Both carry huge positives in their favour, though the overriding factor for many is that, with a specialist, their smaller size in terms of personnel means you’re more likely to regularly speak with or come across the business proprietor, giving rise to greater accountability and therefore trust between you, the Porsche 911 owner, and those tasked with looking after your pride and joy. Those well
heeled with the independent specialist side of the industry will know these businesses often personify the views, beliefs and passions of its owner. It’s important, then, for the business owner to be well-grounded in the Porsche world – any charlatans purely in it to make a quick buck are soon found out. Fanaticism and pedigree are two key ingredients here, as is immediately evident upon meeting Phil Hindley, Managing Director at Tech 9 Motorsport. Located near Liverpool’s John Lennon airport in Hale, Tech 9’s premises is quiet and unassuming from the outside. However, step inside and you’ll find a thriving business with an enthusiastic workforce attending to a variety of projects concerning Porsche’s finest cars. When not on the phone to clients and partners front of house, Phil can be found right here in the workshop, putting to good use an impressive mechanical mindset and fastidious knowledge surrounding the 911 that’s evident as soon as you meet him. This is the fruit of over two decades of hard work and dedication to the brand, with Phil opening Tech 9 Motorsport in 1993. Phil’s first love was clearly motor racing, as testified by the many framed pictures adorning the walls of his reception area at the rear of the workshop. Racing is where the business started, Tech 9 preparing a series of successful race cars in the Porsche Cup in the early 1990s before the move into GT racing in 1997, culminating in campaigning a 993 GT2 in British GT at the turn of the century. Phil’s competitive Porsche endeavours have also seen him net second in the 2002 Carrera Cup (in a 2001MY car, no less), culminating in a venture into the newly-formed FIA European GT Championship in 2006, (winning the Championship) Tech 9 represented through a trio of 997 GT3 Cup cars. Phil’s racing ventures today come in the form of a short wheelbase FIA Appendix K 911 used for historic meets, which he is keen to show me around on arrival. There’s far more to Tech 9’s armoury than solely motorsport prep and competition, however. Aside from being the UK’s only official TechArt dealer, Tech 9 are clearly adept at the restoration, servicing and maintenance of road-based 911s, too. Given Phil’s deep-rooted understanding of the 911’s mechanics and evolution here over the years, this is hardly a surprise. In terms of restoration, Tech 9 have an abundance of experience across the entire breadth of the air-cooled generation, from early long hoods right up to an original right-hand-drive 993 GT2. Newly-restored cars on site on the day of our visit include a 930 3.0 and 2.7 MFI Targa, both of which are in super-rare right-hand-drive spec. Phil is rightly proud of the restoration process at Tech 9, explaining how it works: “We can cater for anything according to a client’s brief from a sympathetic resto to a full-on concours-spec rebuild,” he says. “We enjoy a worldwide network of suppliers of New Old Stock and remanufactured classic Porsche parts, so any resto we do can be executed down to the smallest detail.” Perhaps more impressive though is the amount of restoration work that Tech 9 can do on site. Aside from full engine and gearbox rebuilds, there’s powdercoating, zinc plating, chromating, and media blasting services all housed under the one roof, ensuring a consistency to any work undertaken in Hale. The Tech 9 website is a great resource for their on-line parts business that continues to expand, partnerships with Dansk for exhausts and bodypanels, Ohlins suspension and their expanding stock of rare and hard to find Classic parts. Their comprehensive inventory, covers all aspects of Porsche restoration to ensure the finer details are covered
Every restoration at Tech 9 is fully documented too, with monthly updates, digital pictures and even a detailed book supplied to the client to illustrate work undertaken. Porsche Certificates of Authenticity provide a neat finishing touch for the car’s new file, and early cars even get a copy of the factory Kardex document. As for servicing and maintenance, Tech 9 are again well equipped to cater for a wide range of 911s coming through the door, as Phil explains: “Our staff are main dealer trained and use the latest diagnostic software where appropriate. We also operate with fixed menu servicing for peace of mind and, obviously, use genuine Porsche parts and Mobil One lubricants.” Tech 9 are no strangers to maintenance of earlier air-cooled cars, with a flat six engine rig the jewel in the crown of a dedicated room for those aforementioned engine and gearbox rebuilds. Of course if you’d rather not wait for your car to be restored then customers can take a look at Tech 9’s stock list of cars for sale for a ready-made Porsche investment. We do occasionally sell SOR and are sourced from around the globe, with worldwide shipment available for international customers. As you can see, then, Phil’s knowledge and enthusiasm has garnered lots of exciting projects throughout his business, which operates very much as a multi-faceted Porsche specialist today. Fanaticism and pedigree? This is the very definition of Tech 9 Motorsport.
