set the task of building a stiffer, safer, easier to use and, of course, better-looking model to Above and below In 1989, for his eightieth birthday, Ferry Porsche was presented with the Panamericana, a turnkey design study featuring 964 Carrera 4 oily bits and a then exotic composite body
993 TARGA Above Note the Panamericana’s tyres, featuring a tread pattern depicting the Porsche crest Right In their presentation of the Panamericana concept car, Steve Murkett and Reinhold Schreiber created a versatile opening roof, which went on to inspire the complex design of the 993 Targa Below The concept car’s bodywork coming to life bridge the gap between the letterbox sun-roofed Carrera and the fully open (but vandal-vulnerable) Cabrio. Inspiration came from the open-topped 1989 Panamericana concept car, which dispensed with the old Targa’s bulky, transverse roll hoop in favour of slender, longitudinal cant rails stretching from the top corners of the windscreen frame to the bottom corners of the rear screen.” “It’s a wonderfully elegant solution,” said Lagaaij, “both structurally and stylistically. Torsional rigidity and roll-over protection are both vastly improved design not once, but twice. The first patent was lodged on October 15th 1993 by Steve Murkett and Jürgen Bayer. “The principal advantages achieved by means of the invention,” they related, “are that the top with its roof sections, which may consist of glass and may partially be openable, forms a purposeoriented combination of a closed and an open body. In this case, not only does the occupant’s upward view prove excellent for viewing occurrences and landscapes above the roof, but (as a result of the movable roof sections) a good ventilation of the passenger compartment is also achieved.” The pair continued their explanation. “The movable roof sections are constructed in the manner of a sliding roof, in which case, the first roof section is a wind deflector and the second roof section forms the actual sliding roof. The latter roof section is constructed to be adjustable under the third roof section by means of appropriate kinematics and guides. The top comprises easily producible TWO LARGE BLUE-TINTED GLASS PANELS, THE REARMOST OF WHICH WAS BONDED INTO THE ROOF’S STEEL STRUCTURE and, for the first time on an open model, we’ve retained the fixed-head 911’s famous silhouette and sidewindow graphic. The system was invented in our studio and patented.” In fact, Porsche patented the November 2023 85
frames and supports which may be made of steel, plastic or light metal. The third roof section (which, like the other roof sections, is a piece of glass) and the rear side windows are inserted into openings of the top and are fastened by means of gluing. As a result of this construction, the top has sufficient stiffness, while its weight is more than acceptable.” TOP TO BOTTOM The new roof consisted of two large blue-tinted glass panels, the rearmost of which was bonded into the roof’s steel structure. The front panel was retracted under the rear glazing by three electric motors. A small supplementary panel at the front acted as a handy wind deflector. Ingenious sealing diverted any water on the movable glass to ensure it could be opened after a shower without drenching the car’s unsuspecting occupants. The second patent was filed on November 15th 1994 by automotive roof specialist, Bodo Homann, as well as Jürgen Bayer and Harry Nennemann, to protect the means 86 November 2023 invented to deal with an issue that arose during testing. “It is an object of the invention,” they stated, “to develop this roof construction further, such that unintentional reaching into the gap by occupants sitting, for example, in the rear compartment of the vehicle, is counteracted. According to the invention, this object is achieved by providing a roof construction comprising a rigid roof section, a movable roof section (which can be displaced after being lowered under the rigid roof section) and a protective and covering strip mounted on a rear edge of the movable roof section, as viewed in a forward vehicle driving direction. As a result of the mounting of a protective or covering strip, the occupants are prevented from inserting their fingers in the gap between the two roof sections so that the risk of injury is at least reduced.” “This strip ensures an organic covering of the transition area between the second and the third roof section,” added the engineers, Above An attractive alternative to the Cabriolet, the newlook Targa for the 1996 model year allowed open-top driving in a gustfree environment, especially when the car’s wind deflector was raised Below On Porsche’s motor show stand, the new Targa was billed as “The Porsche with wind and sun as standard”
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“specifically within the passenger compartment. In other words, it contributes to optimisation of the appearance. In addition, the strip is used for the lateral deflection of water, which penetrates into the gap between the roof sections from water-draining grooves arranged in the area of the lateral roof frames.” When it was closed, the curved, clear top fitted together so well it looked like a single piece, but there were actually three separate flushfitting glass panels, as described above. A press of a button on the centre console activated two tiny electric motors erecting the wind deflector to provide additional ventilation. Holding the button down dropped the rear edge of the roof a few millimetres, ensuring the whole panel could retract 88 November 2023 beneath the fixed rear window. “Don’t expect to see much in your rear-view mirror,” warned Autocar. “The double layer of heavily tinted glass makes it all but impenetrable in poor light. By far the strangest sensation is felt when the tinted glass is in its closed position. The immediate impression is one of driving a supercharged goldfish bowl, so exposed and open to view is the seating position. The added brightness and extra few millimetres of headroom are a welcome improvement over the snug yet mildly claustrophobic coupe. For extra privacy, or to exclude summer heat, you can always resort to the full-length electric blind, which follows the roof’s curve from the top of the windscreen to the top of the rear window. Porsche claims this reduces heat build-up to coupe levels.” Autocar also suggested Porsche had made all other removable roof mechanisms look cumbersome. “Press the button on the centre console, even on the move, and the roller blind retracts, followed initially by the small front section of roof, which tilts skyward to act as a wind deflector. Press again and the main section of the roof drops before sliding neatly inside the rear windscreen. With the roof open, the Targa remains just a little too civilized for the serious tweed hat and goggle types. Even with the windows down, the effect is more like that of a large sunroof.” “Those looking for tell-tale signs of roof-induced chassis weakness,” continued Autocar, “will have to Above From front or rear, the newlook Targa was an elegant ornament to Porsche’s Type 993 range of 911s
993 TARGA Above Shown in its partly open position, the Targa’s moving roof was made of thin greentinted safety glass, although a shade could be deployed electrically for hotsun protection Right The patent applied for on October 15th 1993 showed the main elements of the Targa’s sliding roof Below Of every ten 993-generation 911s sold, one was a Targa search very hard indeed. The Targa uses the same reinforced floor pan as the Cabriolet, which, when combined with the torsional strength of the roof’s fulllength cant rails, is fully fifty percent stiffer than the open car and only marginally less strong than the tin-top. Its handling characteristics are close enough to the latter to be imperceptible to all but the most demanding drivers. Even the coupe’s good ride quality is maintained, as is its taut body control. The Targa’s only disadvantage is increased wind noise through the thin glass roof.” Wind noise would have been noticeable had Autocar been able 100mph from rest in 12.8 seconds. With a few more miles under its belt and a dry track under its feet, we would expect the Targa to crack 60mph in under five seconds and 100mph in under twelve seconds.” Soigné it might have been, an elegant concept for 911s of the twenty-first century, but the new-look Targa sure could move with the best of them. At this time, a distinct advantage of Wendelin Wiedeking’s Toyotainspired manufacturing advances was that much of the detail design and all the fabrication of the new Targa’s roof could be made by an outside supplier. Specifically, Webasto was given the job. “We handed over the concept,” said Lagaaij, “which then developed further.” In truth, Webasto delivered the 993’s Targa roof as a ready-toinstall module, which was dropped atop a specially reinforced Cabriolet body. Interestingly, the Targa, which increased net weight over a coupe by sixty-six pounds, was offered only on the rear-drive Carrera platform. Especially when viewed from MUCH OF THE DETAIL DESIGN AND ALL THE FABRICATION OF THE NEW TARGA’S ROOF COULD BE MADE BY AN OUTSIDE SUPPLIER to try for the Targa’s top speed, said by Zuffenhausen to be 171mph. In acceleration, said the British weekly, “the Targa slithered its way from zero to 60mph in 5.3 seconds and hit November 2023 89
its side, the 993 Targa had a distinctive look, with a more rakish side-window line and dedicated seventeen-inch wheels with a fivespoke split-rim-style design. In the US, the model was base-priced at $70,750, some seven thousand dollars more than the 1996 911 Carrera coupe. In the UK, the Targa’s list price of £64,250 added more than £5,250 to the cost of the coupe — with air-conditioning as standard — and was just £700 short of the full drop-top. Having commanded one in every ten sales of the entire 993 series, this flavour of Targa instantly earned its place in 911 history, but plans were already being made for the all-new 996. Introduced in late 2001 as a 2002 model, the 996-based 911 Targa presented a body style answering a question many had asked since the very introduction of the 911: why couldn’t the car’s back window open to give easier access to rear storage space? When this question was raised at the 993’s launch, Porsche’s answer was that the bonded-in rear glass was important for body stiffness, how paint damage could occur with movable body parts and that an opening window could intrude on rear headroom. Nevertheless, an opening rear window was an important Porsche feature during its days producing front-engined sports served to increase integrity of the seals for both the top itself and the sliding roof glass. The decade of Targas built before the 2011 launch of the 991 represents a family of 911s providing external access to the interior luggage area. This was lost when the pseudoroll-bar motif of the original Targa made its spectacular comeback for the semi-open-top 991. The generations of Targas extending from the 993 through 996 and 997, however, stand out as special automobiles, enjoying a unique marriage of elegant good looks and pure Porsche performance. And it all started with the Panamericana. CP WHY COULDN’T THE CAR’S BACK WINDOW OPEN TO GIVE EASIER ACCESS TO REAR STORAGE SPACE? 90 November 2023 cars. With the 2002 996 Targa, an opening rear window was finally provided. This time, Homann, Porsche’s sliding-roof specialist, took a diametrically different approach. The 993 Targa — comprising a module plopped down on top of a Cabriolet body, remember — suffered from more than its share of un-Porsche-like squeaks and groans. For the 996, the 911 coupe was used as the starting point. The top module was inserted through the windscreen opening by a robot on the production line and lifted into position from the inside of the body. Because suction was generated above the car’s top at speed, it Above and below Porsche’s designers could take pride in the sleek profile of the 993 Targa, which could reach 170mph and benefited from enhanced rearquarter glazing
