Who is Paul Stephens ?...
Paul has had a passion for cars since he learnt to drive on the family farm at the age of 6. His father was a true petrol head owning many sports cars including Austin Healy, Jaguar E type, Aston Martin and of course Porsche. Although coming from a farming background, Paul knew from an early age that driving sports cars was far more exciting than mucking out pigs, so a career involving cars seemed a far more logical decision.
He entered the motor trade in 1982 as a qualified technician before progressing into sales in 1985. Restoring British sports cars in his spare time was a passion, including MGs, TRs and even building two Dutton kit cars! One of which, he won class C of the kit car championship in 1984.
PS Retro Series 300 R
His first 911
In 1987, with misty eyes, Paul purchased his first Porsche 911, a 2.4 E for a mere £3,750. In his words ‘it was the worst car I have ever owned with everything that could be wrong with a Porsche all rolled into one package'. The answer; rebuild the car! This was to be a corner stone of the business Paul runs today. Seven years later he took that passion one step further and opened his business 'Paul Stephens Specialist Cars'
From the launch of his business in 1994, Paul Stephens dealt with unusual cars, today he specialises in Porsche 911's and his knowledge is extensive.
The Porsche Festival in September 2005 at Brands Hatch saw the launch of the Paul Stephens vision, `PS Autoart`. This is a bespoke range of classic and retro 911s that give a modern driving experience with the timeless appearance of the 1970s cars.
Racing Days
Pauls father was a championship winning Autocross racer in the late 60s/ 70s with a twin cam Escort and successful circuit racer in the mid 70s with a Lotus 7 and a Cooper Formula 3. Growing up watching dad race only lasted until he was nine when he was entered in his first junior Autocross in a mini 850. Success soon followed and by the time he was fifteen Paul had won two junior autocross and one autotest championship.
Studying and work commitments meant apart from a kit car championship in which he was class champion in 1984, Paul didn't race again for several years.
An active involvement in motor sport was rekindled in the mid nineties with Caterhams, Porsche and the Marcos LM 500/600s in British GTs. Many podium finishes and an outright Porsche Championship win, have allowed Paul and his team to develop an understanding of how to build and prepare a car that drives as well as it looks. This has been supported by several excellent reviews which can be seen in the press reviews section. His satisfied customers spreading