TEN TENTHS
Behind the wheel of Paul Stephens’ Le Mans Classic limited edition 911
With direct reference to the earlier motorsport-inspired models, East Anglian Porsche specialist Paul Stephens is producing ten 911s identical to the one gracing these pages, based on 3.2 Carrera donor cars, in a tie-up with Le Mans Classicʼs event organisers Peter Auto, celebrating the eventʼs tenth anniversary. In construction over the next 18 months, theyʼll be presented to purchasers on the grid at 2020ʼs retrospective pageant.
Paul describes how the project came into being: ʻThe Le Mans 24-Hours is one of the most iconic motor sport events going, in terms of the history, and the endurance and the stamina thatʼs required from every person involved.the human element is key, from the mechanics who work on the cars to the guys who drive them. And then thereʼs the cars themselves; itʼs a real test of mechanical reliability and longevity, sustained over an arduous 24-hour period.ʼ Indeed, and the track itself is punishing on the cars, and over the years itʼs brought some unusual outcomes to the finish.
And Porsche, of course, has been the most successful marque in the eventʼs history. Le Mans Classic is scarcely any less arduous for historic racing cars, and Paul spotted an angle for organisers Peter Auto to mark their showcase eventʼs tenth anniversary by sanctioning the construction of the ten identical 911s.
ʻI realised theyʼd never collaborated with a car producer or marque specialist,ʼ said Paul, ʻso we put a detailed proposal to them, based on drawings, renderings and
photoshop illustrations of how the cars would look, with graphics focused on their house style. There were a few things that they wanted to change – they came over from Paris and spent the day here with us. Gregory, who is responsible for their marketing, and Pierre-antoine, whoʼs one of their race organisers, spent a day looking at one of our PS Clubsports, going through the workshop, taking in the whole concept, and then went away and said theyʼd like to take it all a bit further.ʼ
The featured car is actually the prototype, so itʼs PS chassis 00, and the ten actual Le Mans Classic Clubsports will be appropriately numbered. There are two versions of the car, the M471 Lightweight and the M472, which is a Touring – like the prototype – with a fitted luggage area and all the panels suitably trimmed, with glass heated rear window, sound proofing and underseal – in all, a proper touring car. The Lightweight will come with Lexan side and rear windows, and no underseal. Comparative dry weights for PS Touring and Lightweight cars are 1070kg and 970kg.
The ten cars will only be configured as coupés, with long bonnets and de-seamed roofs – thatʼs to say, no rain gutters – and the front lid in aluminium. The livery is Carrera white metallic with painted green and black stripes, incorporating Le Mans Classic logos on the doors and engine lid. The front bumper and ducktail are composite.
The shellʼs sleeker look is achieved partly by removing those rain gutters – the production car will have a 964 bonded windscreen, by the way – but thereʼs also no sunroof, while adjustable racing door mirrors add to the sleek look. ʻThe sunroofʼs gone,ʼ Paul reminds us; ʻbut we donʼt simply use a delete panel: we fit a whole roof skin. Itʼs a much tidier job. And if you look at the panel gaps theyʼre much tighter than they are in the original 3.2 Carrera.
ʻI deliberately wanted to keep it as a narrow shell,ʼ he says. ʻOur ethos here is “less is more”, so you reduce weight. That goes back to my Caterham racing days: how do you make something go fast? You get as much weight out as you can to start with. The temptation is, once youʼve removed extraneous weight, you fit bigger brakes, fit bigger wheels and tyres, all of which only puts the weight back on and that, ultimately, makes them slower. I struggle with those cars because itʼs style over function. We tend to go the other way and bring function into what we do, so everything has a purpose.
ʻThe original 3.2 Carrera runs on 6J and 7J wheels, but weʼve increased that to 7s and 8s, meaning we had to roll the arches, but that allowed us to run an inch wider all the way around. We run the standard discs since weʼve reduced the original weight by over 200kg – we donʼt need bigger brakes; itʼs all about steering feel, and by lightening it you enhance that, too.ʼ
Itʼs within the cabin that the car is probably at its most unique: the green and white houndstooth chequered seat fabric is specially woven for the ten cars, and ties in exactly with the designated colour scheme. Likewise, the seat beltsʼ green webbing is specially made to match the colour ways. There are other neat touches, too: ʻThe little door pockets are just for fun, for a phone or your sunglasses to sit in, but thereʼs masses of storage in the Touring,ʼ Paul claims.