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914 AND 930 OPPOSITES ATTRACT Porsche worked with Volkswagen to create the 914, providing the Stuttgart concern with a new entry-level sports car as 912 production was discontinued. At the other end of the evolutionary scale, Porsche created the mighty 911 Turbo. No other manufacturer has such depth. We go back-to-back with James Grayston, proud owner of both models... Words Steve Bennett Photography Dan Sherwood ow about this for two ends of Porsche’s air-cooled product spectrum? 914 meets 911 Turbo. Of course, this particular duel will only ever have one winner, but this isn’t the point of the article you’re reading. You see, both cars occupy the same garage. They’re in the possession of Porschephile, James Grayston. Looking at the dynamic duo sideby-side, it’s hard to believe they were in production alongside one another, forming the entry-level Porsche offering and the very pinnacle of its engineering prowess in the early-to-mid 1970s. Of course, every classic Porsche is special to us, as demonstrated by the wide variety of Porsches from the manufacturer’s legacy output featured in this, the hundredth issue of Classic Porsche. Obviously, we couldn’t let our centenary pass without paying homage to the 911 Turbo, but first, it’s time to big up the 914, often thought of as an ill-fated Volkswagen-Porsche folly. Indeed, there are some who would contest this Targa-topped roadster as worthy of even being considered a Porsche. Not James, though. “The first time I saw a 914 was when I found myself flicking through 1971’s Observer’s Book of Automobiles,” he recalls. “I’d never seen anything quite like the boxy two-seater pictured in those pages.” The 914 deserves far more credit than it has ever received. Sure, there has been something of a reappraisal for the model in recent years, but even so, it’s one of the few air-cooled Porsches to fly under the radar and is thus priced accordingly. Put criticism related to Volkswagen-Porsche joint parentage to one side and appreciate the 914 for being a brilliant mid-engined sports car and one of the first of its kind. A contemporary of the Ferrari Dino, Lamborghini Miura, Lotus Europa and, well, that’s about it. While the quirky ‘plastic fantastic’ Europa was relatively affordable, the Italian duo were purely for the likes of Rod Stewart and Tony Curtis. In a world of traditional British roadsters, such as the MGB, the 914 seemed to be from a different planet. Quirky it may have been, but for its time, it was ultra-modern in design and concept. In terms of engineering, the 914 couldn’t really be faulted. Its midengined layout, 911-derived front suspension and race-car handling was nothing short of superb. The devil is so often in the detail, though — contrasting these plus points, the 914 was offered with what many considered to be the least desirable Volkswagen engine, an interior peppered with Wolfsburg switchgear and styling leaving many folk cold, despite what we might think when looking back through rose-tinted spectacles. We’re not really selling it, are we? Let’s keep going. In many ways, the 914 could be seen in laudable — even altruistic — terms by Porsche. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer had seen its products grow from the early 356 Pre-A into the complex (and therefore costly) race-bred sixcylinder 911 range. Whereas the first Porsches had been relatively affordable machines, the company’s products grew to be progressively more expensive as the years passed, leaving a big hole for an entry-level machine to tempt people away from cheaper rivals and into Porsche ownership. Yes, there was the 912, but its 356-derived engine was getting long in the tooth. Besides, as mentioned elsewhere in this magazine, the 912 was conceived to support the 911 as the flagship Porsche sports car found its feet. When the job was done and the 911 was firmly established, it no longer needed its budget-focused sibling. WHILE PORSCHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH SOMETHING OF A PURPLE PATCH, VOLKSWAGEN WAS HAVING A TOUGH TIME Facing page Take time to evaluate the mid-engined, two-seat, open-top layout and it quickly becomes apparent the 914 provided the blueprint for the allconquering Boxster November 2023 95
While Porsche might have been going through something of a purple patch, Volkswagen was having a tough time, chiefly on account of its model range being old and tired. You don’t need a history lesson to understand the long relationship the two companies have enjoyed — then as now, Porsche and Volkswagen are inextricably linked. When you consider how the first Porschedesigned sports car was built largely from Volkswagen components, it seems perfectly logical the two companies should collaborate on a joint venture to build a low-cost Porsche, which could also be viewed as a high-level Volkswagen. Nobody seemed to care this idea might result in a marketing nightmare. The project had a lot going for it. For starters, despite the very first Porsche being based on a midengined design, and considering Porsche had enjoyed much success racing with mid-engined competition cars, there was no mid-engined 96 November 2023 Porsche production car. As far as Volkswagen was concerned, the only vaguely sporty machine in its line-up was the Beetle-based Karmann Ghia. Enough said. Styling-wise, Porsche wanted a car distinctly different in looks to the 911. Volkswagen, meanwhile, needed a car not looking like, well, as Volkswagen. Outside help was sought, but the usual styling houses were shunned in favour of Gugelot Design, based in NueUlm, sixty miles up the road from Zuffenhausen. The firm had already designed a sports car with which it had hoped to stimulate interest among several manufacturers, Porsche and Volkswagen included. While the prototype was for a frontengined design, it was restyled to accept a mid-mounted motor per the Volkswagen-Porsche concept. The Gugelot proposal was not conventionally pretty, but it was distinct. Are we damning with faint praise? Perhaps. For sure, the design was sufficiently different to give the 914 an identity of its own — nobody would ever confuse the model for anything else on the road, of this Porsche could be certain. Push-me-pull-you styling aside, the most eye catching feature was the removable Targa roof panel, which could be stored in the rear luggage bay. Pop-up headlights were, for the day, very modern. Above The 914’s design is quite unlike any other Porsche and introduced pop-up headlights to Zuffenhausen’s product range
914 AND 930 Above and below Interior is very basic, but this is entirely befitting of a model designed to be entry-level in the Porsche line-up The project was unveiled in 1968 and was well-received, certainly better than perceived wisdom would have us believe. Production started in 1970. Engine choices were a 1.7-litre Volkswagen flatfour making use of Bosch D-Jetronic injection and developing 80bhp, or a pukka Porsche two-litre flat-six on carbs, delivering a more wholesome 110bhp. The four-cylinder cars were assembled by Karmann in Osnabrück, while the sixes were built alongside the 911 in Stuttgart. In time, the 1.7 would grow to 1.8 and, finally, to two-litres and 100bhp. The six-cylinder 914 was ‘quietly most of the near 120,000 914s built (of which just 3,332 were 914/6s) were split between Germany and North America, meaning most 914s in the UK have been imported. The 914’s rate of attrition is high, too, no matter where it has lived. Specifically, Karmann-built cars were sold with no underseal whatsoever. At least the six-cylinder 914 was blessed with a modicum of protection. YOU WON’T BE SURPRISED TO LEARN HE FOUND WHAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR AT AUTOMOBILE ATLANTA dropped’ after three years or so in production. This is something of a clue (if one were needed) regarding the eventual fate of the 914. One of the major problems, as far as sales were concerned, was that the model ended up too expensive to fulfil the role for which it was intended — too overpriced to be a humble Volkswagen, too expensive to be an entry-level Porsche, particularly when a 2.2-litre 911 T cost just £200 more than the 914/6’s £3,475 asking price. A base 914 at £2,165 was more than twice the price of an MGB. Quite simply, the 914 barely sold at all in the UK, not helped by the fact it was never officially available in right-hand drive, although Crayford offered an aftermarket conversion. Indeed, GOOD SPORT The 914 was dropped after seven years of production. That said, Volkswagen and Porsche repeated the exercise with 924, although this time, Volkswagen ended up handing the entire project to Porsche, perhaps still burned from the 914 and realising its future lay in a quick round of Golf. Whatever, the 914 has its fans and its time is very much now. This semi-open-top classic is an appreciating leftfield alternative to an air-cooled 911. James would know — he’s had plenty of classic Porsches, but his early 1970 914, finished in Venetian Red, is a keeper. November 2023 97
