This British idea of a Porsche 911 restomod costs £250,000

In Porsche’s seventieth year, there’s no let-up in the wanton thirst for more interpretations of the 911. Cars that marry the latest materials and uprated engines with the diminutive pocket-sized bodies and lo-fi on-board tech from 911s of yore.

Here’s your latest contender in the sub-Singer ‘Expensive Porsche 911 That’s Tastefully Updated’ pool. Meet the Paul Stephens Le Mans Classic Clubsport.

Paul Stephens has been dealing in 911s for a quarter of a century, and first offered a lighter, revised Clubsport model in 2007. This version, as the name suggests, will be displayed at the 2018 Le Mans Classic event in July, aiming to rack up the orders from the racing devotees who make the pilgrimage down to la Sarthe every other year to ogle beautiful, loud, priceless racers from days gone by.

The cars will be handed over to their owners at the next Le Mans Classic in 2020, when they’ll get to take their new toy on a parade lap of the Le Mans circuit. Base entry price is £250,000. So, what are they getting for their quarter-mil, besides a slow-paced track day?

A ground-up rebuild of an achingly desirable sports car, basically. Powering along a restored bodyshell with a new de-sunroofed, um, roof and composite bumpers is a 300bhp, 3.4-litre flat-six. Conrods, crankshaft and flywheel are all of the lightweight, racy-before-refined variety, and help the aptly named 975kg Lightweight version from 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds.

We like the sound of the Lightweight – it’s a bit no-nonsense, you see. We’re talking thinner carpets, no soundproofing, manually windable front windows and fixed plastic rear panes. The seats no longer tilt, and the glovebox is in a bin at Paul Stephens’ workshop. Along with the passenger’s sunvisor.

There’s also a more luxuriously appointed 1,075kg Touring version, which still ought to be good for 175mph. Plenty fast enough for a sports car, we think you’ll agree, and with such small dimensions, skinny tyres and the classic Getrag G50 gearbox on board, more smiles (and less puckering) per mile than a GT2 RS. If you’re a sub-Stig human driver, perhaps.

Where does this little beauty sit in your classic 911 wish-list?