A Matter Of Taste

It's all in the detail. Andy Boyle's tasteful take on an outlaw 356C coupé brings together the best of ideas to create a classic Porsche that would have done the factory engineers proud.

- Keith Seume

Specialist Porsche forums on the internet are awash with tales of projects, some that get off to a great start and then fizzle out after just a few postings, while others last for months – or years – going into immense detail about every single aspect of the rebuild. Many cover relatively straightforward restorations, others detail how a car was highly modified, transformed into a race replica or outrageous hot-rod.

Of the many cars that are featured, there are some which instantly grab your attention, not necessarily because they are totally over the top, but because it's clear the owner knows when to stop – knows the difference between good taste and bad. Knows what makes an old Porsche into something special without going to extremes. Andy Boyle's tastefully – and skilfully – modified 356C is an excellent example of this.

He's now retired, but in the past Andy's worked as a research chemist for pharmaceutical giant Unilever (coincidentally, based in offices across the road from AFN in Isleworth, the original Porsche importers in the UK) and then, via a variety of other avenues, he ended up in mid- Wales running his own classic car business, building Jaguar C- and D-Type replicas before moving on to restorations. Later still, he retrained as a Design Technology teacher and now lives in retirement in the Midlands.

Andy's automotive interests are possibly best described as many and varied, for his current stable includes an early Series 1 Lotus Seven, a race-prepped Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce and a project 1947 MG TC. From that list you can tell that a love of classics runs through his veins, but it's fair to say that Porsche is the marque which carries the most appeal.