James Hunt's Porsche for sale

This 911 RS was Hunt's company car and is in original condition

A rare 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS driven by F1 world champion James Hunt is for sale.

With a price of £365,000, it is one of only six right-hand-drive examples ever made.

The yellow Porsche was sold new to the founder of Hesketh Racing, Lord Hesketh, and became part of Hunt's remuneration package when he drove for the team in 1974.

Hunt retained use of the car through to 1976, the year he took the F1 World Championship at the wheel of a McLaren.

Claimed to be "outstanding" and in "highly original" condition, the 3.0-litre Porsche, chassis number 99, was built as part of the car firm's homologation process for its racing programme.

"This car is an important piece of motoring history," said Nick Whale, of Warwickshire-based Nick Whale Sports Cars Direct, which is selling the Porsche.

"Hunt was an enigmatic champion and this car was with him during the peak of his career. Not only is this one of the rarest road-going Porsches of all time, but with its unique provenance it represents a very rare opportunity."

Whale says that the car, which has formed part of a private collection for the past decade, is completely original.

Hunt – known as Hunt the Shunt following a number of spectacular on-track crashes – became as well known for his colourful champagne lifestyle as for his driving. Widely described as a playboy and forever appearing with a string of beautiful women, he retired from racing in 1979.

Hunt later became a much-loved BBC TV race commentator, alongside the inimitable Murray Walker. He was also known for breeding budgerigars and parrots and was a familiar sight in London, sometimes behind the wheel of his Austin A35 van, or on an old-fashioned bicycle complete with wicker basket attached to the handlebars.