So beloved is the concept of the ‘reimagined’ Porsche 911 that the whole thing now borders on religious fervour, the reveals never-ending.
You know the recipe: botoxed arches, polished velocity stacks, boudoir-eque cabins. Most of these very fancy creations are based on the 964, which has always been the most obvious sacrifical lamb in the family tree. Are we now reaching a stage where, even though Porsche built some 34,000 Carrera coupes of this vintage, unmolested examples might actually become among the rarest sports cars of all time?
Of course they won’t, but it’s pretty easy to get cynical about restomod 911s, isn’t it? There is a definite template here, one oft-repeated, and the projects are generally eye-wateringly expensive.
Yet, when you see it done well – ‘it’ being the process of modernising and enhancing both the looks (although, confusingly, this bit may also entail retrostyling) and dynamics of an older 911 without altering the fundamental feel of the thing – the result can be just a little magical. Familiar but somehow fresh and often achingly pretty, there’s something jewel-like about the best Porsche 911 restomods.
Which brings us to Theon Design. Oxfordshire’s answer to Singer? Perhaps. This Deddington-based tie-up between Adam Hawley (styling, engineering) and Lucinda Argy (business) was founded in 2016 by Hawley, whose background as an OEM designer spans from working on the visionary BMW Project i concepts to cars for Lotus and cabins for Airbus. He brings not only the impetus for this project but the CAD expertise required to produce and assemble complex components, not to mention a totally disarming level of enthusiasm and an appropriate level of obsession with all things classic Porsche.