Porsche to restore one of the first-ever 911s

7 February, 2015

The Porsche 911 is nothing short of an icon. Its silhouette transcends countries and generations making it instantly recognizable from the first generation through to the current ‘991’ series. As one of history’s most revered sports cars, with hundreds of thousands sold since 1963, the second-hand market holds a 911 to suit nearly any budget. Rarities are common — the Carrera 2.7 RS comes readily to mind — and one of the first 911s manufactured would definitely fall under this category. However, that hasn’t stopped Porsche, who have come across one of the very first 911s ever built. Chassis number 57 sits within the Porsche Museum workshop in Stuttgart, ready to undergo a complete restoration.

Is there anyone better to undertake such a project? The 911 might not look like much now, but watch this space, and the video below — the meticulous restoration is guaranteed to be the best possible tribute to such a car’s history.

Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.

Super Leicht Gullwing

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.