“I’ve owned it for a decade,” he reveals, before a quick run through of the other Porsches he’s been in possession of over the years. “My first was a 964, followed by a 996, which was great. I’ve had a high number of 928s, but to be frank, they are all money pits. I’ve just sold a late manual 928 S2 bought as a project during COVID-driven lockdowns. Previously, I owned a metallic blue S2 with a Can-Can red interior. That was a bold look! Oh, and then there was a black 944 S2. Let it be said, the 944 is a better drive than any 911.” A controversial statement, although, as a serial 944 owner, I’m not going to argue too vigorously against his assessment. Thanks to the aforementioned Observer’s Book of Automobiles, the 914 was a scratch James needed to itch. Even if you know only a little about 914s, you won’t be surprised to learn he found what he was looking for at Automobile Atlanta, a haven for 914s since 1978. “The 1.7litre models are somewhat unloved,” he reckons. “My car cost $6,000, which at the time of purchase equated to £3,000. Back then, there was no import duty to worry about.” An absolute bargain in our book. 98 November 2023 Not a perfect car, but solid. “I put a post on the Die Deutschen Klassiker (DDK) forum asking if there were any 914 specialists out there. Kevin Clarke replied.” Again, if you know anything about 914s, you will know Kevin is widely recognised as ‘Mr 914’. He’s an advocate for the model, to the point even Porsche bows to his knowledge, not mention his incredible 914 collection. “He looks after my car’s mechanicals,” James continues. “It was in excellent overall condition when it arrived from Auto Atlanta, but the injection system wasn’t working too well. Kevin replaced all the wiring, which was past its best, and the car immediately sprang into life. He sorted the gearbox linkage and rebuilt the brake calipers, too. More than anything, the car needed paint, which I entrusted to Classworks in Sunbury. They’re entrenched in the UK’s Volkswagen scene. The 914 has a big following among the VW crowd, a result of the model’s heritage and connection with Wolfsburg.” Save for a Scart exhaust, the car is completely standard. “It wore the classic optional mag wheels, but I’ve Above and below Engine is tucked away behind the rear seats, although Porsche found enough room to fit a two-litre flat-six
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fitted steelies. This Porsche isn’t particularly fast, but then, I’m not much of a fast driver. It gets regular use, though, even for my work commute into London. In my opinion, every classic car should be used at least once a month.” FUTURE SHOCK Opportunities to get behind the wheel of a 914 don’t come around too often, such is the model’s relative scarcity. Any 914 drive is a rare treat. James’s early model is a reminder of just how advanced this car was at its point of manufacture. Fuel injection, five-speed gearbox, disc brakes in each corner, torsion bar suspension at the front, coilovers and semi-trailing arms at the rear. Little wonder the VWPorsche alliance struggled to keep a lid on production costs. When snuggled into the bucket seat, it’s fair to say the interior is rather more VW than Porsche, but then again, 911s of the era were 100 November 2023 hardly what you’d call plush, and the 914’s function in life is that of a basic sports car. Being an early 914 means the passenger seat is fixed. Pleasingly, the original ‘dog bone’ footrest has survived. The brown vinyl trim and carpets are also original and have the patina to prove it. Surprisingly, the black dashtop remains intact. The 1.7-litre flat four chatters into life. Enter the distinctive VW ‘vroom’. The Type 901 gearbox is the reverse of conventional, presenting a dogleg first. No problem — I’ve recently spent 150 miles in a similarly equipped 912. Brain and hand are memory compliant. That Porsche was a left hooker, too. It may only have 80bhp, but this car weighs just nine hundred kilograms. Performance is therefore on the positive side of brisk. Driving the 914 is a delight. It’s just a lovely, lovely car to be in charge of. It’s light and exquisitely balanced, rolling on skinny 155-profile Michelins and responding to delicate steering inputs to guide (rather than throw) into corners. Get over-exuberant and the car will simply roll onto its side. Yes, the 914 demands a different kind of driving, one encouraging a lighter touch, where you skim the surface instead of bludgeoning it into submission. The engine is done by 4,900rpm, but it delivers 98lb-ft torque at Above 911 Turbo looks fabulous in Minerva Blue with White Gold Metallic Fuchs wheel centres
914 AND 930 Above Compared to the 914’s cabin, 930 interior is the very height of luxury Below Low mileage makes this 911 Turbo a car James intends to keep for the long term 2,700rpm, which makes the sweet spot for relaxed performance somewhere in between the two. This is an active deterrent against giving the fourcylinder engine a sound and pointless thrashing and encourages progress with momentum in mind. With the flat-four chuntering away in the background, and with a mild bark from the Scart extractor and the roof panel stowed away, it’s really a very pleasant place to be. The 914 surely deserved more. Had it been a little cheaper when new, then maybe it would have to the Italian stallion and the raging bull. With the 930, Porsche changed the rules on road and track forever. In modern parlance, the 911 Turbo dropped at the 1974 Paris Motor Show in readiness for a spring 1975 launch. There had been turbocharged cars before, but not like this. Porsche utilised the experience it had gained in turbocharging the 917’s flat-twelve for Can-Am racing and applied it to the 911’s flat-six. 260bhp in street specification was barely pushing the envelope, but even with both the 512 Berlinetta Boxer and Countach pushing beyond 300bhp, the 911 Turbo had them both covered, primarily thanks to its devastating mid-range power, superior handling and the fact you could drive rather wrestle the car into submission. Oh, and the Porsche’s Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system ensured starting the Turbo was a mere formality, unlike the experience of sports car owners dealing with a bank of carburettors needing to be primed and fettled into action. SPECIFICATION REMAINED LARGELY THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE TURBO’S FIFTEEN-YEAR PRODUCTION RUN been more widely appreciated? Irrespective of cost, maybe the market wasn’t quite ready for this low-slung roadster? For James, owning a 914 is the realisation of a childhood ‘wow’ moment and, as he impresses on us once again, this aircooled classic is a keeper. This leads us to his other keeper and an entirely different kind of classic Porsche, one needing no qualification or apology for its existence. Unlike the 914, there’s nothing entry-level about the 911 Turbo. Porsche took the entirely opposite track by taking what could have been nothing more than a limited-run, born-to-race homologation special and developed it into an air-conditioned, rangetopping supercar taking the fight November 2023 101
The kit Porsche wanted to homologate for racing included the now familiar wide body and extreme aero appendages, plus seemingly impossibly wide fifteen-inch Fuchs wheels measuring seven inches at the front and eight at the rear. The 911’s suspension was completely re-worked for the Turbo. The front transverse links and cast aluminium rear semi-trailing arms were newly designed hardware. Front and rear anti-roll bars were beefed up. Bilstein developed new gas-filled dampers. Brakes were vented in each corner, with powerful four-pot calipers at the front. FOUR TO THE FLOOR The only anomaly was the Turbo’s four-speed gearbox, which seemed at odds with the rest of the specification. The ever-pragmatic Porsche decided it would be too expensive to develop a Type 915 five-speed unit capable of handling the Turbo’s torque (253lb-ft at 4,000rpm), and so settled on four beefed-up ratios. Besides, as Porsche pointed out, with so much torque available, who needed five 102 November 2023 gears anyway? A fair point, and it has to be said, the Turbo’s gearbox and its four ratios are as much a part of the driving experience as the engine itself. Specification remained largely the same throughout the Turbo’s fifteen-year production run, with only two major revamps occurring along the way. In 1979, capacity and power were increased to 3.3 litres and 300bhp respectively. Braking received a boost by way of bigger discs and finned aluminium calipers lifted from the 917. The Fuchs wheels grew to sixteen inches. Beyond these updates, in 1989 (the classic 911 Turbo’s final year on assembly lines), Porsche finally installed a five-speed gearbox. It wasn’t so much a case of relenting to pressure from critics, more the fact Porsche finally had a transmission to the job. It was, in fact, a unit developed for the rapidlycoming-down-the-line 964. James’s 911 Turbo is a 1979 build and therefore benefits from the full 3.3 litres and 300bhp. Finished in Minerva Blue, it’s something of a rarity, too. “I was holding out for light metallic green, which looks great with the Turbo’s black trim and silver Fuchs,” he says “The problem with wanting exacting specification is that I could have ended up waiting forever. Minerva Blue looks good. At least the car isn’t finished in black, white or red, which is how the majority of Turbos are presented.” James bought the Porsche from Clinkard Performance Cars in Southampton, the previous owner having purchased it from Dorset-based independent aircooled Porsche restoration and sales specialist, Canford Classics, Above 3.3-litre turbocharged flat-six provides peak 300bhp at 5,500rpm after a force-fed thud in the back
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for a rather higher price in a more heated market. In a Porsche world dominated by perfect restorations held hostage to mileage and condition, James’s Turbo makes for a refreshing change. “It’s not perfect,” he shrugs. “It has been resprayed, but not brilliantly. There’s is a bit of corrosion I need to address, but restoration projects are difficult. To be honest, after my experience with 928s, I’m not sure I’ve got the stomach for it.” Wise words. “This is no garage queen. If it was fully restored and immaculately finished, I probably wouldn’t use it, whereas in its less than perfect state, I’m happy to drive the car in all conditions. I’m probably the only person commuting into London in a classic 911 Turbo in this day and age! The car took me to Techno-Classica at Essen last year. That was a good run. And I’m happy really knows his stuff. I decided to refinish the Fuchs, too. The default decoration is, of course, a silver rim with centre. Period options were bodycoloured centres or what was known as White Gold Metallic, which I’ve replicated.” It’s an unusual choice now as it was back then, but there’s no denying it looks great. Owning two extremes of the Porsche pantheon, James is in a good position to talk running costs and the realities of ownership. “It is what you make it,” he says. “The 914 has been a lovely thing to own, and because it cost me relatively little, save for paintwork, it’s been pretty cheap to maintain and run, certainly in Porsche terms. The 911 Turbo? I’ll let you know. Matthew Skeete at Carrera Classics looks after it. So ON THE SUBJECT, NEITHER FERRARI OR LAMBORGHINI WOULD EVER HAVE BUILT AN EQUIVALENT TO THE 914 104 November 2023 fettling at my own pace. I’ve just fitted new front carpets, but where do you stop? Once an old Porsche is stripped or the engine is out, there’s no going back, is there? I’ve been there before.” Keen Porsche spotters will note James’s Turbo wears US-spec indicators and sidelights up front. “I prefer them,” he tells us. “I source all my parts from Porsche Centre Guildford. The site’s parts guy, Paul, has been there since the 1970s. He Above As far as a two-car Porsche garage goes, we reckon James has picked perfectly
