• Upgraded with a genuine 2.4 S engine • Desirable 1972 model-year 911 with external oil filler
• Outstanding condition inside and out • Recent bills in excess of £32,000 at Tower Bridge Classic Porsche
• Maintained regardless of cost
• An absolute joy to drive
• Enormous history file
The Background
The Porsche 911 is perhaps the most significant dynasty in motoring history, the roots of the rear-engined and air-cooled formula stretching way back to Ferdinand Porsche’s endeavours with the original ‘people’s car’ back in the 1930s, and the legacy continuing into the showrooms today.
The combination of swooping curves, cartoon-eye headlights and, most significantly, an engine slung out behind the rear wheels has kept this iconic model at the top of dreamers’ wishlists for decades.
With the early models of the 1960s and ’70s, there was a fairly logical approach to badging and naming structure; unlike today when the halo model is labelled ‘Turbo’ despite all the other ones being turbocharged too, back in simpler times it was easier to decode: with the classic 911 T, the ‘T’ stood for ‘Touring’; the 911 L offered ‘Luxury’, the 911 S was ‘Super’, and the 911 E boasted ‘Einspritzung’ (meaning fuel injection).
Whichever option the buyer chose, they were guaranteed a fabulously balletic chassis, with a characterful bobbing nose and a feelsome steering wheel dancing in the hands and providing endless, gorgeous feedback.
It really is one of the all-time greats, and the elegant 1970s models are in such demand today – it’s the classic sports car that wants to be your friend, and with those delightful curves, everybody else will want to as well.
Interestingly, this Porsche started life as a 911 E, and has been upgraded by a former keeper to the more effervescent and invigorating 911 S 2.4-litre spec. It’s clearly lived quite a life too, as the absolutely colossal history file keenly demonstrates.
We can see that this car has been loved and cherished throughout its life, with a huge amount of time and money invested in body restoration as well as mechanical upgrades. In the late-1980s, around £30,000 was spent on a concours body restoration and mechanical overhaul, and it’s been maintained adoringly since.
The upshot today is a beautifully finished and impeccably specced 911 that’s a joy to drive and a supremely attractive companion.
Most reassuringly, there’s a signed letter from the specialist Tower Bridge Classic Porsche, confirming that the owner maintained the car with them regardless of cost.
They carried out some front suspension work and replaced the fuel tank in 2014, gave the car a full engine overhaul in 2018 along with substantial paint correction, refreshed the interior including fitting new seats, and refurbished the wheels – this work came to around £15,000. It’s estimated that a further £10,000 at least has been spent with Tower Bridge Classic Porsche in this owner’s tenure.
There’s an enormous amount of history with this car, all painstakingly documented in a sizeable Porsche ring binder. The 911 has been looked after in recent years by the renowned London specialist Tower Porsche, and the extent of the restoration works, upgrades and general maintenance can all be traced across the decades through the file.
The old MOTs and tax discs are present, as is a certificate for the immobiliser (which is in correct working order). There’s hand-written documentation from a former owner detailing how they bought the car in 1988 and treated it to a full ground-up restoration by Gantspeed Engineering, all of which is photographically documented, with further work by Pickup Leask and Mitre Coachwork.
Overall, around £30,000 was spent (in the late-eighties, remember – adjusted for inflation, that’s over £75,000 in today’s money) to get it up to concours standard. There’s a huge amount of paperwork from Gantspeed and Pickup outlining everything that was done, and the keeper at that time notes that the car was restored for looks rather than authenticity – a new leather interior was fitted, along with new wheels, new glass and trims, new stainless steel heat exchangers, and a frankly incredible paintjob consisting of a full ten coats of black paint.
Elsewhere in the file we find a couple of watercolour paintings of the car (a lovely memento!), along with lots and lots of receipts and invoices for parts and servicing.
The cabin of a 1970s 911 is a very pleasant place to be, with its slender pillars and airy glasshouse, and this example is particularly pleasing to find oneself in. The seats are beautifully trimmed and in outstanding condition, with no noticeable marks, wear or overdue signs of age.
The car wears a Momo Prototipo steering wheel, which is a pretty and tactile item, and the dash is in good order throughout with all the gauges working correctly. The headlining is in good condition, as are the carpets, and it’s all in 1970s spec aside from a modern (but classically styled) Pioneer head unit.
Inside the front boot it’s all dry and tidy, with the correct space-saver spare wheel along with the jack and warning triangle.
The older restoration was carried out to incredibly high standards, and quality craftsmanship endures. We have photographic evidence of how thorough and deep-dive the resto was, and with the car having been looked after throughout its life, it still looks glorious today.
The incredibly fastidious ten-coat paintwork has weathered the years superbly, and the 911 still has a deep and impressive lustre. Every panel is good, sitting straight and true with even gaps and no evidence of dings, dents, scuffs, scrapes or corrosion. It’s a real head-turner, and bears close scrutiny too.
The light lenses and window glass are all in good order, and all of the correct trim and brightwork is in place and in great condition. The car wears a set of tasteful 16” Fuchs alloy wheels, whose modern-profile 205/45 Goodyear Eagle F1s look surprisingly good with their sleek low gait.
The racy front bumper design is an aesthetic treat matched with the minimalist aero wing mirrors, and the overall vibe is classic and tasteful, relatively stealthy, and yet with a frisson of street-racer malevolence. Just as a 1970s 911 should be.
The beating heart of this era of 911 is the playful and tractable 2.4 engine. Technically it’s actually a 2.3, the displacement being 2,341cc, but marketing came into play to differentiate it from the older 2.2 engine; all 911s in assorted spec levels got the ‘2.4’ in the 1972-73 model years, with states of tune and power levels differing by spec.
This car was originally a 911 E, which would have produced 165bhp, but it now has the more rambunctious 190bhp specification from the 911 S. This engine also uses mechanical fuel injection, but the improved tuning gives it a fresh new character. The Type 915 transmission is very well suited to it too, doing away with the doglegs of yore for a more conventional H-pattern.
It’s evident that this 911 has always been properly looked after, as it drives like an absolute dream today. With the immobiliser plipped, the flat-six fires on the first turn of the key, and it’s happy to do so over and over again (which our photoshoot is always a good test of).
It idles evenly, pulls strongly through the gears, and behaves exactly as it should. The gearshift on these cars has a characteristically long throw, and here it slots cleanly and unambiguously. The steering is feelsome, the damping is supple, the brakes are strong and straight – it really does drive beautifully.
1970s 911s have been in the ascendent for some time, and this one is a very attractive example indeed. There’s a massive amount of history in the file, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s always been very well looked after.
The amount of time and money that’s been spent on restoring and improving this Porsche over the years is frankly eye-watering, and the manner in which it’s been kept has ensured that it presents as an utterly captivating example today. As wonderful inside as it is outside, it’s mechanically spot-on and thoroughly entertaining to drive.
If you’ve always dreamed of owning a 911 of this vintage, this could well be the one to make those fantasies a wonderful reality.
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1972 Porsche 911 2.4 E (LHD)
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