THE GOOD LIFE Driving


OPERATION COVERT


Iain Macauley climbs into a modernised Porsche 964 where the magic is hidden


I


f you know your Porsche 911s, then you’ll know that liſting the engine cov- er of an Eighties or Nineties 964 model will reveal a crammed assembly of pumps and pipework rivalled only by


the likes of the plumbing found in the depths of a Cold War-era Russian subma-


rine. So when former Jaguar and BMW de- signer Adam Hawley liſts the lid on a 964 subjected to his self-confessed design OCD to unveil a beautifully minimalist engine bay, you take a step back. And then two paces forward, as if closer examination will answer the question: ‘Where has everything gone?’


Hawley is founder of bespoke Porsche


restoration and enhancement specialist Theon Design; he, his wife Lucinda Argy and their team re-create Porsche 964s in an Oxfordshire barn. Hawley’s objective since he set up shop in 2017 has been to build the ultimate iteration of the air-cooled icon. Prices start from £410,000 (plus local taxes), but the one I’m sitting in, a stupendously de- tailed 1991 Targa model in Signal Yellow, was to cost its new owner closer to £700,000. The noise, handling and overall sensation of driving both original and ‘restomodded’


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