Page 18 - Bespoke Issue

to exacting standards, brakes upgraded, modern lights, air conditioning, electric seats and so on, so you have a 'brand new' old Porsche that looks like a concourse car, but is a daily driver.
This Series II Classic Touring S is the rst of its kind. Previous models have been the Retro Touring R and M471 Lightweight, based on the legendary Carrera RS from 1973, my Top Trumps car. Paul Stephens has been doing this for over ten years, building these bespoke restorations for clients. This has led to the genesis of the Classic Touring Model, a car you can order directly as a buyer rather than bring him your car to build. There is an options list including two engine choices, the 3.4 S will give a 0-60 of 5.2 seconds and top out at 162mph and the tweaked suspension makes sure the handling can keep you planted. I can’t wait to drive this car and Paul is encouraging me to take it out and put it through its paces, but the weather is horrible... apart from the rain and wet roads it almost feels criminal to get this gleaming black beauty dirty.
Three weeks later it’s a lovely sunny London day as the black Classic Touring S pulls into the Mews. It’s lunch time and the car is needed on Pall Mall at 4:30pm so I have the afternoon with the car in London. Perfect, let’s go.... We pull out onto the Bayswater road, the car feels like a classic to drive, which is a good thing. The familiar but odd placing of the Porsche pedals, the steering wheel feels lovely in my hands, soft leather and the perfect thickness, the gear box is precise and the clutch has a good feel, as I approach the lights I brake and there is a con dent rmness about the pedal. This all feels very nice, while maintaining its retro soul.
We zip around Marble Arch and into Mayfair, it’s a very small car, we forget how our cars have grown over the decades. The Porsche is brilliantly quick and nimble as I zoom through Mayfair and on to Berkeley Square, where the roadworks and traf c bring us to a crawl. We have become the centre of attention now, people are stepping out in the road to take pictures on their phones. I blast her up Conduit Street and turn right on to Saville Row, she should be at home here in the heart of bespoke tailoring... every time we stop it’s the same... “that’s lovely, is she a ‘72?” (It has “K” registration plates on)... this car is attracting a lot of attention indeed. We have to pop in to Bentley on Berkeley Square so I circle back around and
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