Porsche Boxster Gets the Lykan Hypersport Body
Porsche Boxster chassis has been stretched, allowing the Lykan Hypersport body to fit almost perfectly.
Over the past few weeks, Casey Putsch of Genius Garage Racing has been slowly transforming a 2007 Porsche Boxster S into a Lykan Hypersport. This build is being performed by using the Lykan replica built by W Motors for the Fast and Furious Live show. That replica was little more than a showpiece, but Putsch and his team are using the Hypersport components from that replica to transform a Boxster into the rare supercar.
In the episode above, Putsch is working with Genius Garage student Cameron Hickson as they test fit the body panels over the modified Porsche chassis. The Boxster was about eight inches shorter than the Lykan, so they had to stretch the chassis and after that, it is time to see how the body fits. Not surprisingly, it fits very nicely, showing that the chassis work was done perfectly.
The Completed Chassis
In the early stages of the video, Putsch and Hickson look at other things that they had to change with the chassis, including trimming the door hinges and removing the Boxster windshield assembly. Under the cosmetic windshield pillar, there is a section of high strength steel tubing that will be used to mount the roll cage of the Lykan.
We then move to the front of the car, where we get a look at the extended dash panel that goes under the long, sweeping windshield of the Hypersport. As you see in the video, that panel fits nicely against the Boxster dash at the rear while the front portion tucks up against the frunk opening.
The last thing that we look at before the body starts going on is the cooling system. The Lykan fascia fits over the factory cooling components with plenty of frontal space for airflow, but the original Porsche shroud will not fit under the Hypersport body. This means that the team will need to make a custom shroud, along with inner fender wells for the front end.
Porsche in Lykan Clothing
When Putsch, Hickson, and the mysterious cameraman name called “Lois” begin putting the Lykan body on the Porsche Boxster chassis, they start with the large center roof section, which includes portions of the sides of the car and the roof pillars. That large assembly slides down over the Porsche chassis and it fits perfectly, lining up with the windshield and the door sills. To keep everything from shifting around during the mock-up of the other body parts, they duct tape each section in place. While putting the roof assembly on, Putsch points out many crude aspects of this replica that will need to be removed and cleaned up for the build, such as the metal bolting plates under the hood and the wood screws holding the roof skin together.
After installing the roof, Putsch and Hickson put the front fascia back on, along with the cosmetic a-pillar covers. The hood is next and with that piece in place, we get a good look at the Lykan Hypersport on the Boxster chassis. However, the two video hosts point out that this build is only about 25 to 30% complete at this point.
Later on in the video, Putsch and Hickson install the windshield and they find that there will be some work needed to make everything fit nicely, but even with the parts just being laid on the Porsche and taped into place, the project is taking form. The last piece that they install is the lower rocker panel, nearly completing the front three-quarters of the body.
Suspension Discussion
In addition to installing much of the body of the Lykan, Putsch talks about the difference between the suspension setups in the Boxster and the Hypersport. The Porsche uses a traditional Macpherson setup while the Lykan uses horizontally mounted shocks with upper control arms and pushrods. For now, Putsch plans to keep the Macpherson setup, but he hints that a more elaborate suspension project could happen after this car is on the road.
While this build will retain the Macpherson design, at least for a while, they aren’t keeping the stock dampers. Instead, a set of adjustable aftermarket coilovers will be used. This setup will allow the team to adjust ride height, camber and stiffness, helping the Boxster to offer more supercar-like handling characteristics.
While there is still a whole lot of work left to do in converting a Porsche Boxster S into a Lykan Hypersport, this project is taking shape literally and figuratively. So far, it looks like Putsch and his team of Genius Garage students are well on their way to building a running, driving Lykan Hypersport.
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