5 minute read
Porsche restomods
Tackling the motoring issues that matter
Steve Bennett
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ANOTHER day, another Porsche 911-based restomod, hot rod, retromod; call them what you will. That’s certainly how it seems, sometimes. Of course, it isn’t just 911s that get the restomod treatment, but you could be forgiven for thinking so. Why does the 911 lend itself so well? Well, think cult appeal, motorsport heritage, Porsche’s own mix-and-match parts bin, and a healthy aftermarket of tuning and styling parts. Plus, of course, the desire to create something bespoke, and a ready supply of donor cars, too, thanks to the 911’s unprecedented near-60-year production run.
That said, the early, pre-1974 cars are considered sacrosanct when it comes to modifying. They are already uber-classic and have a value that would be wiped out if they went under the knife. The sweetspot is with the later impact-bumper cars and beyond, with the 19891993 964 model in particular being a firm favourite. However, more recently the 993 model 911, which has the distinction of being the last the air-cooled car, has been gaining traction with the restomod crew.
And what of the water-cooled cars – the 996 and beyond – as they become modern classics in their own right? As surely as night follows day, their time will come, but for now, here is the Auto Express guide to the air-cooled 911 restomod scene.
RUFDADDY
1987Ruf911CTR1‘Yellowbird’
Based on: 911 Carrera 3.2
THE genesis of the modified Porsche 911? Well, there were Ruf-modified 911s in existence before the CTR 1 ‘Yellowbird’ came along, but they didn’t capture the collective imagination in quite the same way.
In its native Germany, Ruf is classified as a manufacturer in its own right. Alois Ruf took over from his father – Alois Ruf senior – at the family garage in Pfaffenhausen, near Munich, in the mid-seventies. Beetles were a starting point, and then came Porsches.
The Carrera 3.2-litre-based ‘Yellowbird’ was the star of a video sensation, when they really were a physical format. The film showed Ruf test pilot, Stefan Rosser, manhandling the 469bhp, 211mph turbo monster around the Nürburgring in one tyre-smoking powerslide, expertly captured by helicam, plus onboard footage at the wheel and of his grey slip-on shoes playing the pedals.
Later generations will know the ‘Yellowbird’ from its starring role in the Gran Turismo games. To drive? It’s a fairly rudimentary experience by modern standards. A monster turbocharger strapped to the 3.3-litre, flat-six engine means lots of lag and then a mass of power.
Ruf is still very much the daddy of the Porsche tuning scene. Current CTRs have the classic look, but with carbon tubs and carbon bodies, plus 700bhp+ flat-six engines. A Porsche 911, but very much in shape only.
SINGWHENYOURWINNING
2009–2022SingerClassic
Based on: Porsche 964
THINK restomod now and it’s probably Singer (or Singer Vehicle Design, for the full title) that comes to mind, along with a host of pretenders and lookalikes.
The Singer name is a reference to Los Angeles-based Brit Rob Dickinson. He was the singer in a rock and roll band, as well as a graduate from the renowned Coventry University, where he studied vehicle design. He worked briefly for Lotus Cars, before emigrating to the USA, where he mixed music with a passion for Porsches.
As well as the LA music scene, Dickinson was also in the epicentre of all things US Porsche, with a well established 911 hot rod scene. Dickinson was a notable player with his own 911 builds, but had a clear vision of what could be created. Others had taken the unloved 964 model 911 and given it the retro look, but in muso terms, Dickinson took the concept and turned it up to 11 (fittingly a Singer’s rev counter goes to 11, too), to create the productionisedyet-customer-bespoke Singer Classic.
Singer can be credited with creating a whole new look, taking classic 911 styling cues but adding a modern twist and 21st-century build and materials. Exquisite detailing abounds in what are in effect ground-up builds from carbon-fibre bodyshells and a £500,000-plus price tag.
Engine specs vary, but 350bhp from 3.8 litres is the norm, which is plenty in a car that weighs not much more than 1,000kg. To drive it is to understand it. It’s about the quality of performance over quantity, and to their credit, most Singer owners do actually drive their cars.
The Classic is no more after a run of 450 cars, so it’s time now for the ‘Turbo Study’ to take the centre stage. It’s based on the 964, but styled in homage to the earlier ‘impact bumper’ 930 Turbo. And then there’s the £1.5million DLS (Dynamic and Lightweight Study), built in conjunction with Williams Advanced Engineering. All 911s, but again, just not as we know them.
NOT-SO-MELLOW YELLOW Ruf’s ‘Yellowbird’ was a video sensation before becoming a star in the Gran Turismo games series
INSTASTAR
GuntherWerks400R
Based on: Porsche 993
PERHAPS even more so than the Singer, a day in the Gunther Werks 400R is like being some sort of auto/ Porsche celebrity. Just 25 examples have been built and most have only ever been seen on Instagram, with just one residing in the UK.
It’s hard not to draw comparisons with Singer, but mainly because Gunther Werks is another Californiabased build, in Huntington Beach. Gunther CEO Peter Nam is a passionate Porsche fan, and already had the technical wherewithal from launching and running hi-tech bodywork outfit Vorsteiner.
His self-imposed brief was to imagine how Porsche might have built a 993 GT3 RS (the GT3 was introduced with the following 996 generation of the 911). Oh, and Gunther Werks takes its name from a renowned German-American mechanical engineer at NASA in the sixties named Gunther Wendt.
Yes, it’s another half-a-million-pound custom 911, but once you’ve seen what goes into the build, you probably wouldn’t begrudge that figure. Head to Youtube for the full factory tour. In brief terms here, the super-wide bodyshell is a carbon-fibre masterpiece, with barely an original panel left save for the steel doors and some crash structure. It’s no stripped-out special, either, and the interior is a stunning mix of carbon fibre, aluminium and leather, with jewel-like details.
But underneath the bodywork it’s seriously hardcore. The 400R’s stretched wheelarches demand an equally stretched wheel and tyre combination. No other custom 911 wears boots this wide: 295/30x18 inches up front and 335/30x18 inches rears, wrapped around GW’s signature Fuchs-inspired gold rims.
Power comes from a 4.0-litre Rothsport Racing flat-six, crammed with racing hardware and individual throttle bodies to produce the 400bhp.
A sense of the hardcore extends to the driving experience, too. The power delivery is both noisy and savage, the ride is aggressive on JRZ coilovers, and yes, those incredibly wide front tyres with aggressive camber are quite a handful. In a word: exciting.
Long since sold out, the next offering from Gunther Werks is the twin-turbo 993-based Project Tornado, with 700bhp and again limited to 25 cars. Any more would just be too common.