ʻInterior wise weʼve got two variants – as this is a Touring, it has tilting seats for accessing the rear of the cabin.ʼ PS have replaced all the door panels, the door tops, the inner sill covers, too: ʻWeʼve remanufactured all of these panels, partly because theyʼre lighter, but also to get a consistent quality thatʼs not apparent in the original car.
ʻAll the kick boards have been swapped, as well as the centre tunnel and rear parcel shelf. Thereʼs a little luggage box in the back seat well, and your bags sit on the top of that, so youʼve got acres of space.ʼ
The Lightweight version will be a slightly different matter. It will come with Lexan side and rear windows, and nothing in the back of the cabin, apart from a lightweight carpet, and
“I DELIBERATELY WANTED TO KEEP IT AS A NARROW SHELL…”
none of the trappings of the Touring model. ʻThat all constitutes weight,ʼ Paul observes, ʻso the Lightweight will have manual windows, no central locking, no underseal, and thinner sound proofing. Itʼll lose the glove-box lid and will only have one sun visor. We calculated what we needed to dispense with when we were building the car in order to lose 100kg, and just kept taking bits out until we got there.ʼ
The front ducts are important keynotes on a 1970s car and they are PSʼS own composite design, supplying air to the oil cooler and the brakes, while the central grille serves the air conditioning on Touring models. The headlights are LED units, incorporating DOT/ECE LED projectors and 10w LED amber indicators. It has one-piece orange lenses in the front and one-piece red lenses at the rear.
The split grilles in the ducktail engine lid are from a later 993 C2S. And although the ducktail looks at first glance as if itʼs from a 2.7 RS, actually its profile is quite different, with the edge contours of the upswept tail squared off. The jacking points and the oil lines are exposed on the Lightweight version, but will be hidden behind sill covers on the Touring models. As mentioned, the wheel arches are rolled neatly to accommodate the satin black 16in-diameter Fifteen 52 wheels and Yokohama Advan tyres. Adhesion levels are just as much down to the tyres fitted, though in the case of classic 911s itʼs not that straightforward.
ʻWeʼve got enough grip in the car with the tyres we use,ʼ says Paul. ʻNot a lot of manufacturers make tyres for this size of rim, so weʼve been running Yokohama Advans (Neova AD08R, 205/50 front and 225/50 rear), and I have to say theyʼre really good. Iʼve run them for years on different cars, and I know they might be a left-field choice, but they do grip very well.ʼ
Its donor 3.2 Carrera engine is taken out to 3.4-litres by means of new Mahle barrels and pistons; it has the same crank, though that is lightened, as well as the same lightened and balanced conrods, and camshafts re-ground similar to
“3.2 CARRERA ENGINE IS TAKEN OUT TO 3.4LITRES…”
“DIALS HAVE GREEN FACES, MATCHING THE GREEN STRIPING”
Below, left to right: Attention to detail is exemplary throughout. Even the gearknob reflects the earlier design used on cars with the 915 transmission. Gauges have been completely refurbished, with green dials and discreet logos. Tacho is rotated to put red line at the top. Each car comes with its own six-piece set of ‘his and her’ luggage, which includes holdalls, briefcases and clutch bags RSR spec. Much of the build was carried out by Mark Durden and Graham King, stalwarts amongst PSʼS band of devoted technicians. Peak power is actually delivered at 7000rpm, and, says Paul proudly, ʻit goes right round to 8000rpm.ʼ It certainly has an appetite for the revs, then.
