Happy New Year to you all. Looking back over the past year it’s been a busy time for all Porsche owners with two anniversaries to celebrate, namely 75 years of the modern Porsche company and 60 years of the ubiquitous 911 model, although today most of them only borrow the shape of our original 911 cars. It was good to see many of you with your cars at the events last year. Thank you for your support and I hope you will continue to bring them to next year’s meetings.
Kop Hill display 2017
Seen at Canford Classics
The First Run Rally at Red Bull
Officials’ Conference
There was an Officials’ Conference in November at which plans for next year’s events were outlined and discussed and which, hopefully, will take place. These will be announced in due course, so keep an eye open for their dates in PP and on the website. Almost certainly to be on the list is the ever-improving Donington Historic in late April or early May. We had a display and a track parade there in 2023 and we should get a display area, which has a better track viewing location.
Now for something different…
Readers of Classic and Sportscar magazine will have seen that there was an advert for a very special early 911 due to have been sold at the Bond Street Bonhams Auction on 15 December. This 911, with the chassis number 300474, is finished in Bali Blue, which originally was a 356 paint colour. The first right hand drive 911 produced, it became the AFN demonstrator car for the UK. With a 900xxx line, engine number, it precedes the 901 and the later 911 engine number sequences. So, it goes without saying that this car, which left the Stuttgart production line in February 1964, is very special. It’s also only the second 911 to have been imported officially into the UK and certainly the first RHD 911 - earlier imports of LHD 911s would have been imported by Colborne garages or as private imports possibly helped by Charles Meisle of the ‘Britain Overseas’ company, which later became Britax Ltd. Keep a lookout for news of this car (registration number of MMU911C) - its guide price was given as between £300,000 to £500,000! It is a beauty! I hope it will not disappear into a private collection never to be seen again.
2024 should be celebrated by everyone who has a Porsche with the 911 number on its engine cover because, as I said last month, the 901 number that Porsche originally allocated as the model number of our cars was changed to 911 on 10 November 1964 - 60 years ago - a suitable milestone and anniversary for the model.
Happy, prosperous and safe New Year to you all,
Robin and Jo