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An Unemployed James May Is Selling His 1984 Porsche 911 At Auction

When a scandal involving Top Gear‘s Jeremy Clarkson led to the cancellation of the British motoring program, through no fault of their own, co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond found themselves out of a job.

Granted, they were offered the opportunity to continue the show, but that’s another discussion.

Of course, considering the success of the BBC series, we wouldn’t exactly figure that any of the three former hosts were the least bit “cash-strapped.” And yet nonetheless, May and Hammond together sold off a dozen motorcycles some 5 weeks ago, and as the UK’s Mirror reports, the former is still fixing to rid his collection of a very nice 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera at auction.

James May bought the aforementioned 1984 Porsche 911 in Guards Red back in 2007, after he developed an affection for it during shooting. But for the past four years, the car has been in his father’s possession, as he’d “never owned a proper sports car,” said James May. “Recently he decided that he was getting on a bit to be seen in a retro stockbroker’s car, and my mother hated it.”

The 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera represents one of the last years of the very long-lived first-generation car – a generation which started back in 1963, and sustained until it was replaced by the Type-964, in 1989. More importantly, says May, “as a piece of social history, since it’s Guards Red and has the sports pack, it stands as a monument to everything 1980s Britain was about.

“It’s the 911 that Denis Thatcher would have driven, if he’d had one.” We can’t speak for the late husband of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but we’d certainly drive it.

James May’s Guards Red 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera will be sold by Bonhams’ classic and vintage car sales department at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Aaron Birch is an automotive enthusiast and writer/filmmaker from Detroit, MI. As a rule, he only buys cars older than himself.

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