Have you heard that restoring old Porsches is quite a lucrative business? Course you have, it's been going on long enough. But now Porsche itself is keen to get in on the action; what you see here are two of the 20 new restorations undertaken by Porsche Centres and Porsche Recommended Repairers. Twenty!
The cars will be shown at the Classic Motor Show next month, another celebration of Porsche's seven decades as a manufacturer. Of the 20 half are original Boxsters, like the one seen in the photos, suggesting that car might finally be enjoying its 15 minutes of fame as a genuine little classic. The cynical may suggest that sourcing and overhauling 10 Boxsters might cost the same as doing up a pair of 964s, but Boxster aficionados will surely be pleased regardless.
Aside from the 964 also pictured, it's as yet unknown what the other "air-cooled, water-cooled and transaxle cars" will be, however Porsche has confirmed that all restored cars will be painted 'Liquid Metal' - a silver until now reserved for the 918 - and feature a "bespoke" interior with a plaque. Naturally all work was completed using Porsche Classic Genuine Parts, with some sympathetic updates courtesy of the Porsche Classic range - see the 964 interior for the new radio/nav system.
The two cars seen thus far look, as you would expect, really rather nice - black wheels notwithstanding - so it'll be interesting to see the 18 still under wraps. The news gets better for Porsche fans, too, because the cars will be going up for sale. All that's known for now is that they will be sold towards the end of this year, and visitors will be able to register their interest at the NEC. If a minty fresh 986 has been on the wish list for a while, 10 very special ones are going to be available soon.
Yet further joy is to be found at the Classic Motor Show for Boxster fans, too, as a collection of the Restoracing Boxsters that have been campaigned this year will also be on display. The truly dedicated will be pleased to know that a 2019 season has already been given the green light.
Finally, if your Porsche preference is only for the rear-engined stuff, the Project 70 911, as raced this year by Richard Attwood, Derek Bell and Anthony Reid across Europe, will be on the stand alongside the swarm of Boxsters. And rather lovely it looks, too. Porsche fans, you know where to be on the weekend of 9-11 November...
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