Porsche 911 2.7 Coupe

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Since the prototype was unveiled in 1963, the Porsche 911 has become one of the most iconic sports cars of all time.

A classically Germanic blend of engineering excellence and austere functional design, it remains to this day perhaps the only supercar that can be reliably used every day. A 2.7-litre version of the 911 was launched in 1974 as the G-Series with 150bhp and 174lb/ft of torque in standard form, rising to 210bhp in the RS model.

During its production run of four years, a number of improvements were introduced which were accompanied by changes to the letter series: H, I and J-Series. Some were subtle, others less so, yet the basic form retained the gorgeous narrow-body that has come to define the earlier 911s, a feature lost in its replacement, the significantly wider 3.0-litre SC model which appeared in 1977.

Most obvious were the addition of impact absorbing bumpers, needed in order to comply with USA market parking requirements, and latterly, the distinctive ‘elephant’ door mirrors. At the rear, a full width reflector with 'Porsche' writ large fitted into the bumper too, although perhaps the best news was the introduction of the galvanised bodyshell.

This extraordinary 1977 example is believed to be a late J-Series and came the vendor’s way via his uncle who had purchased the car in 1996, part exchanging his Austin-Healey. An original UK-supplied RHD model, it had by then been fitted with a stronger SC manual gearbox to replace the original Sportmatic unit, work carried out by Michael Gleeson Porsche Specialist in 1989 costing £3,184. The uncle drove it for less than 1,000 miles before laying the car up for the next 16 years.

It has now covered a total of 116,000 miles from new, its original engine having been overhauled at 100,000 miles with new pistons and liners, bearings and a crank regrind. During the total restoration which has just been completed, the engine was stripped, chemically cleaned and fitted with new valves, camchains and the usual tensioner modification and found to be in excellent condition.

The vendor, a professional classic car restorer by trade, had decided to rebuild the car for his own use and subsequently spent over 900 hours on the restoration. The total expenditure on parts alone has exceeded £16,000, £10,000 of which has been with genuine Porsche-supplied components. Design 911 filled in most of the blanks that were unavailable from the original manufacturer, a massive sheaf of bills showing where and when the parts were sourced.

It is hard to describe the level of detail that the vendor has put into this 'labour of love'. Suffice to say that the body was stripped to the very barest shell and any corroded panel work was replaced by genuine Porsche replacements with the exception of the sills which were unavailable and came from Denmark. The rotisserie restoration included colour painting the whole shell in its original shade of Oak Green and the underside then received £300-worth of two-pack stone chip.

The suspension has been fully rebuilt with Turbo track rods, new suspension components and brakes, alloy fuel pipes, aeroquip hoses and every joint and bush is new along with all fastners. The rear torsion beam, often an area of hidden decay on a 911, has been rebuilt with stainless steel liners. A new fuel tank was installed and every removable panel underneath has been shot blasted and stove enamelled, including the normally completely hidden heater flap valves – yes, you really could eat your dinner off the underside of this car!

Inside, the interior has been stripped and restored, down to powder-coating the bare seat frames and fitting new door cards and hinges, bushes and check-strap bolts. The rear window hinges were very slightly pitted so these were replaced at a cost of over £100. The vendor has fitted a period Moto Lita wheel, although the original will be supplied with the car. It also has a period high-end TRIO stereo which has been ingeniously converted with an i-pod dock, the vendor having fitted an internal aerial as he couldn’t bear to drill the pristine new front wing. The full tool kit has been restored and the correct compressor is also included. The car is MOTd until January 2016.

During our visit, the vendor told us that “the details you can’t see are as good as those that you can”, in which case a restoration of this magnitude would no doubt cost well over £50,000, ignoring the initial purchase price of the car. If you are after a top-flight 911, this stunning 2.7 is worthy of close inspection.