914 AND 930 Above and below By his own admission, James’ 930 isn’t a garage queen, meaning he is happy to use it wherever and whenever the fancy takes him far, so good, but who knows what could be coming down the line? It’s really down to me, isn’t it? Do I chuck a load of money at it or not? Did I say it was a keeper?!” Yes, James. You most certainly did. “The problem is, I’m always looking. I’ve got my eye on a 993 in the USA. It’s Riviera Blue and equipped with the X50 performance package. Oh, and if a really good 944 Turbo Silver Rose came along, well, that might change everything.” Back to his Minerva Blue 911 Turbo. We rather like it and its honest patina. Classic Turbos are tough old things and supersimple compared to the space-age 911 Turbo of today. Basic Bosch electronics controlling injectors to synchronise with the force-fed engine’s fuelling demands. To wake the beast, you need to keep it in the second- and third-gear spin cycle above 3,500rpm. With a thunderous thud, the turbocharger wakes up and delivers a concentrated rush of boost, with power peaking at 5,500rpm. That’s more like it! Stretching so much power over just four ratios feels slightly odd, but once you get your head around the idea, not to have to pedal up down the gears is really rather relaxing. Just concentrate on pointing the Porsche projectile in the right direction. I’ve been lucky enough to have a driven a Lamborghini and a Ferrari of the era. Compared to the 911, they drive like trucks and, in truth, are a bit silly, even if they do possess five-speed gearboxes. Their whole mystique has a whiff of Emperor’s New Clothes about it. The 930’s arrival called them out. On the subject, neither Ferrari or Lamborghini would ever have built an equivalent to the 914. Their brand identities rather depended on being above that sort of thing. Perhaps they were right? After all, it generally only ever backfired for Porsche (as an example, look at the fallout from the 924). Then again, the Porsche world would be a poorer place without the 914 (and the 924, for that matter), and we can all agree the intention was laudable. As someone who owns fine examples of two ends of the air-cooled Porsche production spectrum, it’s clear which of the cars on these pages has endeared itself to James. And he’s right, it really is a “lovely thing.” CP November 2023 105
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911 S HIGH-SPEED DIRT Thanks to its owner’s ambition of competing in the Peking to Paris endurance rally, this once humble G-series 911 S has been transformed into super-Safari specification... Words Dan Furr Photography Dan Sherwood he 911 is the only car you can drive from an African safari to Le Mans, then to the theatre and onto the streets of New York. So said Ferry Porsche. Wind the clock forward to 2023, and it’s clear Porsche intended for the new 911 Dakar to live up to Ferry’s bold claim. Indeed, before the car was unveiled in full, we were told about a torturous endurance test schedule subjected to a series of prototypes. The work included three hundred thousand miles of driving. Of these, six thousand miles were off-road. Cold-weather testing was carried out on the snow and ice of Sweden, heat testing was conducted in Morocco and, impressively, Porsche engineers managed to convince their bosses the car needed to be blasted up fifty-metre-tall sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates. These days, of course, the 911 is offered in various guises to suit a wide range of lifestyles, but many of you will suspect the new 911 Dakar is a cynical marketing exercise intended to extract a huge amount of cash from Porsche enthusiasts. After all, although the new car is based on the 992 Carrera 4 GTS, only 2,500 examples of the Dakar will be manufactured. Want one? The starting price is a gobsmacking £173,000. That’s forty-five grand more than the standard GTS and doesn’t include the cost of applying Rothmans-aping Roughroads livery, as seen in press pictures. Then again, corporate branding legalities aside, we can’t imagine any of today’s car makers would want to slap the name of a cigarette brand on one of its products. Roughroads body decoration comes as part of the £21,198 Rallye Design Package, which also delivers model-specific white alloy wheels, a Roughroads puddle light, GT sports steering wheel, blue seatbelts and various other interior tweaks, including Race-Tex fabric for the dashboard. For a further £2,846, the Rallye Sport Package comes with six-point harnesses, a fire extinguisher and a bolt-in roll cage. All told, this is already closing in on two hundred grand, and that’s before totting up the cost of dealer-supplied water and fuel canisters, recovery boards and even Porschebranded spades. There’s also a storage-friendly roof basket with auxiliary headlights, which plug into an external twelve-volt power source. None of this is cheap, but at least you’ll have somewhere to keep your Porsche-branded tent. As is the case with most new Porsche products, the Dakar has received rave reviews, but let us ask you a question: how many buyers have bought this flavour of 911 for anything other than posing? We’ve lost track of the number of owners posting photographs to social media of their Dakar on the weakest of off-road terrain — grass verges and gravel driveways rank high on the ‘challenging’ surfaces many Instagrammers have found themselves tackling. How on earth do those Pirelli Scorpion off-road tyres cope? Following a chunky two-carcass design with strong resistance to damage and minimum tread depth of nine millimetres, it’s a wonder they’ve managed to survive trips to the garden centre and the weekly shop. Arguably the most cringe-inducing use of the Dakar — the first 911 to be offered with all-terrain tyres as standard equipment — is commuting in central London. Guilty parties seem hell-bent on promoting the fact, oblivious to how ridiculous they look. The Chelsea tractor set can be heard letting out a sight of relief as focus has finally shifted away from their use of Cayenne Turbos and Affalterbach-fettled G-Wagens for the school run. Air-cooled 911s have a long history of being used off-road. Think of Quick Vic Elford making the 911 sing on its way to winning the 1967 European Rally Championship, not long after wowing television audiences by taking the fight to Lotus-developed Fords in the inaugural Rallycross competition, where he competed in a standard two-litre short-wheelbase 911 (an AFN dealership demonstrator, no less). There’s the FIVE TEAMS ANSWERED THE CALL, SHIPPING CARS TO THE FRENCH EMBASSY IN PEKING FOR DEPARTURE Facing page Destined to compete in many off-road endurance competitions, this stunning Safari-spec 911 S was built following its owner’s exposure to a television documentary featuring the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge November 2023 109
Dakar Rally itself, of course, which the first four-wheel-drive 911 won outright in 1984. There are also the many Safari-specification 911s built by privateers over the years. NAME DROPPING The new 911 Dakar was, in fact, originally intended to be named 911 Safari, but as widely reported at the beginning of the year, Indian carmaker, Tata, owns the rights to the Safari name — which it has applied to a mid-size SUV unlikely to see a speck of dust — for automotive production. Tata bosses refused to give Porsche permission to use the Safari nameplate for its new 911, hence Dakar, which the Stuttgart concern has licensed from the organisers of the legendary rally. Amusingly, in the style of Singer Vehicle Design’s logo, the Safari nameplate appears on the back of the stunning 911 on these pages. It belongs to Paul Eperon, a serial Porsche owner who was inspired by a television programme he watched back in 2019. “I owned my first 911 when I was seventeen years old. It was a pedal car,” he laughs. “A mate knew I loved Porsche sports cars and bought it for me as a joke. Since 110 November 2023 then, I’ve owned a 964 Cabriolet, an Aerokitted 996 and a Taycan 4S, which I currently use as my daily driver. My wife runs a 718 Cayman GTS. They’ve all been standard cars, not modified.” Quite the departure from what we have here, then. “I was watching a documentary charting various long-distance road trips, some taking the best part of a month to complete,” he continues. “One of the events was the Peking to Paris. I was amazed at what I saw and was instantly motivated to buy and prepare a car for the event.” Originally staged in 1907, the Peking to Paris race was inspired by a challenge published in the Parisian newspaper, Le Matin, on 31st January that year. “What needs to be proved today is that as long as a man has a car, he can do anything and go anywhere. Is there anyone who will undertake to travel this summer from Paris to Peking by automobile?” Five teams answered the call, shipping cars to the French embassy in Peking for departure on 10th June. The winning seven-litre Itala (driven by Italian aristocrat, Prince Scipione Borghese) arrived in Paris after journeying 14,994 kilometres. Along the way, it fell through a bridge. Much of the route had previously only been attempted on horseback. This made it an unintentional proving ground for the durability and performance of the day’s automobiles. The forming of the USSR after the 1917 Russian Revolution made staging repeats of the competition difficult until the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, after which reenactments of the 1907 event were held sporadically until 2013. In 2022, however, after three years of “closures, planning, recces and re-routing” due to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and closure (and re-opening) of Chinese borders, the event’s organiser, HERO-ERA, announced an exacting route for the eighth staging of the Peking to Paris, which is open to historic vehicles and will run from 18th May to 23rd June 2024. The route will avoid Russia, but is still expected to take thirtyseven days and will cover in excess of 14,000 kilometres. A repeat of the event is scheduled for 2025. Entrants will cross nine countries and eight time zones, taking in remote desert, forest and mountain tracks, all while competing against the clock. “Initially, I considered Above No expense has been spared in ensuring this fantastic 911 is not only capable of effortlessly tackling the most inhospitable terrain, but also to ensure its occupants are comfortable over bumpy surfaces
