One to Buy: 1 of 1 ex-Peter Grant / Rowan Atkinson 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort
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Among the most famous UK-domiciled Porsches during the 1980s was Peter Grant’s black 911 Turbo registered BAD 1. As manager of rock bands Led Zeppelin and Bad Company, Grant was able to indulge his passion for the high life and, in addiiton to the 930 (delivered in 1980), he also owned a Bentley Speed Six, Jaguar D-type and Ferrari Dino 246 GTS.
In 1988, Peter Grant took delivery of another Porsche: this uniquely configured 959 Komfort (chassis ‘171’) which is currently residing at The Octane Collection showroom in Horsham, West Sussex.
The special order filed by Peter Grant for chassis ‘171’ comprised rarely seen Wine Red Metallic paint with an elegant two-tone cockpit where Champagne hide was combined with contrasting Burgundy for the upper dash, steering wheel, door caps, grab handles, headliner and front seat piping. Instead of the tri-pattern seats normally found in the 959, Grant requested installation of the optional Sports seats from the standard 911 / 930 range.
While Peter Grant retained the aforementioned 911 Turbo until his untimely death in 1995, the 959 was reputedly sold on at the height of the late 1980s collector car boom for £500,000. A subsequent owner was renowned actor, comedian and car enthusiast, Rowan Atkinson, who kept chassis ‘171’ until the early 2000s.
According to The Octane Collection: “The current owner has cherished the car for 25 years, with a substantial collection of supporting invoices providing a detailed record of its exceptional maintenance history.
From new, chassis 171 has been cared for exclusively by Porsche Centre Reading, giving it an unbroken Official Porsche Centre service record with one of the marque’s most experienced UK facilities. Supported by a substantial collection of invoices, this remarkable continuity is especially significant for a car as technically complex as the 959 and adds considerable confidence to its already distinguished provenance.”
“Further strengthening the history file is an exceptional collection of original accompanying equipment. This includes the colour-matched factory leather tool roll with its model-specific hand tools, spare spark plugs and drive belts, together with the original jack, electric tyre compressor and warning triangle. Also present is the particularly rare colour-matched Porsche 959 engineering manual, a fascinating period record of the extraordinary technology beneath the car and an important finishing detail for such a carefully preserved example.
Now showing 34,865 miles, chassis 171 combines individual specification and notable provenance with the reassurance of longstanding ownership and extensive supporting paperwork.”
