Saturday Morning with the Outlaw
An Outlaw is of course a rodded Porsche, even if nobody really agrees on what a stripped and slammed Porsche should be.
“What the hell is an Outlaw?” I asked in the pub a few days before. I came to know Alex through our chats at the local. We share several passions, from KTM through Ducati to helicopters, driving fast and Ferrari. So, when the subject suddenly switched to ‘the Outlaw’, I was taken aback. For a second!
“It’s my Nine-Eleven,” he sheepishly owned up. Aah! There we go! An Outlaw is of course a rodded Porsche. It’s a pretty generic term as nobody really agrees on an exact definition of what a stripped and slammed Porsche should be.
Outlaw originally referred to modified Porsche 356s back in the ‘fifties. It was only natural for the term to filter down to 911s. I actually know that full well, it’s just that our conversation came in from a very different angle, so he’d lost me. Some Outlaws are simply 911s with a few visual tweaks. Others like Alex’s are a bit more than that.
Outlaw Growl Stirred the Neighborhood
Anyway, come Saturday morning, the growl rustled up our usually sleepy Cabernet Drive as Alex rocked up to fetch me. It was a misty, fresh morning so a touch damp too. Alex’s Outlaw is pretty darn cool from the get-go. Slammed as an Outlaw should be, this light dove, or is that tractor grey interpretation started life as a 911T way back in ’72.
I’m honored to take the wheel. It fires up lazy on the starter as old 911s tend to, barks to life with a sexy boxer six growl. The gearlever is long and loose, there’s clearly no brake booster and the front end’s super honest through the wheel. Alex says too much so. I disagree as I turn onto the main road, into the grey murk. I prefer a responsive nose.
The Saturday morning traffic is stubborn, so we chat as we try our best to blend in. “I aways wanted an Outlaw, so this bucket of bolts was the perfect excuse,” Alex owns up. “It had a tough life and was eventually built into a 2.7 RS race replica by the late Peter Gough (a legendary South African race driver, google him), and raced for many a year.
This 911T Had a Tough Life, Became a Racecar
“Then it was stripped for a stillborn project and that’s how I found it, the body to one side, the seats an interior the other. We stripped it down to the metal and removed a little rust, prepped it and we resprayed the shell. No, it’s not Tractor Grey,” he giggles. “It’s called Dolphin Grey! We kept the Bilstein race suspension but softened it a bit, and these are 930 Turbo wheels.
“We did quite a bit of custom stuff and I was lucky to find a period the Nardi steering wheel and we took a lot of time to get the seats, the cross-stitched red leather panels, the custom kick plate with the badge and the rest just right.” The stripped-down cabin is as tastefully done as the bodywork.
Some of the period bits like the wiper blades are a bit fussy. “It’s never been out in the rain before!” And the lights apparently don’t shine too bright. We finally cross the freeway divide to escape the Saturday swell. Happily, the morning mist is burning through just enough to burn it a bit.
That Roar Becomes a Surge of Revs
That roar becomes a surge, it revs beautifully through to seven in third. But then the tacho starts getting wonky, so I opt for discretion, rather than valor from there. That darty front end settles down to a nicely poised posture at speed and it bounces just like a properly tuned race car should over the bumps. What a pleasure!
I demand more info on the engine. “Oh, that!” Alex beams. “We sourced a 3-litre air-cooled 911 SC mill, did the rods and pistons, fitted twin spark heads with hot cam timing, big valves, and tougher springs. We kept the mechanical fuel injection with throttle bodies, but replaced the gas distributor with a Motech ECU and fitted RSR headers and a free flow exhaust.”
Now deep into the brilliant Western Cape autumn countryside, the road is clear, visibility is good, and my host urges me to cane it. Alex’s Outlaw is still a race car through and through. That shines through just like the sun is starting to thin the mist as the dry fields blur by.
Outlaw is Diligent and Comfy on the Freeway
Like all good things, it comes to an end as we turn onto the freeway and finally head towards our Cape Town city destination, the old 911 diligent and shockingly comfy on the long flat road. The conversation goes to the worth of this here Outlaw. “Well, that’s a bit of a curve ball,” Alex explains.
“When we built this car a few years back, Outlaws were pretty valuable, and it certainly still is. But the market has changed dramatically and a good, original 911T is now all of a sudden worth more!” I ask if he’d change it back. “No, never! I’d rather find another 911 T, or even an S, maybe even a good clean example, or turn a rough one back to original.”
Is there anything else Alex (below) wants to do with his Outlaw? “Yeah, perhaps,” he concludes. “I’ve been thinking of finding one of those last Aircooled three-point-sixes to finish it off. And then to fix all these little gremlins you noticed; they bug me just as much too!”
The Awesome Scent of a Freshly Caned Outlaw
With that in mind, we trundle into the city and park outside classic emporium Crossley & Webb, still early enough in that day for a legit and well needed cappuccino. Old Outlaw is tick-tick-ticking as we emerge.
I wait a bit to take that in along, with the awesome scent of a sportscar that’s just been well-caned . Before yielding to the aroma of that freshly ground coffee. Now that’s the way to spend a perfect Outlaw Saturday morning!
Images: Lupini