911 S Above and below Retrim makes use of caramelcoloured leather and basketweave covering brandnew electrically adjustable Recaro Ergomed ES seats buying a classic Ford Mustang and converting it to Safari specification with competition suspension,” Paul asserts, “but after speaking with various people about the outlined route, which traverses the deserts of China, the Mongolian Gobi and on to the hidden wilderness of Kazakhstan, it became clear I needed a car as bulletproof as can be.” Gone was the notion of buying an American Pony, in came the decision to invest in an air-cooled 911, a car with more than a few off-road excursions to its credit. The 911 Paul ended up buying was a G-series S finished enjoyed for the majority of its life. Additionally, it had covered only eighty thousand miles from new. “I bought the Porsche in January 2021 during pandemic-enforced lockdown,” Paul explains. “There was very little rust to speak of, but as a precaution, the car was handed to Riviera Autobody for full body restoration. The sills, front wings and both door skins were replaced due to showing signs of previous repair. There was a little rust on the nearside A-pillar and the kidney bowls were tidied, but overall, the car was in excellent condition.” Following stripdown and repair, the shell was sand-blasted and prepared for paint. After considering yellow, the colour Paul settled on was inspired by a Singer Vehicle Design variation of blue, which changes in intensity depending on the angle of light. A tough roll cage was installed, heralding the process of reassembly, albeit with a raft of alterations to make the car totally ready for the challenge ahead. Adhering to strict event regulations, however, was of paramount importance. For example, it would have been AN ELEPHANT RACING LEVEL 2 SAFARI KIT, SELECTED DUE TO ITS SYMPATHY TO THE 911’S ORIGINAL CHASSIS SETUP in Ice Green Metallic and first registered in October 1975, making it one of the first galvanised Porsches. Further assisting in the battle against corrosion was California’s mostly warm climate, which the car had November 2023 111
easy for Paul to elect oversizing of the car’s 2.7-litre flat-six to three litres of displacement, but doing so would have excluded entry into competitions requiring the basic specification of the participating vehicle to remain intact — though Peking to Paris is the goal, shorter rallies are likely to be precede Paul’s participation in the main event. Essentially, he doesn’t want to limit his car’s eligibility for any competition, be it the China-France enduro or otherwise. The engine and gearbox were shipped to Northway Porsche in Reading, where technician, Paul Stacey, oversaw strip and rebuild of the flat-six, while company boss, Ray Northway, rebuilt the transmission. “This car now has the smoothest Type 915 gearbox I’ve ever sampled,” Paul reviews. “Several enthusiasts who have driven this car since its completion have said the same thing. The work invested in getting the transmission this good was extensive, especially considering the necessity for new ratios due to the car’s intended use and its giant BF Goodrich Baja Champion tyres.” 112 November 2023 The rubber carries 215/65 profile in each corner and necessitated modification of the wheel arches and bumper trims to not only fit, but to allow sufficient travel over uneven surfaces at speed. As you can see, the wheels are Fuchs-style sixteeninchers, manufactured by Braid and sold through independent Porsche parts retailer, Design 911. Suspension centres around an Elephant Racing Level 2 Safari kit, selected due to its sympathy to the 911’s original chassis setup. A full coilover conversion would have brought obvious benefits, but as already mentioned, Paul didn’t want to fall foul of strict event regulations with emphasis on a vehicle’s original specification. The Elephant Racing kit includes Von shock inserts, RSRstyle adjustable anti-roll bars, a tyre rub prevention kit, competition struts, quick-change strut braces, hollow torsion bars, a quick-change spring plate kit, a shock tower and spring plate reinforcement kit, 911 Turbo tie rods and various uprated bushings, including those for the strut top camber plates, control arms, spring plates and trailing arms. Speaking of which, the car’s original suspension arms were vapour blasted prior to being reinstalled. The front and rear exterior crash bars were individually fabricated from steel by Jason Bond, a talented member of the Riviera Autobody team. The car’s impact bumpers were modified to enable the gloss black bars to sit tighter to the body, thereby allowing installation without altering vehicle length (yet another potential consideration for event scrutineering). Jason also constructed the exoskeleton fully Above Underbody protection is provided by full coverage of aluminium plates attached to a custom exoskeleton
911 S Above and below In the interests of satisfying historic race and rally regulations stipulating no deviation from core vehicle specification, Paul has been happy to leave the flat-six at its stock 2.7 litres protecting the underside of the car by way of aluminium plating. The ends of the assembly can be seen extending out to where the number plates sit and, at the back, accommodate the tailpipes of a centre-exit SSI exhaust system supplied by Dansk. New synchros were ordered, as were various gear dog rings and other parts, including a Quaife ATB limited-slip differential, but there was a frustrating three-month delay in delivery of a new crown wheel and pinion from Porsche Classic. “The biggest challenge throughout this project was waiting on delivery from various suppliers spread around the world,” Paul frowns. “I didn’t get my hands dirty with the build of the car, but I sourced the majority of its new parts. I quickly discovered there was something of a postcode lottery taking place, meaning it was difficult to anticipate exactly when components would arrive, leading to delays slowing build progress.” Nevertheless, Paul and Ray were told to replace any part showing even the slightest wear — reliability is the single most important aspect of endurance racing. After all, before you can win, you need to finish. “The engine and gearbox parts alone totalled almost fifteen thousand pounds,” Paul shrugs. Among the bounty were new Mahle pistons and barrels, all new bearings, fasteners, renewal of the fuel system, a new air box and a twin-spark CDI+ ignition kit. Independent Porsche parts retailer, Design 911, supplied an oil cooler. Above the front plate resides a pair of 911eleven LED headlamps and frunk-mounted Cibie spotlamps, essential equipment for rallying. The overall electrics of the car were in good order, but a premonition encouraged Paul to invest in a stateof-the-art Kroon wiring loom. “I was at Donington watching historic racing,” he remembers. “All of a sudden, a beautiful old Ferrari went up in flames due to an electrical fault. I’d intended to have my 911’s original wiring restored, but after seeing the Ferrari burned to a crisp, the plan changed.” ELECTRIC DREAMS Kroon took the car’s additional wiring needs into account and uprated power cables to accommodate a 175-amp alternator supplied by Classic Retrofit. Company director, Johnny Hart, also recommended a Classic Retrofit dual-condenser electric air-conditioning system, as well as one of the firm’s slimline fuseboards, both popular items among today’s 911 backdating and restomodding fraternities. On the face of it, air-conditioning might seem like functionality Safari specification could do without, but as Paul describes, “when competing, I might be in this car every day for a month or longer.” Comfort was therefore more of a priority than style or adding a few grams to kerb weight. It’s also the reason he invested in two brand-new Recaro Ergomed ES seats, boasting elegant looks, premium quality and all the electric adjustment options a 911 driver November 2023 113
could wish for. Furthermore, ES pews come complete with a climate package comprising seat heating and integrated air-conditioning. James Giddings, owner of automotive trimming shop, Steer in Style, was given the job of transforming the 911’s cabin from zero to hero. He stripped and recovered the seats to match a bespoke retrim, top to bottom. Countless modifications have contributed to the stunning finish, including a custom rear shelf, quarter panels and carpets to allow for the roll cage. The dashboard incorporates custom panels integrating the user interface of a Porsche Classic Communication Management head unit. Look closely and you’ll also spot a 997 cup holder and charging points for every variety of USB you can think of. The caramel-coloured basketweave and matching leather was supplied by Brian Rasch at Achtungkraft in Wisconsin and is used not only in the cockpit, but also in the frunk. Achtungkraft also supplied window winders and replacement steering wheel stalks. The latter was deemed necessary after installation of a Design 911-sourced MOMO Prototipo steering wheel and Snap-Off quick- release steering wheel hub, the depth of which made reaching the standard stalks difficult. Design 911 also supplied a roof rack to allow transportation of a spare tyre. The rack was being customised at the time of our photo shoot. The door pockets and door mirrors were provided by Stuttgart Classica, The more you look around this 911, the more detail pops out. There’s a leather-trimmed brake fluid reservoir cap, trimmed seat belt guides, a WEVO shifter, a storage pocket where an ashtray once lived, the centre-mounted fuel filler (feeding a long-range hundred-litre tank), not to mention the oil filler on the offside rear quarter. This has to be one of the best turned-out Safari or rally-specification 911s we’ve ever come across. “Feedback from Porsche enthusiasts at the recent anniversary event at Brands Hatch, as well as the Fairmile meet at Cobham, was very encouraging,” Paul grins. “A project like this is always personal to its chief architect, but it’s always a relief when Porsche professionals and marque experts give your finished car their seal of approval.” And why wouldn’t they? His is a wonderfully presented Safaristyled classic 911 S ready to do battle in some of the world’s most challenging driving environments. That it has been finished to such a high cosmetic standard is all the more pleasing. We can’t wait to find out how it performs in the events Paul enters in the run-up to his goal of participating in the Peking to Paris. Dakar owners take note. CP THE WORK IS SO GOOD, CUSTOMS OFFICIALS REFUSED TO BELIEVE THE STUNNING DASH DIALS WERE ANYTHING BUT NEW 114 November 2023 as were the beautifully crafted hinges for the frunk and ducktailed engine lid. The dash clocks, meanwhile, were fully rebuilt and backdated with green faces by Classic Autoclock in Poland. The work is so good, customs officials refused to believe the stunning dash dials were anything but new. “They were held in quarantine by Polish authorities,” Paul sighs. “They refused to believe these were refurbished old clocks. Unfortunately, it was an argument I wasn’t going to win. In the end, it was less of a headache to simply pay the tax being demanded of me.” On the plus side, this refusal to accept the condition of the parts as anything but new is fantastic testament to the high standard of Classic Autoclock’s work. Above We’re excited to see what the future holds for this excellently put together Safari 911
