3.6 964 Carrera 4 - Purple Passion

The incredible story of how this Amethyst 964, originally bought to turn a quick profit, instead became an endearing part of Richard Colvill’s family

I didn’t mean for it to end up this way,“ starts owner Richard Colvill. “The idea was just to tidy it up a bit, really.” Similar stories of affliction have been well aired down the years as a plethora of driving enthusiasts continues to enlist in the irrevocable lure of a 911. Richard’s story is a classic, but with an epic twist for good measure. Certainly, having started out looking for a Porsche 911 as an appropriate base for a quick money making project, the outcome for himself and his 964 is rather different to what was originally intended.

3.6 964 Carrera 4 - Purple Passion

Richard has owned his fair share of performance cars, the two immediate predecessors to this model being an Audi R8 and Aston Martin Vantage V8. “I owned the R8 as my daily driver. I had some spare cash, but was saving for a deposit for a house. The idea of buying a Porsche 911 that needed some work caught my imagination. The plan was to take something a little neglected, tidy it up and sell it on for a profit, providing more funds for the house purchase,” he says. As you’ve probably gathered, that’s not quite what happened.

3.6 964 Carrera 4 - Purple Passion’s interior

Richard began scanning the classified ads before deciding on his model type: “I decided on the 964 because it’s my idea of a classic 911 silhouette and is more affordable than the later 993. Porsche 964 prices haven’t yet gone ballistic like 993s.” Patience was a virtue for Richard, who spent a considerable amount of time waiting for the perfect project base to appear. Weeks turned into months, and still nothing presented itself. “I found lots of average cars in grey and Guards red, plus lots of Tiptronics and Targas. But if I was going to resell the car quickly it had to be something else,” he says.

The impeccably finished Amethyst bodywork is matched by an immaculate engine housing, with a color-coded fan to match the interior

A London-based Amethyst model eventually grabbed his attention. The Coupe was an interesting color and priced attractively, with the owner describing it as being in ‘less than perfect’ condition. However, initial enthusiasm was tempered after making contact with the seller. Richard is used to making quick decisions, but the owner here didn’t share such gusto: “I said I was interested in buying the car, but he almost tried to talk me out of it, saying it wasn’t very nice, would need some work and that he was thinking about running it for a few more months.” A swift plan of action was put in place, and Richard grabbed a mate and together they jumped into his R8 and hit the M1 South from Leeds, accompanied by a large envelope of cash.

It looked just as described, as the creative director recalls: “It had been living outside on the street, so parking had inflicted its share of scuffs and marks to the alloys and bumpers. Additionally, the owner covered it with a heavy duty plastic sheet, which had trapped condensation and rubbed away at the paintwork whenever the wind blew. To cap it all, he was a heavy smoker, so the leather interior and carpets were burned and a large nicotine stain was on the right-hand side of the steering wheel. It even had cigarette burns on parts of the bodywork.”

Funds changed hands and Richard headed north, having never driven a Porsche 964 before. “My initial reaction was how small it was compared to my Audi. I looked over my shoulder and felt like I could almost reach out and touch the rear bumper. The R8 in my mirrors looked huge in comparison. The further north I drove, the bigger the smile became. It didn’t feel like a 20-year-old car.”

The custom cross brace makes for a classy addition to the structure of the Carrera 4…

Even so, the plan was still to sell it. The 964 was duly put into the paint shop with all defects tended to, while the original interior was appropriately revived and a new set of alloy wheels added. “I was amazed that beneath the grime, the Silk grey interior had stood up very well. The burns needed to be sorted out, but essentially it was all intact,” says the chuffed owner of the 911s revival. At this point the 964 was being used almost daily, as the R8 spent more and more time off the road. Richard continues, “So then you start to work out that actually, the Audi is worth quite a bit, so that would solve the house thing. To cap it all, the family fell for the Porsche and started making comments about keeping it. I started thinking about other stuff that might enhance it, and I saw some shots of another car with dramatically lowered springs.” Richard’s day job as a graphic design expert and image retoucher began to kick in, and he started coming up with more and more ideas: “I wanted a look that came together in one, with colors linking various aspects of the car. The gold detailing seemed to go well with Amethyst. By then, the bodywork was looking far, far better, but then we had painted pretty much everything apart from the roof!”

A new choice of wheel, tire and suspension was made quickly, with two sets of alloys: one gold anodized for summer and a set of BBS split rims for winter. But it’s the finer details that are apparent when you look closer; all of the original manufacturers’ labeling inside the door shuts and under the engine cover have been replaced with gold finished replicas created by Richard himself. The gold theme is carried over into the seat belts, custom made (along with various other bits) by Strasse in Leeds, with a specially extended left- hand rear belt to accommodate a child booster seat. Take a look inside the immaculate BBS splits and you’ll see colored brake calipers with a difference. “They’re color-keyed to the interior,” explains Richard. “We used a sample of the leather to ensure a great color match.”

While the condition of the once shabby-looking interior is now on par with factory standard

While other details include carbon door pulls, Telequipment under bonnet bracing, a deleted rear wash wipe and RS intakes in the front bumper, the most striking aspect is that stance. Those BBS split rims are 8x18 inches at the front, with 9.5x18-inch rears running a similarly low offset. That ‘stretched’ look to the rear comes from fitting 215/40x18 tires. Richard achieved the ride height by ordering a set of H&R coilovers from Germany, lowering the car by almost 100mm. “That sounds dramatic, but that’s what I was aiming for... the ride is far better than I expected,” he says, and we can only agree. Moving the car the short distance around the bumpy Leeds backstreets for the pictures, I’m surprised that what looks like an impossibly low ride height feels okay, and there’s little doubt that it’s a striking car. It’s a freezing cold winter’s day, yet the number of people who stopped to take a look and chat was remarkable. “Wow, what a color, is it new?”

As it is now, Richard wouldn't consider selling the 964

 “Actually, it’s 20-years old.”

“You’ve got to be joking”, is frequently heard.

Richard expands on the point: “The most remarkable thing about this car is the way people come across and strike up a conversation with you. I enjoyed owning my Aston and my Audi, but once you’ve sold them they’re pretty forgettable. I can’t see myself ever selling this.

“Last summer we went to a few shows, took a picnic and had a great time, went on some great drives and made some new friends. I’d never have done that had I not bought this car.” Indeed, I first saw this car in the autumn of 2012. Attending the excellent Yorkshire Big Breakfast hosted by Specialist Cars of Malton, it was a dull, grey and impossibly overcast Sunday morning. Among the parked cars, the Amethyst 964 stood gleaming, so clean that I was looking around for the covered transporter. Only there wasn’t one. And that’s perhaps the most remarkable thing: this is Richard’s daily driver. He commutes to the office through the Leeds traffic, shoots off to client meetings and generally uses it like any other car.

The road stance and various styling touches might ruffle a few feathers among purists, but the finer details aren’t important; what everyone can relate to is the incredible bond between car and owner. Richard agrees: “The family have forbidden me to sell it, it takes three times as long to fuel up because it’s always nice to chat to people, and I’ve even had people come into the office reception asking who the owner of the purple Porsche is. I’ve never owned a car that has had this effect.”

Current 964 prices

The last 911 to still display the authentic styling cues of the original shape, with an upright screen, quirky dashboard and distinctive upright headlamp style, only now is the true worth of the 964 as a 911 great being realized. As recently as a year ago, you could obtain a good 964 for under $22,500, but today values are on the up. To buy a good 964 Carrera 2 or 4 values are headed towards $30,000, with RS and Anniversary models soaring further ahead. See our Data File for more details.