Porsche legend comes to city

Magnus Walker will be sending petrol-heads into overdrive when he appears at the Porsche Centre on Stafford Road in Wolverhampton on Sunday.

The dreadlocked legend of the Porsche scene has dozens of the cars locked away in his garage in Los Angeles, where his multi-million pounds business empire is based. Owners bring their treasured Porsches to the Sheffield-born self-taught mechanic to be restored and customised.

His garage contains a fleet of 911s, including one model from every year between 1964 and 1973. There is a handful of others, in various stages of repair. Across the street is the "chop shop", where Walker keeps old 911 shells to plunder for parts. "It's a hobby," he says, "that got out of control."

Walker's signature vehicle is his 1971 911T, emblazoned with the number 277. He has owned around 40 Porsches.

He made a half-hour documentary about his 911 obsession in 2012. The trailer for Urban Outlaw was picked up by the Top Gear website and attracted 50,000 YouTube views on its first day online. The film premiered at the Raindance Festival and has now been watched, in full, more than half a million times.

The exposure earnt Walker coverage from as far afield as Japan and New Zealand. Before long, he was making an appearance on Jay Leno's Garage, the American comic's car-themed online series.

He will be at the Wolverhampton dealership from 2pm where he will be meeting fans and signing copies of his new book Urban Outlaw.

Simon Priest, Dealer Principal at Porsche Centre Wolverhampton, said: “We’re delighted to have Magnus Walker visiting the retail centre this weekend and encourage our customers to come down for the book signing and meet with a fellow Porsche enthusiast.”

Magnus, now aged 47, first became obsessed with motors in 1977 when he was ten years old and has now amassed a huge personal collection of the cars, worth between £30,000 up to £100,000 each - although he rarely sells any of his own.

Magnus Walker bought his first Porsche 911 in 1992, when he was 25, for $12,000 – a little over £7,000. The car itself was almost 20 years old, so Walker put in a bigger motor, added rims and, all told, spent another $30k on modifications. Ten years later, he sold it again – for $12,000.

He said: "I first got into them when I visited an Earl's Court motor show. I travelled there with my dad, and as we reached the Porsche stand, I laid eyes on a 911 painted in martini red and blue stripes."

He later added: "I knew right then the Porsche 911 was my dream car."

By the time he was 25 he owned his first 911 model which was a 1974.

He also personalised the cars he collected as "hot rod streetable racecars."

He added: "Being a Porsche guy is about loyalty and the journey."

He is now one of the world's most prominent collectors.

Classic Porsches from 911’s to 912’s with that added Magnus Walker signature fill his garage and he also runs a clothing line.

Magnus has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and more than 200,000 on Facebook.