It’s time to look forward to 2013 and share some of the things I’m working on. There’s an awful lot happening but here’s one topic that will interest the classic 911 R-Gruppe hot rod fans.

Alongside the impending relaunch of Ferdinand Magazine on iPad, we’ve got a ton of Porsche features from our recent trip to Northern California: latest in the long line of US feature trips Jamie Lipman and I have done together since 2008. One of the cars shot in Norcal was this one, owned by Craig Hardy:  a 1970 911T done to perfection as an R Gruppe daily driver.

“Done to perfection” of course means not perfect. Perfect cars are stress, and this is quite the opposite. Craig came to this car in a roundabout way: chopping and changing through a variety of deals and then being in the right place at the right time with up to date market instincts and his buyer’s hat welded on.

The good work Craig has done since finding this car has turned it from a garage obstruction to a groovy 911 that gets used everyday. If you want to understand R Gruppe, then this is the car to look at: simple, affordable and driven all the time. If you’re not clocking seat time, you’re just not Gruppin’ it.

The full story is coming to a magazine somewhere soon – I’ll let you know! These are just my iPhone shots: Jamie’s pics are epic.

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