1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GT

Volkswagen's decision not to proceed with their designed-by-Porsche 914 replacement led to the latter taking on the project themselves. Launched in November 1975, the resulting 924 drew heavily on Volkswagen/Audi components: the 2-litre, four-cylinder, overhead-camshaft engine being a development of the Audi 100's, and the 4-speed transaxle a VW unit. A 5-speed Porsche-designed gearbox and improvements to the suspension were early developments, and in 1978 came the first truly high-performance 924 - the Turbo. The latter's extra 45bhp raised the top speed to around 150mph, and this figure would be further improved upon by the 924 Carrera GT. A road model with competition potential, the luxuriously equipped Carrera GT was launched at the 1979 Frankfurt Show. Easily distinguishable from lesser 924s by virtue of its bonnet air intake and widened wheel arches, the Carrera GT was built in limited numbers - only 406 were made - 400 cars being the minimum requirement to gain homologation for rallying and Group 4 events. The standard version came with 210bhp but this could be boosted to well over 300bhp for racing. Three cars were entered by the works in the 1980 Le Mans 24-Hour Race, finishing 6th, 12th and 13th.

This is a right-hand drive, 924 Carrera GT that was originally purchased from AFN by Chris Morrison, who perhaps is best known for managing Blur, Thin Lizzy, and Ultravox. The car was stored for 20 years prior to a thorough recommission by Laranca Engineering in Earlswood in 2017 and there are invoices in the file for the work that was carried out amounting to over £12,000 during that period.

After purchasing this rare Porsche, the current custodian literally went to town and virtually rebuilt the car with the engine, turbo, gearbox and Quaife LSD all receiving specialist attention. The car was fitted with new Bilstein suspension and the braking system refreshed with Brembo parts. The interior was completely renewed by Aldridge Trimmers including the steering wheel and the gear lever gaiter and, to finish off, a full stainless exhaust system was fitted, the Fuchs alloys refurbished and a new set of branded rubber fitted. It now presents superbly in black (A1/A1) with a black leatherette interior and black/red pinstripe seats. There are invoices totalling over £40,000 in the history file for this work alone and the file also contains the original purchase invoice, factory owners' manual and stamped service book with lots of old invoices dating right back. The odometer currently indicates just over 90,600 miles and there is a valid MOT

This is a very rare car that should not be missed by any discerning Porsche collector and will inevitably attract a lot of attention at shows, possibly picking up an award or two on the way.

NB; The illustrated registration, 924 GT, does not form part of the sale.