This event mustered a superb line-up of older classic Porsches covering the whole range from 356 models, through to early 911s, 912s and 914s, to include some of the most coveted and collectable, not to mention quite a number of famous cars too, especially from the world of motor sport.

Now firmly established at Castle Hedingham, Classics at The Castle enticed enthusiasts from all over the UK as well as the Continent, plus many of the major players specialising in the sales, service,  restoration and parts supply for the older models.

Among the competition cars was the Martini Racing Porsche 908/3 that was entered in the 1975 World Sports Car Championships driven by Muller, Van Lennep and Kinnunen. Several years later in 1977 it was the winner of the German Interserie Championship for Kremer Racing and driven by Klaus Ludwig. Endurance racing was also represented by the 1968 Daytona 24 hour winning Porsche 907 Longtail, driven by Vic Elford. The colourful Hawaiian Tropic Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 935 Turbo was driven by Paul Newman at Le Mans in 1979 who finished in   2nd place overall. It was also placed 1st overall at Daytona in  1981 when driven by Redman/Rahal.
 
Other competition cars included the 1966 Porsche 906 hillclimb car, so successfully campaigned by Manfred Pade and Sepp Greger, along with a 1968 909 Bergspyder.  In 1968 Gerhard Mitter had won seven of the eight rounds of the European Hillclimb Championship in his works Porsche 910/8. At the penultimate round held on the Gaisberg, the factory appeared with a brand new car specifically designed for hillclimbing. The 909 Bergspyder took the hillclimbing concept to a new level. The car weighed 384kg,  and was powered by a 1981cc engine rated at 275bhp, the future had arrived!

Other cars of huge interest included a 1957 Porsche 550A RS Spyder restored by Porsche GB apprentices, the Sir Stirling Moss 1960 Porsche RS61 Spyder, recently restored by specialists Maxted-Page & Prill. The car was originally delivered to the USA in January 1961 to Bob Holbert, Porsche’s Pennsylvania based race car distributor. The car promptly took a class win at Daytona and came 5th in the Sebring 12 hours driven by Holbert and Roger Penske. 

Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay’s  ex-works Rally Team/ONS Car, a 1971 914/6 GT was entered in the 1971 Monte Carlo Rallye and driven by Swede  Ove Andersson. Also on display was the ex-Jim Clark 1957 Porsche 356A,  and a 1958 Porsche 356A formerly owned by F1 star John Watson who purchased the car in 1989.

Another of the day’s major attractions was the 1939 Porsche Type 64/Volkswagen Type 60 K10 displayed by the Prototyp Museum of Hamburg. In the autumn of 1938 the ruling German National Socialist Party announced plans for a high-speed road race from Berlin to Rome, to be held late in 1939. Various manufacturers made plans to enter, including BMW, Auto Union, Lancia and Volkswagen, with racing versions of their current production models. Volkswagen commissioned the Porsche Design Studio to build three cars based on the chassis of the prototype Volkswagen  VW38 Beetle.

Due to the outbreak of WW2 the race was cancelled. One car  was damaged during the early part of the war, but two survived in storage.  In 1947 Porsche renewed a Berlin-Rome car by using various components from the three cars. The Prototyp Museum acquired the remains of car N02 and over a 10 year period rebuilt it.

The cabin was so small that the driver’s seat was virtually in the centre of the car, and the passenger seat had to be installed offset and behind it. Powered by a 985cc four-cylinder engine, tuned to 32hp by using bigger valves, dual carburettors, a higher compression ratio and a lightweight build throughout (545kg) the car has a top speed of 110mph! A great day for avid enthusiasts of early classic Porsches!