Imagine if you could combine the characteristics of the greatest 911s to create your perfect Porsche. That was Hal Walter’s vision and – two years and 6,000 hours later – the European RS is the result. His labour of love will now form the basis for a series of 25 restomods, to be built by the Cotswolds-based firm Thornley Kelham. And those ‘greatest’ 911s? Hal wanted the nuance and feedback of a Carrera 2.7 RS, the raw excitement of a 2.8 RSR, and the performance and poise of a 997 GT3 RS 4.0. Talk about setting a high bar…
Perhaps less familiar in Porsche circles, Thornley Kelham is well known in the champagne-fuelled world of international concours events, having won trophies at the likes of Pebble Beach and Salon Privé. Established by Simon Thornley and Wayne Kelham in 2008, the company specialises in meticulous restorations of rarefied classic cars. When I arrive, the eye candy in the workshop includes a Lamborghini Miura, a vintage Rolls-Royce Phantom and a custombodied Bugatti.
Thornley leads me upstairs to his office, its shelves overspilling with motoring books and magazines. “2019 was our best-ever year as a concours restoration business,” he explains. “Then Covid hit and everything stopped, not least because most of our customers were overseas. Luckily, we received a phone call from Hal, followed by a very detailed briefing document. It led us, eventually, to the European RS.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 248 من Total 911.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 248 من Total 911.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Spotted
Total 911 assesses the rare and unusual Neunelfers currently for sale from around the world
Living the Legend
Our contributing enthusiasts from around the world share their real-life experiences with their Porsche 911s
ORANGE Crush
Total 91] gets up close and personal with an iconically liveried 934 that has raced at Le Mans, Nurburgring, Daytona and Sebring
SLIDING ROOF TARGAS
For the 993, Porsche changed the Targa to an innovative sliding-roof design, which would stay for the following 996 and 997 generations. More practical than the ‘roll bar’ design, here’s everything you need to know
Ben&Cheryl Dimson
In part two of our in-depth conversation, Ben and Chery] discuss their careers at Porsche throughout the 80s and 90s with Total 911
White Lightening
The 996 GT3 RS is brilliant out of the box, but Porsche always intended for customers to make some changes…
Euro Vision
The Thornley Kelham European RS results from one man’s obsessive quest to create the perfect Porsche 9]. We get behind the wheel
997 Rennsports
Both the Gen1 3.6 and Gen2 3.8 are superlative examples of the 911 Rennsport genre, but which is best?
Spotted
Total 911 assesses the rare and unusual Neunelfers currently for sale from around the world
Theon Design reveals restomod Targa
The Porsche specialist has debuted its first 911 Targa, which combines a carbon-fibre chassis with a 403bhp 4.0-litre flat six