Independent Porsche Specialist Sales, servicing and repairing Porsches for over 25 years T: 0118 971 4333 M: 07831 424 911 Workshop: info@northway.co.uk Sales: ray@northway.co.uk www.northway.co.uk
964 RSR EVOCATION ON THE RIGHT TRACK At first glance, it’s difficult to believe this 485bhp 964 Carrera RSR evocation began life as a classic 911 Turbo with Flachbau styling... Words Dan Furr Photography Dan Sherwood oday’s Porsche world is full of backdates. Indeed, it is rare for an issue of Classic Porsche to pass without featuring a 911 remodelled to look like a much older incarnation of the Porsche flagship. There was a time, however, when 911s were being forward-dated. Typically, a G-programme model would be treated to a 964 makeover. This might come as a surprise to younger readers who have only ever heard stories relating to the 964 being ‘the great unloved’ of the 911 world prior to the model’s relatively recent stratospheric rise in popularity. As enthusiasts of a certain vintage will attest, however, there was a time the 964 was in the doldrums. Its integrated polyurethane bumpers were seen as complicating the 911’s clean silhouette, while complaints regarding increased kerb weight (especially in four-wheel-drive trim) did nothing to endear the model to so-called purists. One can only imagine what they’d have made of the frankly massive 992-generation 911, given access to a crystal ball. Not helping matters, 964s were famous for their oil leaks. Owners may have nervously laughed off the complaint as a sign their cars were sweating horsepower, but for many 964 pilots, the cost of remedial work was a bridge too far for a 911 worth a fraction of today’s values. As a result, a great many 964s were driven hard without being afforded proper servicing and maintenance, further contributing to the model’s reputation as less than desirable. Things changed when a new generation of Porschephiles came of age. These enthusiasts were in their formative years when the 964 was in production. It was therefore ‘their’ 911 and the Porsche poster car pinned to their bedroom walls. Naturally, of all 911s, this was the model they gravitated toward when their life reached the point P-car ownership turned from dream to reality. Consequently, the 964 was saved — this new breed of owner was prepared to lavish time and money on the 964 where others neglected, contributing to reappraisal of the model and the beginning of its extraordinary rise to prominence in the hierarchy of Porsche’s legacy products. The 964 Turbo 3.6’s supporting role in the hit Will Smith movie, Bad Boys, must also be recognised for the hugely positive impact it had on perception of the 964 (not just the Turbo, but the range as a whole). Interestingly, by the time of the film’s release on 7th April 1995, the 964 was long discontinued — the 993 was almost eighteen months into production. We’ve lost track of the number of Porsche fans who cite the Speedline-rolling, big-winged wonder as the catalyst for their love of the 911. More recently, Singer Vehicle Design’s decision to use the 964 platform — more advanced than the Carrera 3.2, less complex than the 993 — as the basis for its ‘reimagining’ of the 911 has also seen this particular flavour of air-cooled Porsche find favour, not only among the Porsche faithful, but the also the wider world of sports car devotees. What if you were a 964 fan already in possession of a G-series 911, but didn’t want to trade up? Enter forwarddating. With a bit of fettling, the 964’s bumpers, side skirts and rear reflector strip can be made to fit an older 911. This update proved popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when negatively impacting the value of a 911 wasn’t a concern — these cars weren’t worth much back then, remember?! From time to time, we encounter a G-series survivor carrying forward-dated bodywork applied in period. Depending on the quality of execution, the updates range from not-at-all convincing to a near perfect facsimile of a 964. The latter is what we have here. What makes this particular 964 evocation more interesting than most others is the fact the base 911 wasn’t a Carrera. It was, in fact, a 1985 911 Turbo (930). Moreover, it was a 930 with Flachbau styling, thought to be optioned by the original buyer direct from Porsche’s Sonderwunsch (Special Wishes) department. A rare thing then and even more so now. Granted, the HE PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS DRIVING INSTRUCTOR TO THE 964 OWNERS CLUB AND HAS COMPETED IN TIME ATTACK Facing page Originally a 1985 930 with slantnose front-end, this 911 now looks every bit a 964 RSR November 2023 117
935-inspired slant-nose is something of an acquired taste, but it has its fans (extremely dedicated fans, in fact), meaning you’d need to be brave to delete such a distinctive front-end. Nevertheless, this is precisely what a previous owner did to our star car. As you can tell from our photographs, it has mutated significantly since being chopped and changed from original specification. We’ve come to acquaint ourselves with the radiant red track attacker at the East Midlands headquarters of premium sports car sales and restoration specialist, Car-Iconics. “We took the car in as part exchange against a BMW M3 CSL,” explains Daniel Gannon, the company’s Managing Director. “The Porsche looked more or less as it does today. This was back at the start of 2020. The was no roll cage in the cabin, but the paint and bodywork was completed to a high standard and the 3.6-litre M64 engine was already in place, complete with conversion to forced induction.” The car was being prepared for sale, but Daniel was frustrated by its inability to run consistently. “For the most part, it would tick over just fine, but then I’d find myself sitting at a set of traffic lights and the engine 118 November 2023 would cut out. My suspicion was that the ECU calibration was less than optimal, which is why I booked time with Wayne Schofield at Chipwizards, a company specialising in mapping older Porsche and BMW factoryinstalled ECUs for both competition use and improved road travel.” The car had other ideas. Indeed, the engine cut-out completely en route to Schofield’s Rossendale base. Back at Car-Iconics, Daniel began an inspection to diagnose the fault and discovered a problem with the wiring loom. “It was knackered!” he laughs. “I was relieved to find the problem lay with the information being sent to the ECU, rather than the ECU itself.” Essentially, the tired and damaged wiring was sending errant readings to the car’s electronic brain, causing it to get confused and shut down. The obvious solution was to install a new loom, but with a mapping session on the cards, Daniel reasoned now would be a good time to upgrade the turbocharger. “I began wondering what else I could do to improve the car with a view to making it even more focused for the track,” he smiles. Daniel has a long and fruitful history of pedalling Porsches around race circuits. “When I was seventeen years old, my father, Stephen, bought a 964 Carrera RS N/GT from a seller in Germany. Back then, you could buy an N/GT for a five-figure sum. In our family’s ownership, the car was only driven on the road whenever we were travelling to or from a racetrack. I was fortunate to be able to drive that Porsche hard at some of the world’s best-loved circuits, including Spa and the Nürburgring, which I remember lapping in snow.” All told, Daniel was familiar with the 964 from an early age and, thanks to being accustomed to the model in competition environments, had a clear idea how to transform the forward-dated 930 in his custody into a formidable track weapon. It should be noted, his experience at the track isn’t limited to fatherand-son days at the Green Hell. He previously served as driving instructor to the 964 Owners Club and, over the years, has competed in various BMW championships and Time Attack, one of today’s most significant and engaging forms of motorsport. Originating on the racetracks of Japan in the 1960s, it’s a supremely accessible series — amateur and professional racers alike are encouraged to participate on a level playing field, where each Above Weighing just 1,050kg and delivering 485bhp at a restrained 1bar boost, the car promised to be a force to be reckoned with in Time Attack
964 RSR EVOCATION Above and below Daniel stripped the interior and equipped it with new Recaro race seats, a comprehensive roll cage and an AIM digidash data logger entrant races against the clock to register the quickest lap in a production-based car. Modifications are openly encouraged, resulting in vehicles exhibiting extremes of handling and performance. In fact, the Time Attack rulebook promotes the idea of running a car to its absolute limit. This no-holds-barred approach to racing means engines are often running on a knife’s edge, while chassis equipment is put to the test in the most punishing of driving environments. After Time Attack landed in Britain in 2006, manufacturers and aftermarket equipment suppliers car to a raft of upgrades to make it more competitive, he enlisted the services of Harvey Gibbs, founder of Peterboroughbased Supreme Car Services, lauded as a leading light in race car preparation and engine building. The name will be known to anyone familiar with fast Fords, largely on account of Harvey’s reputation as the go-to guy for Sierra and Escort RS Cosworth upgrades. It should therefore come as little surprise to discover Blue Oval parts have made their way into the 911’s engine bay. “The old twin-spark distributor was junked when the new loom was installed,” Daniel continues. “Instead, two Mondeo V6 coilpacks were added, one linked to the flatsix’s lower spark plugs, the other linked to the upper plugs. This is a more modern and much more efficient system. The old ECU was also dismissed. In its place is a new Life Racing ECU, giving thoroughly modern functionality, huge levels of customisation and the ability to be configured remotely from anywhere in the world, which is ideal if the car is a long way from home and HUGE LEVELS OF CUSTOMISATION AND THE ABILITY TO BE CONFIGURED REMOTELY FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD quickly identified the sport’s potential to become the ideal testing ground for performance parts. Since then, the UK’s Time Attack Championship has grown to become the largest and most professional series of its kind anywhere in the world. It attracts drivers and teams from all over the British Isles, as well as many who travel to compete in the competition’s various categories (chiefly classic, retro, clubman and extreme) from overseas. The upshot of this global interest is an eclectic mix of modified machinery fascinating the competition’s thousands of spectators and online followers. Daniel harboured a desire to return to Time Attack and rightly recognised the RSR-aping 930 as the perfect tool for the job. Deciding to go the whole hog and treat the November 2023 119
