Guntherwerks 400R is 993 with Everything Set to Max
California company starts with 993 and uses classic performance combo of reducing weight and increasing power to create 400R.
The 993 version of the 911 is a modern classic. Not only is it still a curvaceous beauty, but it also marks the last time the 911 had an air-cooled engine. As significant as the 993 is, it was only in production for the brief span of time between 1993 and 1998. How much better could it be if Porsche were still making it? Of course, we’ll never know the real answer to that question, but we’d like to think it would be something like the Guntherwerks 400R.
In his latest “One Take” review, Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire blasts through the roads of the Angeles National Forest in one of the ultra-993s. According to him, “Gunther pretty much says, ‘What if Porsche didn’t switch to water-cooled in ’99 and what if they continued the evolution of the air-cooled car 25 years further to today?'” The Guntherwerks 400R is the $500,000 answer to that question.
The California-based company starts with a 993 and proceeds to both take away from and add to it to maximize its performance. Guntherwerks widens it by six inches and reskins it in carbon fiber, which brings weight down to 2,500 pounds, according to Farah. A set of 18″X11″ front and 18″X13″ rear wheels wrapped in Pirelli rubber fill the pushed-out wheel wells. Those meaty tires (295s in the front, 335s in the back) stay connected to the road with the help of adjustable remote-reservoir shocks with custom valves. Farah’s test car is fitted with steel brakes, but carbon-ceramic stoppers from the ultra-exotic McLaren Senna are available.
The cockpit is a mix of carbon fiber, carbon Kevlar and rich earth-tone leather. The only things more eye-catching than the body-color tach are the seats, which are masterpieces of form and function.
The 400R’s most remarkable feature has to be its engine – for more than one reason. Rothsport Racing of Sherwood, Oregon developed the naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-6, equipping it with a billet crankshaft and rods, as well as individual throttle bodies. Output is 430 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque. But neither of those is the power plant’s biggest number. Farah says, “This is about a $250,000 engine, folks.”
On the road, the 400R is just as satisfying as it promises to be on paper. Despite its wide feet, it doesn’t tramline. Farah says the electric power steering “is much more like a modern GT3. It’s very, very sharp. It’s very direct and it doesn’t feel over-boosted like a ’90s power steering system.” Shifts from the short-throw six-speed manual are just as focused. After a few minutes of absolutely flying through the curves, Farah slows down to wind up the built flat-6 and share its raspy howl as it reverberates off the walls of a tunnel.
Aside from Farah and other journalists, only 25 people will be able to physically experience the answer to one of the most thought-provoking “What if” questions in the automotive world. That knowledge will come at a starting price of $525,000.
Join the Rennlist forums now!