ʻI wanted the engine to have the feel of the original MFIequipped units – capturing the character of the classic motorsport engines,ʼ he explains. ʻYou know how they build and build – they donʼt stop. On the other hand the 3.2 Carrera provides a spread of power, and itʼs designed to do a good job all the way through the rev range, but it does nothing spectacularly well; it lacks soul, though theyʼre reliable. They donʼt rev, and were restricted by the induction system because it had to be relatively emissions-friendly whereas, of course, our PS Le Mans Classic 911 doesnʼt have to be – although it is miles more economical than the 3.2 Carrera.ʼ
Momo steering wheels normally come with a yellow marker at the top of the rim, but in this case the wheel is retrimmed with black leather and a green marker, matching the colour of the gauges and belts. The green stitching surrounds the instrument binnacle, but extends no further. ʻWe didnʼt just blast the car with green stitching, so weʼve got black stitching everywhere else; the thing is to make a feature of the things that need featuring.ʼ The dials have green faces, matching the green striping, the rev counter red-lined at 8500rpm, with 7000 at the top of the dial. ʻThe idea of having the 7000rpm mark up there is thatʼs where your peak power is, right in front of you.ʼ Thereʼs just one little Le Mans Classic logo on the rev counter, and a 24-hour clock.
The carpet is green bouclé, like 356 carpeting, and the gear-knob has been made to resemble a period item, displaying a G50 pattern, a nod to the 915 period. ʻThe whole combination is fantastic, and the art of it is to make everything look like it should be there, not like itʼs a random inclusion. And youʼve got to look very carefully to notice all those different aspects.ʼ Nothingʼs left to chance: part of the package includes six pieces of matching luggage, his and hers, designed to fit neatly into the various nooks and niches
within the car, or tied in along the rear shelf. You get two briefcases, a couple of clutch bags for passport and documents, and a pair of weekend holdalls.
The Touring Clubsport is essentially a road car, though, but given its Le Mans credentials, it would also make a nice trackday machine, as Paul observes: ʻYou could take it to the circuit and whizz round with it (which, hopefully, its buyers will be doing at La Sarthe in 2020), because it runs KW Variant 3 dampers, which are fully adjustable. It still uses standard torsion bars but, of course, as weʼve reduced the weight that automatically stiffens things up.ʼ The Brembo four-pot aluminium calipers are painted Le Mans green with the PS logo. The whole car ʼs presentation is subtle as well as being purposeful in its stance and deportment.
The undulating sinuous south Suffolk backroads provide an arena to put the car through its paces. The seats are quite figure-hugging, and a tight squeeze even for a slim driver. When roused, the tiger really comes alive: the grip levels are impressive as I swing the car this way and that through the esses.
It clings on with no body roll, while in long, fast corners Iʼm constantly correcting, taking lock off, putting it back on, and to keep it hanging on round the corners you need to keep the revs up, preferably above 3000rpm. It is spontaneous in that respect. Paul again: ʻWhen we started out, the whole point of it was power delivery. I wanted it to feel like a Porsche motorsport-type engine.ʼ Itʼll do 0–60mph in 4.5sec, with a top speed of 170mph. Mulsanne here we come, then!
This is quite clearly a drive-it-like-you-mean-it car, rather than an emasculated modern motor, and as such it is totally involving. On the back lanes near Paul Stephens Iʼm feeling every nuance of the road surface through the steering wheel. Itʼs providing very direct feedback and, revs-wise, the 3.4 flatsix really responds, heading very quickly all the way to 8000rpm, accompanied by that exultant six-pot song.
Peter Auto are delighted with the result. ʻWe unveiled it at Apsleyʼs in Pall Mall,ʼ Paul recounts, ʻand itʼs been down to Le Mans where it was launched at the Classic. Peter Auto are really pleased with the whole specification.ʼ But itʼs not the concept of a modified 3.2 Carrera that youʼre buying into, itʼs the whole ethos of the Le Mans Classic phenomenon. Prices are £250K for the Lightweight and £260K for the Touring, with a build time of approximately 2000 hours.
As we hinted at earlier in the story, there is a bonus: as part of the ownership of this car you have the option of taking delivery on the start-line at the 2020 Le Mans Classic. And, if youʼre up for it, doing the trad Le Mans sprint start followed by a lap of the full circuit in your new car. Not many handovers offer quite such a glamorous first drive. CP