adjustments are needed to suit individual track conditions.” The turbocharger was fully rebuilt with modern internals, including new turbine and compressor wheels. After the upgrades were completed, the car was mapped. “It registered 485bhp on the dyno,” Daniel beams. “This was with a conservative one bar of boost pressure. Considering the car weighs only fifty kilos over a tonne, I came to the conclusion this level of power is more than sufficient, even there is the possibility of extracting more from the engine.” As mentioned earlier, the boisterous boxer was already in place and was equipped with forced induction by the time Daniel took the Porsche in part-exchange against the Bimmer. The unit hasn’t been rebuilt under his watch. “I couldn’t tell you the specifics of its mechanical make-up,” he admits. “It performs brilliantly and was obviously configured to take big turbo power, but, for example, I don’t know which pistons and connecting rods were used.” Confirmed by Harvey, the engine was built to a high standard, which is just as well, considering the beating it was likely to get when competing in Time Attack. 120 November 2023 “While I didn’t dismiss the idea of selling the car, I also had no problem with keeping it for my own use, hence altering specification to suit my needs and tastes,” Daniel muses. A bespoke set of split rims were put together using new BBS barrels and lips, as well as new magnesium centres. After stripping the interior and building it back up with only the bare essentials, Daniel also invested in two new FIA-compliant Recaro race seats, new harnesses and an AIM digital dash and data logger. Arguably more extreme than overhauling a normally aspirated M64 engine in order to prepare it for turbocharging was the previous owner’s decision to cut the rear shell in order to accommodate the 993’s subframe-mounted Light, Stable, Agile (LSA) aluminium multi-link rear suspension system. Designed to put an end to the capriciousness of the 911’s backside, the LSA’s axle kinematics ensure the host 911’s suspension compresses significantly less when accelerating and cornering, thereby stabilising overall handling. Having the added benefit of keeping unsprung weight low, the system enables lane changes quickly and safely, even at high speed, with the added bonus of reduced rolling noise and vibration. The advantages for motorsport are obvious. Surprisingly, this wild-looking Porsche’s suspension doesn’t centre on outlandish, infinitely adjustable coilovers, but instead makes use of straightforward Koni dampers. “They’re perfectly adequate,” Daniel relates. “The car drives absolutely brilliantly. I saw no need to replace them.” In contrast, the six-speed G50 gearbox in place has been rebuilt and was upgraded by Matt Counsell, owner of Porsche competition car maintenance and preparation outfit, Fearnsport. The Getrag unit now utilises a 991 GT3 RS clutch and Above Car-Iconics client, Mark Pollard, bought the car it had a chance to strut its stuff in a competition environment
964 RSR EVOCATION Above and below Modified Carrera powerplant and its conversion to forced induction were taken care of before arrival at Car-Iconics, although Daniel commissioned further upgrades flywheel, as well as a straight-cut crown wheel and pinion. Perhaps the most immediately apparent change to this reworked Turbo following its arrival at Car-Iconics is the presence of a comprehensive roll cage. Fabricated at Daniel’s instruction and stretching from front to rear turrets, the substantial tubework introduces welcome safety to proceedings, as well as significantly increasing structural rigidity. Assembled by a company specialising in the development of drift cars, the assembly has been built to meet international FIA regulations. Superior stopping power is achieved by way of 993 Carrera RS-style ‘Big Red’ calipers loaded with Pagid RSL 29 pads, which are more than up to the task of bringing a 1,050kg 911 to a swift halt. There is no anti-lock braking system, no power-assisted steering — just a set of pedals, a steering wheel and the basic necessities to turn a 911 all the way up to eleven. Quite the machine, but how did it fare in Time Attack? The question has yet to be answered. You see, early on in the project, Car-Iconics client, Mark Pollard, took a keen interest in the Porsche, so much so that by the time Daniel finished bringing it up to his ideal specification, Mark swooped in and made an offer to take ownership. “To date, he has enjoyed the car on a few trackdays, but he hasn’t yet campaigned it in a race series,” Daniel confirms. Watch this space. This point in our story seems like a good time to outline how Car-Iconics differs from other traders of premium marque sports cars. The key is transparent brokerage. “The company was established in 2014 by myself and my father, a serial 911 owner,” Daniel recalls. “We have personal experience of garages selling our cars on a sale-or-return basis, but we found it difficult to ascertain the margin a garage would make on each sale, especially when part-exchanges were included in the deal. We concluded sale-or-return is a recipe for uncertainty. We reasoned there was a different, more honest way of operating a car sales business and put our idea it into practice.” The method is simple: when CarIconics sells a car, the buyer pays the vehicle’s owner directly. Separately, Daniel and Stephen invoice the seller for the sale’s brokerage and marketing costs, meaning each party involved in the transaction knows exactly what is being paid and who is receiving the money. There’s no ambiguity, no risk of mistrust. Sure, sale-or-return might bring in more of a commission than the approach Car-Iconics has adopted (to great success), but total transparency promotes a loyal customer base and has forged the company a welldeserved reputation for complete honesty in the trade. Of all the unique selling points a business could wish for, it doesn’t get any better. How did the idea come about? “Dad and I aren’t natural car salesmen,” Daniel stresses. “Our background is in the building industry, November 2023 121
dealing with blue chip companies, including many of the best-known home improvement brands. We noted the level of business acumen we possess is rarely seen in the classic car trading arena and, through our own experiences buying and selling cars, acknowledged a gap in the market for a fresh approach. Ultimately, it comes down to integrity above all, a fundamental principle informing the way we operate and earning Car-Iconics its position as a trusted company.” Reinforcing the point, the firm’s brand ambassador is Tony O’Keeffe, former Heritage Communications Officer at Jaguar Land Rover, a company he served for more than forty years. “Tony started out on the Jaguar production line, working his way up to executive-level employment, where he took on responsibility for the acquisition and restoration of Jaguar Heritage Trust exhibits,” Daniel describes. “He found our open-book approach to classic car sales very refreshing and turned down opportunities with far bigger, more established organisations in order to come and work with us. We are very proud to have him onboard.” Restoration is a relatively new aspect of the Car-Iconics offering. “In 2021, we started Revive-Iconics as a sub-brand of the main business. We found ourselves preparing approximately sixty high-end cars for recreation, 993 Carrera 4S and firstgeneration 991 Turbo S currently in stock), but with an increasing number of interesting vehicles from the older classic market passing through the firm’s Oakham workshop doors, it became clear the Car-Iconics business model could be applied to the sale of cars of all ages, hence the recent forming of another sub-brand to deal in the buying and selling of daily drivers. The same rules will apply: totally transparent brokerage relating to cars “we would be happy to own ourselves,” meaning clean, low-mileage, brilliantly presented vehicles, but aimed at young drivers or those looking for a premium everyday car to run alongside their cherished weekender. “Everything from Fiesta STs to Audi RS6s,”as Daniel puts it. With rapid expansion of the business bringing a larger client base necessitating increased staff headcount, 2024 is shaping up to be a busy year for Car-Iconics. We wish Daniel and Stephen every success. And Mark, if you’re reading this, let us know when we can see your fantastic former Flachbau attacking the asphalt. We’ll happily provide the lap timer. CP THE FIRM’S BRAND AMBASSADOR IS TONY O’KEEFFE, FORMER HERITAGE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER AT JLR 122 November 2023 sale each year, but we were having to pay a third-party for some of the work. It is difficult to be in complete control when using a subcontractor, which is a concern when we pride ourselves on bettering client expectation. With this in mind, we founded Revive-Iconics, not only to take care of servicing, restoration and preparation of the classic cars we sell, but also to look after customer cars. Anybody with a classic or modern-classic can take advantage of what’s on offer.” As a case in point, not long before this issue of Classic Porsche went to press, the owner of a 356 commissioned Revive-Classics to install a fuel injection system. Originally, Car-Iconics focused on the buying and selling of modernclassics (typically spanning dates of manufacture from 1980 to 2015, evidenced by the 964 Carrera RS Above Unlike a great many forward-dated G-series 911s, the work converting this classic 911 Turbo into a 964 RSR impersonator is very well-executed
