“I heard these complaints sometimes,” Glenn says. “If you have very big Porsche dealerships, it’s sometimes difficult to get the right person at the right moment. But here you can come in and ask, is Philippe there, is Glenn there? And if we’re on the company, we will definitely make time for a chat or for a question.”<\/p>\n
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From a Small Shop in 1993 to a Workshop That’s Already Too Small<\/h2>\n
Philippe Van Beurden was 18 when he opened his first shop in 1993. He ran it on his own until 2006, when Glenn came aboard, and from there the thing started to build momentum \u2014 more mechanics, more cars, more work coming through the door.<\/p>\n
Six or seven years in, the workshop simply ran out of room. So in 2015 they built the current premises from the ground up: a purpose-designed facility with a showroom spread over two floors, six ramps, a dedicated prep and cleaning bay, and a separate department just for engine and gearbox work.<\/p>\n
Ten years on, Glenn’s assessment of all that space is short and cheerful: “Already it’s getting too small now. So that’s good.”<\/p>\n
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Old Cars and New Cars, Under One Roof<\/h2>\n
Plenty of specialists pick a lane. Air-cooled only. Modern only. Van Beurden deliberately didn’t.<\/p>\n
“I think that’s the biggest difference between us and some other shops in Belgium and maybe the Netherlands,” Glenn says. “That we cover the complete old and new scene.”<\/p>\n
That means a 964 on one ramp and a current-generation car on the next, servicing and repair work alongside full classic restorations, engine rebuilds, gearbox rebuilds and one-off special projects. They buy and sell too \u2014 young used cars and classics both \u2014 with around thirty vehicles in the showroom at any one time. More recently they’ve branched into detailing and coatings, and set up a separate venture running events, rallies and driving trips abroad with their customers.<\/p>\n
Between them, Philippe and Glenn have over 40 years of hands-on experience, and it shows up in ways that are hard to put on an invoice. If Philippe’s heading out for lunch, Glenn will hand him a set of keys.<\/p>\n
“Just try it. Try it on the highway, try it on B roads, drive it everywhere. And most of the time he comes back and he says, yeah, I’ve heard slightly something here. And then we sit together a couple of minutes and we can go further from there.”<\/p>\n
“It Should Last Again for 35 Years”<\/h2>\n
The engine department is where Van Beurden’s reputation really lives, and Glenn still builds them himself.<\/p>\n
His standard is simple enough to state and hard to hit. “If you build an engine, if you make an engine, it should last again for 35 years. That’s the goal.”<\/p>\n
Air-cooled Porsche engines don’t make that easy. “They have a lot of moving parts and it can quickly go wrong,” Glenn says. “So it’s an experience we’ve built for more than 20 years.”<\/p>\n
Just as important is what happens after the engine’s back in the car. Not every owner is technical, and Glenn sees explaining the work as part of the job rather than an extra. “It’s our job to explain it, so the client knows how an engine is working.”<\/p>\n
The 3.9-Litre: A Proper Engine Without the Motorsport Bill<\/h3>\n
One of the workshop’s own developments is a 3.9-litre package, and the thinking behind it is refreshingly honest.<\/p>\n
Build a full four-litre and you need the long-stroke crankshaft from the 4.0 GT3, which drags in a brand new motorsport crank and special connecting rods \u2014 and suddenly the customer is looking at \u20ac70,000 to \u20ac80,000 for an engine.<\/p>\n
“So then we were thinking, maybe we need to offer something in between,” Glenn explains. “Something that also gives nice horsepower, good drivability, but is just affordable.”<\/p>\n
The answer was a 3.9 running a standard crankshaft, developed as a complete package rather than a parts list \u2014 cylinder heads, camshafts and throttle bodies all specified to work together.<\/p>\n
The result is a car that behaves. “You can do grocery store shopping with it. You can take the kids from school. But you also can do track days, and you also can just go to Germany.” They’re selling more and more of them.<\/p>\n
A 2.5-Litre MFI, Brought Up to Date<\/h3>\n
A second car in the workshop shows the other end of their approach. It’s an MFI engine and still is \u2014 but now running an electronic MFI pump, so the team has full control over fuelling and emissions.<\/p>\n
Bigger cylinders take it out to 2.5 litres, with slightly larger throttle bodies. All of it done subtly, but the difference is instant. “If you know how a normal 2.4 is driving, you feel the difference immediately. It likes to go high in the revs, and it’s a very nice sound.”<\/p>\n
The whole car was treated as one package \u2014 transmission with a limited-slip differential, suspension, brakes, the lot. Its owner now takes it on rallies across Europe, where the most common question is what on earth is in the back of it.<\/p>\n
Where Design911 Comes In<\/h2>\n
Building engines like these means chasing parts that most suppliers have never heard of, and Glenn is unusually warm about how that side of the business works.<\/p>\n
“The guys there on the phone, it’s really so easy to work with,” he says, singling out Zico by name. “It feels almost like friends. Almost like family. We’re joking a lot on the phone.”<\/p>\n
The value shows up most when something unexpected lands on the bench. “Sometimes when we struggle with something, when we have a special need, it’s so easy to make a WhatsApp, take the phone, quickly go through the things we’re struggling with \u2014 and then they’re so willing to find a solution together with us.”<\/p>\n
For Glenn, that’s the whole point. “A problem is never a problem if there is a solution. You must function like a complete team.”<\/p>\n
He’s equally direct about the catalogue behind it. “You’re offering such a wide range of parts. Special parts, maintenance parts, tuning parts, exhausts. It’s amazing how much coverage is on the website.”<\/p>\n
Whether the job is a restoration to original spec, a backdate, a resto-mod or a straightforward service, the conversation always starts the same way \u2014 sitting down with the customer to work out what they actually want and what it needs to cost. “Not only in his dreams, but also in his budget. That’s a very important step you need to take.”<\/p>\n
As Glenn puts it: “I’m looking forward to working with these guys for the next years.”<\/p>\n
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Visit Garage Van Beurden:<\/strong> Everdongenlaan 9, unit 23, 2300 Turnhout, Belgium \u2014 garagevanbeurden.be<\/a><\/p>\n Run a workshop of your own?<\/strong> Design911 supplies independent Porsche specialists across the UK and Europe from distribution centres in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands \u2014 service parts, performance and tuning, exhausts and hard-to-find components for every model from the 356 to the Taycan. Browse the full range at Design911.com<\/a> and speak to someone who knows the cars.<\/p>\n