No visit to Techno Classica would be complete without a trip to the official Porsche Classic Essen stand. Slightly over-corporate since they left hall 3 and moved to the Volkswagen group plaza, this year was given a burst of energy by the presence of Magnus Walker signing autographs on the stand.

Porsche cliques are wasting their time being sniffy about Magnus. He doesn’t care what haters have to say, nor should he. There was no shortage of people lined up to grab a few words or an autograph with the Urban Outlaw, and Magnus was very polite to all of them. That’s how the man was raised, and how he treats everyone: not just the train of celebs lining up to see him in LA.

Porsche Classic parts prices have gone up again this year, so maybe Magnus was there to soften the price tags of body panels and other parts on sale. There’s some very nice merchandise coming on line – sweet kids bits and pieces included – which to me shows clear Volkswagen marketing influence. The presence of a hidden diesel spout on the Porsche Classic fuel tanks was another big VW signpost (ouch).

I asked one of the guys where the glitzy Porsche merchandise truck had gone to – not seen that at Essen for a while. “It was in a big crash: we’re building a brand new one for Le Mans,” he said. Not too surprising. A solid Slate Grey 991 Turbo Cabriolet with special wishes red leather from the Exclusive department was no great surprise either. Not sure what residuals will be like on that one.