DANIEL: 07891 010719 STEPHEN: 07834 620589 WWW.CAR-ICONICS.COM ENQUIRIES@CAR-ICONICS.COM 1997 PORSCHE 993 CARRERA 4S £99,995 A beautiful example ordered via the Porsche Exclusive Programme, finished in Ocean Blue Metallic with Classic Grey pleated leather. This 993 has covered 71,000 miles since new by 6 owners and is one of the best examples we have seen. The first owner of the car was stationed in Germany and ordered his Porsche 993 4S direct from the factory. The car stayed with him in Germany until he completed his duties and returned to the UK when the car was less than 3 years old. From the start of the millennium, the service book proves a continuous UK maintenance record with 22 services and a new clutch and flywheel fitted at 68,703 Miles. The 993 is the last of the air-cooled 911s. £99,995 2014 PORSCHE 991.1 TURBO S This stunning Turbo S is very highly specified, complete with extended leather interior, consisting of two tone Agate Grey and Pebble Grey leather which work superbly against the Achatgrau Metallic exterior. The car also has the panoramic glass sunroof, Burmester sound system, carbon interior package and much more. Having covered just 11,200 miles from two owners since new, this car has only been driven in good weather and also benefits from full Porsche main dealer service history. The Turbo S also comes with a full set of fresh Porsche rated tyres and Porsche extended warranty until 14/07/2023, so it’s ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. 2017 PORSCHE 991.2 CARRERA 4S CABRIOLET £74,995 A 991.2 finished in the fantastic colour combination of Carrara White against red leather and red convertible soft-top, featuring a high specification also. The car comes with the upgraded Sports Exhaust, PASM Electronic Damper Control, premium navigation and much more. Additonially, this car has been very well cared for during its life, featuring full Porsche main dealer service history and has covered just 28,155 miles from new from 5 owners. 1991 PORSCHE 964 CARRERA RS RECREATION £79,995 A beautifully built and presented Porsche 964 RS recreation. A no-expense spared conversion that started as an immaculate 964 C4, which through a painstaking process has been meticulously morphed into an incredibly capable and enjoyable 911 RS. Inside you will find a bespoke interior that has been carefully planned to give the perfect combination of an original RS verses a more ‘back date’ feel. This superb car has covered 60,957 miles from new by 7 owners and is ready to provide a raw driving experience for its next owner. 1973 PORSCHE 911 2.4 S £149,995 This Silver metallic 911 2.4S is bodily and mechanically excellent, having been restored in 2006 and being meticulously maintained since by some of the most well-respected names within the industry. This included an engine rebuild by David Sutherland (David is highly regarded for his engine knowhow looking after Jack Tordoff’s rally 2.7 and 3.0RS in the day). Recently it has been to Nick Fulljames (one of the most internationally respected engineers for early Porsche 911’s) for an engine and fuel set up. This is just a brief insight into how well the car has been looked after and has also covered just 2,000 miles since 2015. @CARICONICS CAR-ICONICS CAR-ICONICS LTD
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CLUB MEMBER DISCOUNTS SPECIALIST PORSCHE INSURANCE WITH YOU IN MIND 01480 484839 MOTOR FREE ADS TO ADVERTISE VISIT WWW.MOTORFREEADS.CO.UK CARS FOR SALE PORSCHE 911 PORSCHE 911 PORSCHE 911 2003, 53000 miles, £24,000. Lovely 996 soft top c/w hardtop as well, only 53,000 miles, had the ims and rms replaced, history with all its books etc, extended leather and aluminium interior option, never failed an mot or had a single advisory, a lovely 996 C2 Tiptronic very hard to fi nd one as nice as mine. Please call 07972756423, North West. .116307 1989, £84,995. This car is now an incredible package, its beautifully finished and presenting in exceptional condition with a top quality bodyshell and paint finish. The original interior is beautifully presented and well kept, and on the road this 911 is impressive with its strong, fit, recently rebuilt engine, smooth manual transmission and in typical 911 fashion offers impressive handling and road holding. With impressive history, paperwork and its current condition. Please call 01944 758000, Yorkshire and the Humber. (T) PORSCHE 3400 2012, 66000 miles, £66,000. Registered in 2012 this Porsche Boxster S 981 series is fitted with the desirable PDK 7 speed gearbox. Powered by the 3.4 litre flat 6 cylinder ‘Boxer’ engine, it is one of the last models available with this 6 cylinder engine, producing 315 bhp. Finished in Platinum Silver metallic paintwork with a contrasting black leather interior, with under 66k miles this Boxster S presents in superb order throughout. Please call 07577 575770, South East. (T) 1996, £125,000. Porsche 911 Carrera (993) 1996 road/race car, N reg., 3.6 lt twin turbo, 6 speed gearbox, turbos recently rebuilt and fuel lines replaced. Engine 500 bhp (approx.) Brembo race brakes (road units also supplied). Gt 2 wide body kit fitted with 8x10x18” BBS alloys. Welded custom cage, fire eater system, air jack system (as per Brit car). Competed in AEMC and ASEMC sprint championships and DOMC North Sports Saloon Championship. Please call 07860379440, East of England. 113397 112913 PORSCHE 911 119350 PORSCHE 911 1984, £89,995. From 1984 this 911 RS tribute utilised a C16, righthand drive 3.2 Carrera Coupé as its starting point. Specifically, this was a healthy well-serviced example with a good history file. This tribute car presented here pays homage to the legendary 1973 2.7 RS, echoing that famous silhouette very well, and was professionally built. This striking car, now reborn, looks just right in the classic combination of Grand Prix .Please call 01798 874477, South East. (T) 1988, 66900 miles, £48,995. Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Coupe Sport. Grand Prix white, white Fuchs forged alloys, white leather interior (linen), original Blaupunkt London SQM 37 radio cassette, electric seats, electric sunroof, rear wiper, G50 gearbox, rear spoiler. .Please call 07949105338, Greater London. 116683 118101 FEATURE YOUR MOTOR IN YOUR FAVOURITE MAGS! OR FIND YOUR NEXT!
WE’RE RATED EXCELLENT ON TRUST PILOT SPECIALIST PORSCHE INSURANCE WITH YOU IN MIND 01480 484839 PORSCHE 912 Sales Service Resto revival-cars.com 07768 791802 Keeping the 912 faith PORSCHE 911 2001, 112000 miles, £42,250. PORSCHE 911 TURBO FOR SALE. C16 UK Car, Porsche Exclusive Manufacture, Manual Transmission, Non Sunroof, Sports Hardback Seats, Extensive History. South West. PORSCHE 924 PORSCHE 928 PORSCHE 944 110000 miles, £29,999. coupe (pre-Smodel). auto, a very desirable car royal blue leather, full-service history. Please call 01452 731289, South West. 1990, 123000 miles, £28,500. Porsche 944Turbo (1990) for Sale. Built in December 1989, this model year 1990 Porsche 944Turbo is being offered for sale. First registered in August 1991. Please call 07825 621020, West Midlands. 120448 PORSCHE 912 £4,750. Very Tidy Porsche 924 with 1 years MOT and ready to drive away. Its only done 53000 miles. Runs and drives very well. Please call 01875 820527, Scotland. (T) 113125 1969, 100300 miles, £50,000. Manu. 3/6/69. Porsche col 8A3 reg California Imported Uk 1/5/98. BGU440G Exported to algarve Portugal 29/10/2008. 2016 Total restoration began. Back to metal. Photos. Like original. Twin webbers. 2 batteries on/off switch. Drilled and vented disc. Classic/mad. Radio. Please call 00351964768068, Rest of the world. 120121 TO ADVERTISE VISIT: 110220 120639 PORSCHE 944 PORSCHE 944 PORSCHE 928 1990, 72000 miles, £42,000. One of just 38 right-hand drive and manual gearbox. Please call 01765 609798, Yorkshire and the Humber. (T) 1990, 133000 miles, £12,950. 944S2 Cabriolet, Guards red, black interior. Lovely condition, total 3 owners, doting last one for 29 years. Every document for that period. Please call 07711703542, South East. 1989, £13,950. 944 S2 Cabriolet. Lovely Looking Appreciating Classic in Black over Cream Leather Interior. Please call 07835 877345 , South West. 117274 113090 110586 WWW.MOTORFREEADS.CO.UK
FOR OVER 35 YEARS SPECIALIST PORSCHE INSURANCE WITH YOU IN MIND 01480 484839 MOTOR FREE ADS BESPOKE AUTO TRIM Classic, vintage & veteran trimmer SEATS, DOOR CARDS, HEADLININGS, SIDE SCREENS & CARPET SETS LEATHER, VINYL & FABRIC BESPOKE RESTOMOD INTERIORS Call Piers on 07583 247533 Email: onyourway1234@gmail.com www.bespokeautotrim.com Based in IVER, Buckinghamshire SLO 9AH PARTS & MISC. PORSCHE 944 PORSCHE 46000 miles, £13,950. 944 S 16V Coupe. Lovely Original Condition Throughout. Please call 01245204345, South East. (T) 113141 PORSCHE CAYMAN £1,500. Porsche Boxter S 18” alloys, newly refurbished with Bridgestone Potenza tyres. The tyres have done less than 1000 miles. Please call 07546 270971 , East Midlands. 119488 PORSCHE 911 / BOXSTER TURBO STYLE WHEELS 2010, 67500 miles, £25,000. My 295 bhp, 3.4 Cayman S has more bang for its buck than any other car in its price range. People stop and stare. Colour? absolutely unique. In terms of upkeep, MOT Aug 2024. Following on from a 40,000 mile service by SCS Porsche in Honiton. Please call 07508001304, South West. £595. Very good condition with god Michelin 225/40 ZR 18 Tyres. PCGB Member. Please call 07446881808, East Midlands. 120710 119322 ADVERTISING INDEX 356 Panels Adrian Flux Art Wheels Auto Foreign Services Automotion Awesome Classic & Custom Benton Performance Beverly Hills Car Club Cambridge Concours Car-Iconics Cargraphic Classic Car LEDs Coco Mats D’Eser Vintage Sports Dansk Design 911 E & R Classics Early 911S Registry Elephant Racing EMPI Export 56 Gaswerks Garage Go Classic Goodwood Classic Solutions GTS Classics Joma-Parts.com Karmann Konnection Kelsey Christmas Portfolio 73 99 99 21 37 16 92 33 87 123 5 93 55 87 132 31 17 115 29 27 4 93 81 129 99 73 81 106 Kelsey Christmas Products Lakewell Porsche Interiors Longstone Tyres MCE Porsche Mittelmotor Northway Porsche Specialists Paragon GB Patrick Motorsports Perma-Tune Porsche In The Park Quickfit Safety Services Reap Automotive Design Restoration Design Europe Rindt Vehicle Design Roger Bray Restoration Sportwagen Eckert Stoddard Stomski Racing Tandler Precision Webcon UK 103 92 49 92 73 115 23 87 43 107 92 93 67 131 16 63 25 2 4 81 Classifieds Bespoke Auto Trim Classic Passion 911 Eisenbrandt Lancaster Insurance Revival Cars Rose Passion FEATURE YOUR MOTOR IN YOUR FAVOURITE MAGS! OR FIND YOUR NEXT!
Classic Car Insurance the Goodwood Way C H I L D H O O D D R E A M S D E S E RV E TO B E P ROT E C T E D From the moment we fall in love with the joy of motoring, to owning the models we dreamt of as children, our relationship with cars shifts gear as life unfolds. No matter where you are on the journey, you can rely on Goodwood Classic Solutions to take care of quotes and policies, leaving you to enjoy the ride. Because Goodwood understands that insuring a classic car is about more than just cover; it’s about protecting your lifelong passion. 01243 913333 Goodwood.com/insurance
NEXT ISSU E ON SALE FRIDAY 17TH NOVEMBER SWB 911 RESCUED AND RESTORED STUNNING TRANSFORMATION OF CLASSIC PORSCHE LEFT OUT TO PASTURE ORDER ONLINE AT SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/CP101 CALL NOW ON +44 (0)1959 543747** Terms and conditions apply. *Delivery is included in the cover price for UK customers only. An additional £1 will be added to any overseas addresses. **Lines open Mon-Fri 8.30am–5.30pm (GMT). Calls charged at your standard network rate. Image for illustration purposes and subject to change.
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