Peter Simpson
911 Carrera 3.2 Targa
Sport
Year: 1989
Mileage:
105,957
Current Mods:
Had new carpets fitted by Newton Commercial
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One of the inescapable benefits of being consultant editor of this magazine, writes Chris Horton – as opposed to editor, which position I held until late 2005 – is that you get to spend your working day with real-life Porsches, rather than merely the words other people have written about them. Sometimes – as you’ll see elsewhere in this issue – that can mean borrowing something like a first-generation 911 GT3 and driving it to our test-track for a major photo shoot. Tough, huh? You will be delighted to learn, however, that on other occasions the lot of a freelance hack can be a more prosaic one. Take the day last July when I had to crawl out of bed at five in the morning and drive to the far end of Suffolk. There I would watch – and photograph – 911&PW studio manager Peter Simpson’s Carrera 3.2 Targa being fitted with a set of new carpets by John White at specialist vehicle trim manufacturer Newton Commercial in Leiston. Hold the front page, I thought to myself. Or, rather, don’t hold the front page… In truth, though, the trip was in its own way no less fascinating and rewarding an experience than driving that GT3. We all love to see an expert at work, quickly and confidently turning the proverbial sow’s ear back into the no less legendary silk purse. And whatever may always have been this Carrera’s many underlying qualities, there was no denying that the cabin was, well, a mess; in dire need of more than just a bit of TLC. Sow’s ear? It was arguably more like something said creature had lived in. There’s no denying, either, that John White is an expert; a man with an intuitive feel for automotive fabrics of all types. He’d had a head start, certainly, spending the few days since Pete had left the car there stripping out the original carpets and trim, and using them as templates to make new sections. (He had refurbished the seats, too, as we shall see in a subsequent story.) But within a few hours of my arrival the previously bare interior of the Porsche again offered the kind of environment you would expect of a high-quality sports car. Who wouldn’t be encouraged and inspired by that kind of transformation? I certainly was, later looking at my own 944’s threadbare seats and carpets with renewed enthusiasm. It’s great news for other 3.2 owners, too. As a direct result of the experience gained from Pete’s car, Newton Commercial is to begin making carpet sets that will by definition fit not just this popular model but also (perhaps with certain minor modifications) many of its predecessors. And you won’t have to trek to Leiston to have them fitted. Such is the relatively simple nature of all these earlier 911s’ interiors that even this writer would agree that it’s a surprisingly easy task to rip out the old and glue in the new. See for yourself in the accompanying pics! check out www.newtoncommercial.co.uk |
