As a wealthy classic car enthusiast the insurance billionaire Andreas Pohl apparently thought little of spending nearly £400,000 on a vintage Porsche without looking at it first.

But when he took delivery of the vehicle he had second thoughts, claiming to have discovered it was in poor condition, had been fitted with inauthentic parts and was now unsafe to drive.

Now Mr Pohl is suing one of Britain’s most prestigious specialist car dealers over the sale, alleging he was misled over the true condition of the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 touring coupe.

Mr Pohl, a classic car aficionado who takes part in vintage races, has launched legal proceedings in the High Court against Coys of Kensington after he bought the 911 Carrera from the specialist dealer in October 2018 for £390,000.

The chief executive of one of Germany’s biggest finance and insurance companies, he bought the car without looking at it or examining it in person after being told it was a “very good” authentic vintage model.

However, he claims that when the Porsche was delivered he discovered that it had been rebuilt, had been fitted with inauthentic parts and unsafe to drive.

His claim states: “In telephone conversations on 27 and 28 October 2018 between Mr (Michael) Haag, acting as the agent of the defendant [Coys], and Herr Wolf, acting as the agent of the claimant [Mr Pohl], the defendant further represented to the claimant that the condition of the car was ‘very good’.