Good News! You Could Own James May’s Porsche 911

If you’re going to buy a used car, it’s always good to consider the seller. Ideally, you want to buy from someone known for a fastidious eye for detail, a good understanding of how cars work, and a gentle touch as a driver. Basically, if at all possible, you want to buy a used car from James May.

And right now, there’s Good News! Because you can. The ex-Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenter is selling his 2010 Porsche 911 Carrera S, with the car now live on auction platform Collecting Cars.

May is the car’s one and only owner, having ordered it new 15 years ago in an unsurprisingly tasteful spec: Carrara White paint with Ocean Blue leather, a manual gearbox and equipment including cruise control, a rear wiper and Porsche Active Suspension Management.

As a facelifted 997 S model, it benefits from the more powerful version of Porsche’s 3.8-litre naturally aspirated flat-six, developing 380bhp and 310lb ft for 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds and a 186mph top speed, which you can be fairly certain this car’s never been anywhere near.

May has used the car sparingly over the last 15 years – probably something to do with spending lots of time travelling the world filming the two most influential car TV programmes of all time – and as such, it’s covered just 31,294 miles according to the odometer. During that time, it’s been garaged when not in use and serviced by a mixture of Porsche main dealers and independent brand specialists. And, lest you forget, it’s been owned by James May, so it’s probably been cleaned at any possible opportunity – and yes, his infamous tiny cleaning brush is apparently included in the sale.

Given the combination of this car’s condition, the growing appetite for this era of 911, and its considerable ownership provenance, we can’t imagine it’s going to go cheap. As we write this, bidding’s already up to £37,250, and that’s with over six days still to go on the auction. How high will it go? We’ll have found out by this time next week.