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911 & PORSCHE WORLD
THE PEOPLE AND THE COMPANIES THAT KEEP OUR PORSCHES ON THE ROAD
come into the country, ready for distribution to
teams in time for the new race season.
The facts are beginning to add up. It seems
there’s a lot about Parr to support those claims.
But for now, back to starters:
‘My father, Ray, worked for a Jaguar main
dealer before he set up his own business, and
I was brought up to believe that Jaguar was
king. But I developed a passion for Porsches – I
thought they had the most amazing engineering,’
says Paul Robe.
Working for his father, Paul’s passions were
stifled by the need to concentrate on the big
cats from Coventry rather than the lighter and
more nimble cars from Stuttgart. (He does,
however, admit to having spent a lot of his spare
time reading through Porsche workshop
manuals.) When he was given the task of
developing a second garage, Paul had more
freedom – and his acquisition of a 1972 911E
further fired his enthusiasm for the marque.
Parr came into being in 1984, when Ray Robe’s
original partnership split up, and soon afterwards
Porsches joined the Jaguars in the workshop.
Paul’s wife, Madeleine, joined as a partner and,
with Ray’s retirement in 1998, the business
became solely Porsche – and the company
moved into its present 12,000sq ft premises
two years ago.
The set-up at Crawley is impressive. Take
a glance at the high-tech equipment and
squeaky-clean floor, with late-model 911s in
various stages of undress at almost every point
of the compass: a development GT3, a Cayman
on the chassis dynamometer and, in one corner,
a rare Porsche 962. The race pictures on the
walls and the massive transporter filling one side
of the workshop underline the strong motor
sport presence. More facts to consider.
The black 962 is a road-going Koenig C62, the
last of five made by the German tuner and never
completed. The Parr men have now spent three
years finishing the job for the owner – including
rewiring, interior trim and instrumentation, and
also designing the hydraulic lifting engine cover.
Unlike other C62s, this car has a full 750bhp
Group C-specification power plant – and before
long some lucky person will be faced with the
task of taking it down to the local Ministry of
Transport testing station!
The Cayman is part of Parr’s plan to increase
the availability of tuning parts for modern
Porsches. The company has entered into a
technical partnership with German upgrade
specialist Cargraphic, whereby it will not only
market the company’s products in the UK, but
also assist in their development – such as the
performance exhaust system for the mid-engine
coupé currently on test.
‘We want to build up the tuning business –
and Cargraphic is an important part of this,’
says Robe. ‘We’re excited about the products,
and what we’ve seen so far works well. We’ve
proved it.
‘The Porsche is a fantastic sports car, but it is
a compromise and there are things that can be
done to make a brilliant car even better. People’s
attitudes towards modifying Porsches are
becoming more positive – we’re moving a lot
more towards the German and American
Last Koenig C62will soon be road
legal, completewith 700bhp
version of the Group C engine!
GT3RS test bed. Centre
exhaust for road and trackdays
is currently under development.
Brembo brakes and JZR shock
absorbers are also fitted
Cargraphic exhaust systemfor the
Cayman is rolling-road tested. Parr
will assist in development of the
German tuner’s products
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