Established in 1994, Paragon has grown from humble beginnings into a thriving independent marque specialist catering for the sales, servicing and maintenance of Porsches of all ages. The catalyst for starting the business was the love Porschephiles, Mark Sumpter and Adrian Mole, had for older 911s. This passion for air-cooled classics saw the pair quit their jobs at a Ford dealership and embark on a journey which has resulted in one of the best-known names on the European Porsche scene and has enabled Mark to indulge his passion for racing historic 911s, which he has done to great success all over the continent.
A familiar figure in the Porsche firmament, Mark — who describes his apprenticeship as “seven years on the spanners” — began his racing career with a Citroën 2CV in the mid-1980s, graduating to Volkswagen four-wheelers and then, somewhat inevitably, to a Porsche when Paragon opened its doors. The car was a 1978 911 SC, which Mark campaigned in the Porsche Classic Championship, before he became a stalwart of the British GT Championship, racing a self-prepared 996 GT3 R.
At the turn of the century, Adrian left the business to embark on a new career. Mark continued to impress behind the wheel, winning British GT in Paragon’s debut season, leading to racing
