{"id":7398,"date":"2024-01-31T15:35:14","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T15:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.design911.co.uk\/blog\/?p=7398"},"modified":"2025-06-18T09:46:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T08:46:44","slug":"a-unique-journey-into-porsche-perfection-colin-belton-ninemeister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.design911.co.uk\/blog\/a-unique-journey-into-porsche-perfection-colin-belton-ninemeister\/","title":{"rendered":"A Unique Journey Into Porsche Perfection: Colin Belton, Ninemeister"},"content":{"rendered":"

While we\u2019re confident other car marques attract as many purists and straight-up engineering fans as Porsche, at Design911 we don\u2019t think anything has the tractor-beam pull of the classic 911. Fellow Porsche devotee Colin agrees. So, we went for a chat.<\/em><\/p>\n

The first thing Colin says, which in his words is \u201ca bit shocking\u201d, is that \u201cI\u2019m not a Porsche technician\u201d and \u201cI\u2019ve never worked in another Porsche garage\u201d. Not the ideal way to kick off an interview about the beauty of Porsche engineering, or the normal I\u2019ve-been-a-Porsche-fan-man-and-boy, but on we go.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

However, he\u2019s quick to clarify that remark. As a design engineer, he\u2019s always been \u201cobsessed with learning about mechanisms \u2013 taking things apart and putting them back together\u201d. Colin\u2019s uniquely qualified to give a new perspective on the 911: not as a fanboy, or mechanic, but as a designer.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Colin<\/p>\n

\u2018Dagenham Dave.\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

So, if you\u2019re not a dyed-in-the-wool devotee, from where did the passion for Porsche arrive, Colin? As is the case with most men who love fast cards, it\u2019s a mate called Dave.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sold his RS200 and bought a Porsche Turbo. We thought he was insane\u201d. However, madness is often contagious, and Colin spent the money he made selling his house back in 88\/89 on a Porsche 911 SC. \u201cI look at what\u2019s possible \u2013 always investigating, looking for better design and better process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 911 was always the definitive fast car \u2013 irresistible from an ownership and from an engineering perspective.\u201d From there, things are a little more conventional (for Porsche owners, anyway) as they took their cars on track days.<\/p>\n

What Colin did next\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The natural progression was to create a racecar, and that needs a workshop. So, having rented a unit, the logic goes, you may as well open the doors and that\u2019s how, Colin finishes reasonably, a racing-tuned Porsche 911 Turdo helped launch his business career.<\/p>\n

Colin\u2019s first commercial outing was as 930 Sports Porsche. Sounds like a solid, thought-through business proposition. And it was, right? \u2018Complete naivety. Launched in the middle of winter. All we had was a cantilever tool box, a trolley jack, four axle stands and a socket set.\u201d From a less than auspicious start, things soon revved up, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn opportunity came up for me to split the business away from my partners. I called my new venture 930 Motorsport and that\u2019s where the \u20189M\u2019 came from\u201d. A few years \u2013 and many more tools \u2013 and we arrive at the latest incarnation: Ninemeister<\/a>. Twenty-five years on and it\u2019s a thriving business employing around 20 people.<\/p>\n

Because every Porshe that is delivered under the Ninemeister flag carries his name, Colin has always been uneasy about outsourcing to third parties. \u201cI struggled watching a car drive out the door \u2013 every single one I was nervous about. I kept thinking \u2018is it as perfect as it can be?\u2019 and \u2018will it come back to us?\u2019<\/p>\n

In-Haus engineering.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The obvious solution was to do everything in-house, so that\u2019s what they did, and do. Bodywork repairs, vehicle restoration and engine rebuilds for every Porsche, both classics and contemporary, naturally aspirated and water-cooled. Colin\u2019s USP is that his engineering skills help get the maximum from every car that passes through his company. More than that, they now build their own cars. From scratch.<\/p>\n

Colin\u2019s company offers a range of cars, called 9Ms.<\/a> All are built to the customers\u2019 own specs, and the result is a triumph of Colin\u2019s reimagining so much as the technical rebuilding.<\/p>\n

\"Ninemeister Walk around the Ninemeister with Pete (service\/parts consultant manager at Ninemeister) and Anthony Malone (Head of Sales Strategies at Design911.<\/p>\n

Example? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 9M65 GT2 Colin describes is their interpretation of the 965 Turbo \u2013 \u201cthe car Porsche would have built if they hadn\u2019t brought out the 993 GT2\u201d. The philosophy is \u2013 and has always been \u2013 to use only the best components in their pursuit of Porsche perfection. On a practical level, he describes this as \u201craiding the Porsche parts bin\u201d before considering an alternative. Evey build, he explains, \u201cneeds a lot of parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

With any Porsche, thanks to the network of supply and demand in original and OEM components, there are many opportunities to upgrade components from core 911 to the next evolution are many, and Colin takes all of them. Cars are built in his mind before anything else happens. It\u2019s a unique process.<\/p>\n

“We use the best components that are possibly available for the cars”, one example being where the guys opted for this slip differential by Wavetrac<\/a> (which we do stock of course).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mind map over matter.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Colin and Ninemeister spend hours talking to each prospective customer about what he or she want to achieve in terms of performance and spec. Colin\u2019s engineering background enables him to create a 3D \u2018mind map\u2019 which is then translated into a list of 500 plus parts. As he says, \u201cmy first tool is a spreadsheet\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s important to us that our supplier can receive that list, understand it, and return it to us with a competitive quote. Having a good supplier like Design911 is key for us. They understand what we\u2019ll accept and what we won\u2019t. I\u2019m a man who can visualise all the parts in an air-cooled 911 engine, so working with Design911<\/strong><\/a> is perfect for our business.\u201d And of course, the reverse is also true.<\/p>\n

\"Anthony,<\/p>\n

So, class, what have we learned?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Firstly, that you don\u2019t have to be a fanboy to be captivated by the Porsche 911. Secondly, that these cars are not only gorgeous to look at, and shift a bit, but they\u2019re also amazing feats of engineering. The third point is that Ninemeister take recreating the Porsche to a new level. You can watch Colins full interview on Ninemeister below –<\/p>\n