BUT PORSCHE RALLY CAR STILL MISSING
The owner of a 1965 Porsche 911 that was stolen while competing in a rally is worried it will be broken down for parts after it was stolen because it is too distinctive to be sold intact.
Chas Colton’s short-wheelbase 911 rally car, registration PTU 274C, was stolen from outside the Golden Tulip hotel in Kerkrade, Holland on 7 May between 6.40am and 6.55am, on the last day of the Tulip Rallye.
Howard Warren’s 911 was also targeted and while the robbers did smash a window, they only managed to make off with items inside the car. Both Chas and Howard are hoping the classic car community can help locate the vehicle before it is stripped down or transported further abroad.
Howard tells CCW: ‘We know the time-frame for the theft as we checked on the car at 6.40am before we all met for breakfast at 7am.
‘We think the thieves may have broken into the cars to smash the windows late at night and then hot-wired it in daylight later to avoid suspicion driving it off in the dark. Onlookers would have just thought it was someone moving the vehicle.
‘The heartbreaking thing is that we think because the vehicle is so distinctive, the thieves won’t sell it on, so it will get broken down for parts. The gearbox alone will probably fetch £35,000.’
Dutch police told Chas and Howard that Kerkrade has a problem with thieves targeting Porsches. Trackers were fitted to 10 vehicles in the rally, but unfortunately the yellow 911 wasn’t one of them.
Anyone with information about the car should contact: h.warren@ btconnect.com