RACE RESULT

This 911S once pounded America's road courses. Now it begins a new life as a road-legal homage to Porsche's racing all-rounder, the 911 ST

- Keith Seume

OK, I'll just get it warmed up. Richard Williams, one half of Cornwall-based Porsche specialist Williams Crawford, grabs the keys but, rather than slipping into the driver's seat of the off-white 911, simply reaches in to put the key in the ignition. Next step is to move to the back of the car, open the engine lid, turn the enrichment knob on the mechanical fuel pump a few clicks and push a remote starter button. 'Well, it was a race car, he grins, as the flat-six coughs into life, first on four then five and with a last spit - six cylinders. 'OK, all yours. Have fun!'

Uncompromising is a word that instantly springs to mind with a car like this: it's a 1973 Porsche 911S that spent a sizeable portion of its life on the racetracks of mid-America, chasing down Corvettes and Camaros in the hands of the previous two owners. Up until just a few years ago it was a typical American club racer, complete with Sunoco-Porsche-inspired dark blue bodywork and glassfibre panels galore. But now it's a fully road-legal and UK-registered hot-rod that draws attention wherever it goes, and not only because it retains its rev-happy short-stroke race engine - it also looks a million dollars following a year-long transformation at the hands of Williams Crawford. But let's go back to the beginning...

Chassis number 9113301089 rolled off the Stuttgart assembly line in April 1973, beginning its life as a 911S 2.4, itself a highly desirable model just one step down from the legendary Carrera RS 2.7.

With 190bhp and 159lb ft of torque on tap (the RS produced 210bhp and 188lb ft respectively), the 2.4S was no slouch in its day. Indeed, on the open road many people would be hard-pressed to detect a massive difference in performance between the S and the RS. Of course, the latter has more power and torque but, in real terms, the 2.4S is just as much fun, yet it can be bought for much less than half the money in today's market.