| Porsche 911 Carrera RS M471 Lightweight The Hairpin Company | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chassis 911360 1496 is one of only seventeen right hand drive RS M471 Lightweight cars supplied to the UK market by Porsche in 1972/3. This model is now regarded as arguably the finest road car produced by Porsche, indeed it is seen by many as one of the best post-war road cars of all time. This example is in excellent condition following a detailed restoration in the late 1990's, since then it has been lightly used on the road by one owner, whilst being regularly maintained by Porsche. This car was a late production example, being supplied in June 1973 by Isaac Agnew, the official Porsche dealer in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Finished in Grand Prix White with red Carrera stripes and black interior, it was ordered to a desirable specification with options of heated rear window, limited slip differential, door mirror and seat belts. The following year, the car came to England having been purchased by a notable car collector. It was registered on the 1st June 1974 with the registration number RUF 245M, which it retains to this day. At some point early in the car’s life problems with the engine resulted in Porsche exchanging the engine, hence the original engine number 663 1464 became AT 6630771, the AT denoting the fact that this is a Porsche supplied exchange unit. In the late 1970’s marque specialists Autofarm worked on the car, this included painting the car red and extending the flare on the wings - a popular modification at the time giving an RSR look, however, unlike many examples this was not done for competition purposes, this example always being a road car. In 1981 the RS joined the collection of Graham Paul Nichols, a noted enthusiast he also owned a Ferrari 275 GTB and other exciting cars at the time. The car remained with him until 1990 when it passed to his wife, Mrs Judy Nicholls, she retained his cars until 1998. The last owner of the RS started his search for a Lightweight to replace his RS Touring in the late 1990’s, he wanted a good original right hand drive car which he could then restore to the high standards he demanded. He enlisted Jeff Moyes, the custodian of Porsche Heritage at AFN and a well-known expert in this field to help him find such a car. After a long and rather fruitless search and inspection of cars that did not make the grade, this car became available - it was regarded at the time as rather a special discovery. Very few people knew of this small private collection hidden away in Edenbridge. The cars were stored in a barn covered in many years of dust as the photographs on file illustrate. Following an inspection at AFN the car was purchased. The restoration then began, work being carried out by AFN and overseen by Jeff Moyes. A large number of invoices in the history file document the detail of the work, all parts being either refurbished or replaced by Porsche. The bodywork was entrusted to well known experts Moto Technique with all replacement panels required being supplied by AFN. A great deal of correspondence and photographs chart the progress of this work. A notable letter on file from Moto Technique head, Kevin O' Rourke, written in January 1999 following the strip down of the car, describes the main body shell as being in excellent original condition, again indicative that this car has had a relatively easy life on the road and has not had its integrity compromised like so many other RS examples, by enthusiastic competition use. The car was restored to its original specification, great care being taken to ensure the authenticity of all parts and finishes used - the only exception being the fitment of RS Safari seats. These very rare seats made originally for the 1973 RS Rally Works cars were designed to remain comfortable and also supportive over long distances and rough terrain, I can confirm that they are a great deal more comfortable than the standard Lightweight seats and look great as well. The restoration was finally completed in 2000 and the car delivered. Since then the car has seen minimal use covering about 1,000 miles in the past twelve years. It has been carefully used only in dry conditions and stored in a most impressive heated building designed for the car collection. The car has been very well maintained, returning to Porsche every year for maintenance, initially this work was completed by AFN and in later years by Porsche Wilmslow, a Porsche dealer also well known for expertise with the classic models. Indeed, in 2007 Porsche Wilmslow completely rebuilt the engine, this was not done at the time of the restoration as it was not deemed necessary, an invoice on file for £20,000 documents this work. A rare right hand drive example of the ultimate 911 in superb order throughout. The restoration completed twelve years ago has stood the test of time - the car looking much as it must have done when new in the Belfast showroom nearly forty years ago. The quality of the work shines through in every detail and it is not just cosmetic for the car drives very fluently, and still feels very tight. The car comes with an extensive file as mentioned above with invoices, correspondence and photographic illustration of the car before and during the restoration, along with past and present MOT certificates and subsequent service history.
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