2005 Porsche 911 (997)

The vendor bought the car in May 2022 from Syntner of Esher, having first commissioned an independent Porsche inspection from a consultancy.

Their investigations revealed equal carbon deposits on the tail pipes, which is not the case when bore scoring is present.

They also checked the cam deviation data for evidence of any issues with the IMS bearing and found nothing to worry about.

On the basis of their very detailed and comprehensive 25-page report and its recommendations, Syntner fitted new discs, pads and tyres to the car prior to the vendor’s purchase.

The vendor tells us that the car has been faultless during his ownership and is a very abstemious consumer of oil.

We have driven the car and can attest to the fact that it is as well-built, solid and rattle-free as we have come to expect of Zuffenhausen’s finest.

It starts, goes and stops like the pedigree sports car it is.

It is also feels notably planted, nimble and well-balanced, a happy state of affairs for which thanks are no doubt due to Chris Franklin of Center Gravity, who are highly respected fettlers and optimisers of Porsche suspension geometry and to whom the vendor entrusted this car soon after buying it.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are excellent and the doors close with satisfying amounts of Teutonic weight and precision.

You will look in vain for any dinks, dents or creases of consequence on this car’s very straight bodywork.

You will be similarly frustrated if your objective is to find significant fault with the silver paintwork.

This is at least in part because the vendor has had the front bumper and bonnet resprayed, and blended in properly with the adjoining wings.

Even entirely standard road-rash around the front valance and the nose of the car is in unusually short supply.

The vendor has also replaced the car’s PPF stone protectors.

The ‘lobster’ alloy wheels are in very good condition, save for one tiny spot of flaking, and they look to be unacquainted with kerbs or other roadside obstacles.

The matching Pirelli P-Zeros tyres have plenty of life left in them.

We noticed a couple of light scratches and a small stone chip on the o/s/r wing, and some scuffs, paint chips and what looks like signs of a previous touch-up on the lowest louvre of the engine cover.

There are one or two stone chips and scuffs on the wing mirror housings, a scuff on the rear bumper and what looks like some sort of sticky residue (no doubt easily removable) on the offside headlamp cowling.

All trim, badging and exterior fixtures and fittings appear to be in commendable order.

The interior is every bit as good as the rest of it.

Which is to say, very good.

The black leather seats are in excellent order, front and back, and have yet to earn a crease worthy of the name, let alone any ingrained patina.

The carpets and new OEM mats are beyond reproach, as are the door cards and the headlining.

This car has the desirable extended leather (door tops and dash top) and these are also in very fine fettle.

The leather cover on the handbrake handle has a few light marks here and there.

The vendor tells us that, as far as he’s aware, all knobs, buttons, switches, dials and toggles do what they’re supposed to do.

More than that, they are very clean and devoid of any of the unpleasant stickiness that can sometimes afflict soft-touch plastics on cars of this vintage.

This is because the vendor sent them off to a firm of specialists to be professionally de-stickified.

The vendor has fitted a Bluetooth module to enable hands-free calling from the steering wheel and facilitate iPhone/Android compatibility through a digital link into the MOST bus.

The frunk is clean, pristine and looks as if it’s never seen so much as a bag of shopping.

The undersides seem to be well preserved and everything we can see appears to have plenty of structural integrity.

We’ve spotted nothing whatsoever to prompt a tut or raise an eyebrow – and we didn’t expect to.

As ever with a 911, there’s really not much to reward anyone who peers into the engine bay. All the important stuff is hidden from view.

What we can see, however, looks fine, and it’s a reassuringly clean and tidy place.

The customer has also had an oil analysis report carried out on the vehicle which show no signs of bore scoring. The results are in the Gallery.

The car comes with a fully stamped-up service book, featuring main dealers and specialists such as Northway and Max500, who carried out the last routine service a few weeks ago, a new starter motor was also fitted.

While in the vendor’s ownership the car has new coil packs and plugs, and new idler pulleys.

There are bills, invoices and receipts covering all other work carried out.

It comes with two sets of keys (one of which has a cracked plastic key fob), a clear HPI report, all of its original handbooks and manuals, and an MoT certificate - with no advisories – that’s valid until January 2025.

As ever with a prestige performance car, the sage advice is to go for one where predictable potential pitfalls have been swerved as vigorously as possible, and approaching trouble looks to have been headed off at the pass.

That certainly seems to be the case with this one, which has evidently had the long-term good fortune to be cared-for and curated by diligent owners, the last of whom, by his own admission, is verging on the obsessive in his attention to detail and pursuit of perfection.

He even sourced an original Porsche umbrella for the passenger footwell.

By any measure, this car is in very good condition – both for its age and its mileage, which currently stands at 71,894 – and is a strong example of a particularly capable and impressive model.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £20,000 - £25,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.