Tired of 911 restomods? Try this Porsche 356 instead | Henry Catchpole - The Driver's Seat

Henry Catchpole visits a company called Thornley Kelham, which is hidden away in some grey buildings on a nondescript industrial estate in the Cotswolds. From the outside it is unimpressive, but like a cardboard jewelry box used to store incredible diamonds, what’s behind the doors is stunning. As well as a wide variety of immaculate restorations, encompassing brands from Bugatti to Lancia, its team of 30 has also created a handful of intriguing restomods. The European Collection is made up of the GT, the RS and the SL. The GT is a Jaguar XK120 that has been subtly redesigned by Paul Howse (who has also designed the McLaren P1, amongst other things). It’s given the iconic XK more muscle, rather in the same vein as what Eagle has done with the E-Type. Meanwhile the RS is a 911 with double wishbones at the front, an air-cooled 993 engine out the back and modern GT3 RS levels of response and alertness. But it is the little, lightweight SL that is the focus for this film. Based on a Porsche 356 A but with a full aluminium body like an early Gmünd-built car, it is a tribute to Porsche’s first Le Mans car, which won its class in 1951. That’s not to say it’s some stripped-out trackday toy, because this is a 356 that feels like it could be used every day, whatever the weather and whatever the roads. With 180bhp from the air-cooled, flat-four engine and a divine dog-leg five-speed ‘box it is fabulous to drive. There are multiple details that might be missed at first glance or indeed never seen at all unless you watched the build process, but we uncover as many as possible in this film. From the beautiful 908 inspired pedals to the clever interior door handles, this is a really thoughtfully designed and expertly executed project. It is a collaboration between Pim van de Riet (who is a life-long 356 fan) and Thornley Kelham, with design input from Gary Ragle. We hope you enjoy this latest episode on Hagerty’s YouTube channel. Given the choice, would you have a 356 or a 911 of some description? Let us know in the comments down below. If you would like to show your support for the channel then liking and subscribing really does help. And don’t forget that if you are in need of an insurance quote for that special car, then just click this link… www.hagerty.com/Henry Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications! http://bit.ly/HagertyYouTube Visit our website for an insurance quote, to join Hagerty Drivers Club, and for daily automotive news, cars stories, reviews, and opinion: https://www.hagerty.com