Porsche 944 Widerstandsfahig: Widebody Autocross Wonder
To say that Rennlister and autocrosser Brian Bergeron has a passion for the Porsche 944 might be a bit of an understatement.
When it comes to cars, everyone has their own unique, particular tastes. And oftentimes, those tastes change over time, shaped by our many experiences in life. Brian Bergeron, founder of Widerstandsfahig, has never wavered from his passions, however. He is a longtime Porsche enthusiast who has always been competitive. But after (mostly) unsuccessfully campaigning a streetable Porsche 944 in autocross events for some time, Bergeron decided it was time for a major upgrade.
So the avid Rennlister, who has a partnership with Rennlist (check the stickers on his Porsche, below!), decided to get serious about his solo racing career — but not so serious that he was going to ditch the idea of competing in a Porsche 944 altogether, mind you. So he located another chassis and got to work. The desire to make the car his own, coupled with the need for wider rubber, led Bergeron to fabricate his own wide body kit. But why did he choose to stick with the 944 when he could have simply picked up a more modern car? Well, it was his first love.
“I chose the 944 as the chassis simply because I fell in love with it as a teenager. My father kind of raced the Datsun 240/260 series, and right out of high school I started searching for one of those. It’s very similar to the 944 style. I happened upon a 944 and souped it up, and it’s been 944 ever since.”
That unwavering love of the 944 led to not only the car you see today but the creation of Widerstandsfahiq itself. Bergeron’s company operates on the concept of building lightweight, exclusive, hand-crafted machines that capture the raw essence of driving. The attention to detail is evident simply by examining the origin of the name Widerstandsfahiq, as he explains.
“The name – it needed to be German. I wanted to have it associated with racing, obviously. And something that paid homage to the fact that we’re using a chassis that’s 30 years old. Making the chassis competitive in today’s day and age with computers. The ‘widerstands’ bit fit the bill, meaning robust. And the fact that it kind of translates into an English version of the wider stance of a wide body car just fit the bill.”
There’s only one caveat to his incredible car that will give Porsche enthusiasts pause. And it’s what powers his widebody: an LS3. He offers customers the option of retaining a turbo Porsche 4-cylinder in their 944 builds. But he chose to go with a GM V8 for a number of reasons.
“It’s bulletproof, there’s less moving parts than some of your overhead cam engines. Which is great for me and what I’m doing. The fact that without the overhead cams I’m eliminating some overhead weight and dropping my center of gravity down with the LS engine, I enjoy that fact. And the power for the weight is just phenomenal.”
Brian’s beautiful custom widebody is also functional, of course. Those big fenders allow him to stuff some seriously beefy rubber underneath – 335s up front and 345s in the rear. Overall, the car measures a full 7″ wider in the front and 10″ wider in the rear.
To date, Brian has built three Porsche 944 widebodies, with a fourth under construction. So far, the others have been sold at auction. But Brian is open to possibly turning your donor car into one of his masterpieces. In the meantime, you can catch Widerstandsfahig on Rennlist. And if you do, be sure and give him props for his amazing work. And maybe even a good-natured ribbing about the LS swap.
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