Shropshire Magazine

A fully restored 1979 Ferrari 308 GT4.

Tony Adams is let loose in a motoring ‘sweet shop’

Tim Walker with an F355 Spider.

Having been brought up in a keen motoring family, Tim Walker of Oswestry is following his boyhood dream by restoring and dealing in exotic Ferrari cars.

Tim’s parents, Jan and Graham Walker of St Martins, near Oswestry, used to compete in road rallies in the 1960s with the Welsh Border Car Club and so Tim was introduced to power and performance at a very early age. 

The first car he owned was a classic Lancia Beta Spyder, on which he carried out the constantly required maintenance and repairs himself. He also singlehandedly built a complete kit car at the age of 22.

However, with his real passion being Italian cars, the company of Walkersport was set up 10 years ago and has been successfully dealing with the restoration, servicing and sales of the classic Ferrari marque ever since, with a turnover of around 30 cars a year.

Specifically dealing in the V8-engined models, Tim exports two thirds of his stock to Australia and New Zealand, with sales to Europe also now on the increase.

The latest project, just completed and taking pride of place in the workshops, is a 1978 Ferrari 308 GT4, which has taken five years to be brought back to near-showroom condition. Having travelled 57,000 miles and in classic Rosso Corsa colour with Nero leather interior, the GT4 model is unusual in that it is a two-plus-two configuration with two small seats in the rear. It has a three-litre V8 quad-cam engine fitted with four downdraught Weber carburettors, is fully refurbished and yours for around the price of a new Ford Mondeo!

Pleasure

Tim said: “I have always loved Ferraris – the older the better – from the 308 and 328, through to the 355 and F360; the noise, feel and pure pleasure of driving these nostalgic cars will put a smile on anyone’s face, even at normal road speeds, whereas later models don’t come alive until 120mph-plus. Even in these 20- to 30-year-old classics, there is of course ‘ample performance’ available in reserve, whether for competition use, track days or even a trip down a German autobahn.”

He added: “I am extremely lucky, I get to drive a wide variety of them, but I still have to part with them at some stage, very reluctantly in some cases . . . but then, that’s business!

F355 Spider interior.

“For many customers, owning a Ferrari is a life-long dream, so we take great care in matching suitable models with suitable drivers. We like to think that we provide plenty of help and advice for prospective purchasers by warning of possible pitfalls and running costs and we regularly travel throughout the UK and Europe to source the right cars for them.

“We are also sponsors of information for the ‘Club Scuderia’ website which has a forum to provide information and advice on the choosing, buying and running of a Ferrari, because we really do want people to enjoy the experience of ownership,” he said.

On a short ‘blast’ up the road in a stunning red F355 Spider, looking for a suitable location for photographs, as well as being impressed by the curves and gleaming paintwork, it was the howl of the exhaust note that I fell in love with. I can see why ‘sad people’ like Jeremy Clarkson and myself would actually wind down the windows when driving through a tunnel . . . a symphony of motoring music!

Prospective customers for these exclusive cars even have to ‘qualify’ before being allowed to view the stock, simply to deter dreamers – such as myself, actually – and timewasters.

Current cars on show at Walkersport include a Mondial Cabriolet 3.2 in Rosso with black leather, and an F360 Berlinetta in silver. Silver? Not for me thank you, even if I had saved up my pennies – if it’s a Ferrari, it simply has to be red!

• Walkersport of Oswestry can be contacted at www.walkersport.co.uk