Thornley Kelham European RS

One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive

-  RICHARD MEADEN

WHAT DID YOU DO DURING THE COVID W lockdowns? While most of us were sorting through long-lost boxes of photographs or binge-watching Tiger King, retired architect Hal Walter used the enforced downtime to produce an exhaustively detailed 36-page document that would become the blueprint for building his perfect Porsche 911.

In his youth Walter dreamed of becoming a car designer, but opportunities in his native Australia were all but non-existent, and he lacked the courage to follow his dream to the other side of the world. Channelling his energies into architecture, he enjoyed a career in which he rose to the top of his profession, but cars had always remained a passion. Post-retirement his creativity inevitably needed an outlet, and so began the process that would ultimately lead to this: the European RS.

Dividing his time evenly between his homeland of Australia and a second home in the French Alps, when not hiking in the mountains Walter spends his northern-hemisphere summers behind the wheel of his beloved 997 GT3 RS 4.0. Well attuned to the greatest of all water-cooled RSS, Walter's dream was to replicate that car's scintillating performance and intense delivery in an early air-cooled 911 with the lightweight qualities of a 2.7 RS and the muscular look of a 2.8 RSR.

Approaching the process with the same meticulous detail he would an architectural project, Walter obsessed over every area of the car, right down to the gear ratios. Then, instead of handing his plan to a Porsche specialist, he engaged the services of world-class multimarque restoration company Thornley Kelham. It proved to be an inspired decision.

Before meeting Walter - who arrives in a fabulous Aston Martin DB4 - I'm given a quick tour of the premises by company co-founder Simon Thornley. The facilities are impressive, but it's the diversity of cars that's most intriguing.