The Porsche 912 has the classic 911 body, but it lacks the signature Porsche flat-six cylinder engine. Instead the 912 used a smaller, four cylinder in order to keep the price down. Many people have forgotten about this car, but this owner decided to transform his into one of the best 912’s on the road.
Thanks to the team at Petrolicious we get to meet John, his workshop and his beloved 912 that has become a part of him.
“That car isn’t just me, it’s all the people I’ve interacted with to get to this place,” says John Benton. “I bought this car at 23 years old, I didn’t have all the answers…My car is the result of all those little journeys, here and there…”
John now has his own shop that caters to classic Porsches, but it’s really about how he got to this point—a journey happened in his beloved 912.
“I’ve heard people say that my car is me. You know, when they see it, when they drive in it, they’re like, ‘Man this car’s you, it’s so obvious’,” he says. “That wasn’t my intent, but it’s neat to hear from people—even strangers—you know, ‘you built this car, it’s so obvious’,” he says.
His car had been found, driven, taken apart, repaired, restored, and loved over his many years of ownership, and the 912 really was his companion. “It was my daily driver…and weekend race car…” with modifications to suit both. Now, its heart is a “Very high-revving, twin-spark 1.7-litre, fuel injected 616 motor…” but to list off specs would do a disservice to Benton’s passion for these machines.
“Everything I know put into a car…” he says.
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