1979 Porsche 911

This lot comes to us as part of a fine collection of classic cars and motorcycles belonging to the late Professor Christopher H. Bovis FRSA, a widely published and respected expert in international and European business law, public procurement and public/private partnerships, and he was clearly a bit of a petrol head too!

We believe this car’s chassis and VIN emanate from a 1979 911 Targa (or Cabriolet - we’ve seen both mentioned in various documents) and metamorphosed into the RSR evocation you see before you today.

A letter from the first owners, the Parker family, tells us that the car was collected new from the Stuttgart factory and driven to London. Shortly afterwards it was sold on through Charles Follet of Berkeley Square.

It has, we think, been re-shelled as a (964) 911 Coupé and, since 2008, it has derived its considerable motive power from a 3600cc (993) 911 Varioram engine.

Part of the vendor’s collection since 2005, the car has been prepped, stripped-back and set-up as a competition car, but we’re not aware that it’s ever seen any track use and its fine overall condition suggests that it hasn’t.

The car turns over, starts and drives.

But, as it hasn’t been used for a good length of time, it will need some basic recommissioning to prepare it for life back on the open road – or closed circuit.

However, we had the engine going for long enough to know that this car makes a sound like an electrical storm over the Matterhorn and promises to deliver a great deal of high velocity fun once fully fettled, tweaked and checked.

We believe the car was originally white.

As you’ve no doubt spotted, it’s now very much green.

This is a very handsome and eye-catching car, and not least because it’s greener than Kermit’s wardrobe.

The doors shut with all the Teutonic heft and precision for which Zuffenhausen’s finest were, and remain, rightly prized.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are crisp and even, and the tea-tray rear spoiler is solid and sturdy – which is always a good sign.

The paintwork is broadly good but there are a few flat patches, the odd rough spot here and there, and areas of what look and feel like overspray in several other locations.

A decent session with a machine polisher might go some way to correcting these minor aberrations.

The split-rim alloys are proper statement items.

All four are wearing Toyo Proxes R888 rubber - 265/35 ZR 18 at the rear, 235/40 ZR 18 at the front.

The car comes with a full set of black spare wheels, shod in Toyo Proxes T1R - 265/40 ZR 17, and 225/45 ZR17 - plus a space saver spare, and the removed rear ‘seats’.

The paint along the top of the front bumper is a tad orange-peely, there is a little blistering under the black paint around the rear side windows, and the o/s/r wing has a chip in it near the spoiler.

However, the bodywork is untroubled by any dinks, dents, warps or creases worthy of attention anywhere that we can see.

There are some optional green-painted rims for the headlight surrounds inside the car.

All lights, lenses, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings appear to be in fine condition.

The interior has been specced and built for competition and is accordingly stripped-out, pared-back and frill-free.

Lightness has been added in ways that would surely have won Colin Chapman’s approval.

Hence, the soft, padded parts of the door cards are missing, the rear seats and trim have been removed and replaced by Dynamat Superlight cladding, and the front seats are black, carbon-fibre GT3 buckets.

The aftermarket digital speedo and rev counter is another nod to the car’s GT3/RSR-like aspirations.

The interior is completed by four-point racing harnesses and a HEIGO Porsche 964 RS roll cage.

It may be spartan and purposeful, but everything in the interior is minty fresh, squeaky clean and looks as good as new.

While there’s rarely much to be learned from looking into a 911 engine bay, what we can see is clean and dry, with everything in what seems to be its right and proper place.

The undersides of the car look sound, solid and possessed of plenty of structural integrity.

Nothing we’ve seen has prompted us to frown, tut or otherwise question the car’s credentials.

The car comes with a service book that been stamped by main dealers and marque specialists up until 2005.

Subsequent work during its time in the collection seems to have been carried out primarily by marque specialists Strasse of Leeds, and there are some bills, invoices and receipts attesting to this work and other repairs and maintenance courtesy of different specialists.

The car comes with its original service book, an HPI report and a V5C.

We’ve seen enough vehicles from Professor Bovis’ collection to know by now that all the work will have been done properly, with no expense spared, and usually with a view to creating something that’s every bit as dynamically impressive as it is aesthetically pleasing.

This magnificent 993-Varioram-powered, competition-spec 1979 911 looks to have ticked all of those boxes.

It’s clearly been built to the hilt and we’re more than a little bit jealous of the person who will get to use and enjoy it properly once it’s been recommissioned.

We hope you’re prepared to turn heads, start conversations and generally cause a fuss wherever you go in this magnificent machine.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £50,000 - £70,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.