In a world where everyone seems to be restomodding old Porsche’s one way or another, it is extremely difficult to distinguish yourself from the others. Gunther Werks, from California, seems to have done it rather well, by making a name and grabbing headlines right out of the gate. This was helped by the fact that the man behind it was no newbie to the automotive world. Peter Nam, the founder, also founded popular tuner brand Vorsteiner almost 20 years ago.
Around 2017, Gunther Werks launched their first concept car, the 400R. The 400R looks very much like the 993 GT2, but even wider, with even more aggressive fenders. The wide fenders, which made it to the production cars, are not just for show. Gunther Werks describe the design of their cars as ‘functional beauty’, where all the aesthetics enhancements have a functional purpose. One of the first things they did with the 993 chassis was to widen its tracks, for better handling. In the flesh, you notice particularly how wide the front fenders are. 911’s normally come with a wider rear track, but Gunther Werks wanted the front and rear tracks to be of similar width – ‘squaring it up’ as the founder calls it. This design actually makes a nod to the legendary 959, which also has squared up front and rear.
It was interesting to learn that the original chassis actually comes with two suspension mounting points, one on the inside, for narrower tracks for its street cars, and another on the outside, for the wider tracked Porsche Cup cars. Naturally then, all Gunther Werks 993’s have had its suspension mounting points changed to the wider set up.
Although the car is physically a lot bigger than an original 993, due to its massive width, it is actually still a very light car thanks to the founder’s experience with custom making carbon fibre parts through his Vorsteiner experience. A majority of the car’s body work, such as fenders and roof, are carbon fibre. The car therefore only weighs 1,200KG.
Of course, the car is not just about having wider wheel tracks. The engine has been uprated to 4.0L, with everything other than the original 993 block being replaced with lighter and better parts. The car now produces 435HP which is plenty for a 1,200KG car.
Sitting in the car, you immediately get the familiarity of a restomod, where although you are clearly in an older 911, everything in the interior feels new, with the old leather smell of original 911’s gone. The clutch has some weight to it, but I wouldn’t call it heavy, it is certainly lighter than the Theon 911 I tested previously. The clutch is clearly a racing clutch as the biting point is very short. It is, however, very easy to get used to. The engine and exhaust note sound great, as one would expect from an uprated restomod car. It is loud, but more gathered than the other restomod Porsche’s I’ve tried (although I will admit here I forgot to press the loud exhaust button right at the center console, which I am still hitting myself for).
With regret, my test drive for the day was not on any interesting roads. The owner of the car was actually displaying his car at the Classic Car Club of Hong Kong’s annual Chater Road Show, and we took the opportunity to help him bring the car there while fitting a review episode in on the way. The route was therefore strictly from the car park to Chater Road Central, which is about 20KM and mostly highways. While that meant I was not going to get to try out the car’s handling at all, I was not going to give up at least seeing how the car goes on the straight. Cruising at 70km/hr in fourth gear, I dumped the very precise transmission into second and dropped the clutch and the car just flew. Second, third, fourth, and fifth gear went almost as if in a blink of an eye with each gear shift quick and crisp, thanks to a light flywheel I am sure. The car’s speed and momentum is absolutely rapid! It is definitely the fastest restomod I have driven, among the Singer and Theon. The thing is though, while the power is abrupt, it is at the same time very linear and without fuss. You know you are going very quickly, but the car doesn’t make you feel intimidated or uncertain. The whole power delivery was extremely composed. While I have experienced such feeling in modern cars such as the Ferrari 296GTB, this is the first time I have experienced so in what is essentially a classic car with a classic engine block, which was quite something.
While the car definitely feels less raw and classic than the Singer and Theon, which both used the 964 as a base car rather than the 993, the Gunther Werks definitely does not feel detached. It retains the analogue-ness of older cars, which was always Gunther Werks’ intention. I particularly appreciate the useability that this car retained, which is an important element for all Porsche’s I think. This is indeed a very well made car and I am therefore not surprised the brand is doing so well. It was really an honour to test drive it, and I thank the owner for his trust and generosity.
As always, a big thanks to the team for making this happen!
Alex (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Dave (david@lemonadeandgiggles.com)
Martin: (IG: @visualspassport)
Jeremy (IG: @jyy3.x)
See our review video here: