An old and neglected 1999 Porsche 911 has been thoroughly restored and upgraded by Porsche Classic and the Porsche Club of America.
Plans for the project started back in 2018 and soon after the Porsche Club of America purchased the car, it was sent to Porsche Classic in Germany. The club came up with the idea of transforming the 996 911 into a one-off inspired by the 2010 911 Sport Classic, a car that was not available in the United States. The process of creating the car was so involved that Porsche built a test mule and tested it at its Weissach facility, Italy’s Nardo bowl, and the Idiada test center in Spain.
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To begin the transformation, Porsche Classic started by removing the car’s original powertrain and replaced it with the same 3.6-liter naturally-aspirated flat-six of a 996.2-generation 911 GT3, pumping out 381 hp and 284 lb-ft (385 Nm) of torque.
Simply fitting a 911 GT3 engine wasn’t enough for Porsche Classic and they also equipped the sports car with the same brakes as the GT3.
In terms of visuals, the design was led by Porsche Director of Special Projects, Grant Larson, and takes inspiration from the 911 Sport Classic. For example, it has a similar albeit unique Sport Grey Metallic paint finish complete with light Sport Grey metallic racing stripes and Club Blau stripes. The car is also rocking the front fascia and side skirts from a 996 GT3 and sits on one-off forged 18-inch aluminum Fuchs wheels with Club Blau accents.
Elsewhere, the car’s brake calipers are finished in black with Club Blau accents and there is also a ducktail spoiler similar to the 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7.
The interior of the 911 has also been overhauled. It features a perforated Alcantara headliner and patterned seat centers and door panels. There is also loads of blue contrast stitching as well as a modern Porsche Classic Communication Management Plus infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
“The Type 996 is unjustly overshadowed by the other 911 ranges. That’s why we were happy to choose it as the basis for demonstrating all the things we can do with Porsche Classic and the recently expanded Sonderwunsch program of Porsche AG,” said Alexander Fabig, Head of Individualization and Classic.
“In 2009, the 911 Sport Classic, a limited series of 250, had already generated worldwide interest. However, this special model was not sold in the U.S. With this one-off, we’ve now managed to bring a similarly exciting vehicle concept to the U.S. as well.”