Tag Archives: Classic Porsche 911 insurance

Ex Top Gear Presenter Auctions Porsche 911 Carrera

If you have any interest in cars, you will be aware that James May, as well as Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, are no longer involved in the presentation of the popular TV series Top Gear. In fact, the trio are just about to front a number of live motor shows in Perth and Sidney in Australia starting on 19th July 2015 in Perth Arena.

Whilst on Top Gear, James May (52) was given the nickname “Captain Slow” as he was felt to be a careful driver. Having said that, he did drive a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport at 259.11 mph back in 2010 during an episode of Top Gear. He has owned numerous cars and motorbikes over the years including a Rolls Royce Phantom, Bentley T2, Ferrari F430, Alfa Romeo 164 and a Porsche 911 Carrera.classic Porsche 911

Interestingly, the 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe with a 3.2 litre engine owned by James has just been sold by Bonhams at The Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale, Collector’s Motor Cars and Automobilia auction on 26th June 2015. Its target price had been estimated at £28,000 to £34,000 but it actually sold for £51,750 with that figure including the premium.

James bought the classic sports car that was in excellent condition back in 2007 having borrowed it to record the sound of the engine for a TV documentary entitled
“Speed, Greed and the M25”. The car has also appeared in other TV shows. It has only done 55,000 miles and for the last 4 years has been used by his father.

This particular Porsche Carrera is a nippy, great looking sports car that is not easy to find in such condition. With a 231 bhp engine, it can get from 0 to 60 mph in a mere 5.3 seconds, break through 100 mph in 13.6 seconds on its way to an exhilarating top speed of 152 mph. Perhaps not the ideal car for the leisurely motorist!

Included with the vehicle were things like a service booklet, Haynes workshop manual, service history, old MOTs, tax discs and V5’s as well as the most recent Vehicle Registration Certificate in James’ name.James May's sell Porsche 911

Perhaps the fact that he owned the car had some bearing on the fact that it sold for considerably more than its target price. Anyway, its new owner will hopefully cherish and take good care of it as James had obviously done.

The Astonishing Rise In Value Of A Classic Porsche 911

Those of you that are classic sports car enthusiasts will be aware that many such vehicles have risen significantly in value in recent years. In fact, they have proved to be one of the most financially beneficial things to invest in – certainly better than bank and building society savings accounts although you may say that is not difficult to achieve with interest rates so low.

Well, you may be interested to read that some research was recently carried out to mark the 100th car that was renovated on the Wheeler Dealers program on Discovery Channel. That program was shown on 6th October 2014.Classic Porsche Insurance

The research looked at the price that classic cars were going for way back in 2004 and compared them with the price that you could expect to achieve in 2014 – a gap of 10 years. The survey focused on the percentage increase of 20 classic cars.

If you have been the proud owner of a classic Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 for at least the last 10 years that is now in good condition then we hope that you are sitting comfortably! Apparently, back in 2004, such a classic vehicle was going for around £65,000 on the open market. It is estimated that this iconic sports car is now worth in the region of £500,000 – an increase of a staggering 669% and quite a bit more than you would have got in a Cash ISA!

We thought that you might like to look at the list of the top 10 classic car investments in percentage increase terms for the period from 2004 to 2014: –

1. Porsche 911 RS Carrera 2.7 – 669% – £65,000 (2004) to £500,000 (2014)
2. Aston Martin DB5 – 500% – £75,000 (2004) to £450,000 (2014)
3. Aston Martin DB6 – 478% – £45,000 (2004) to £250,000 (2014)
4. AC Cobra – 333% – £150,000 (2004) to £650,000 (2014)
5. Aston Martin V8 – 295% – £19,000 (2004) to £75,000 (2014)
6. Land Rover Series I – 233% – £6,000 (2004) to £20,000 (2014)
7. Jaguar E Type – 171% – £35,000 (2004) to £95,000 (2014)
8. Lotus Elan Convertible – 142% – £18,000 (2004) to £43,500 (2014)
9. Ferrari Testarossa – 140% – £25,000 (2004) to £60,000 (2014)
10. Chevrolet Corvette – 132% – £28,000 (2004) to £65,000 (2014)

You will note that the Aston Martin DB5 and DB6 featured in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. We bet that brings a smile to a few Porsche owners’ faces!

AIB Insurance specialise insuring high performance and exotic cars including Porsche 911’s. For a free quotation tailored around your needs call the team on 02380 268351.