► Pays tribute to legendary Porsche 935
► Twin-turbo engine produces 1000hp
► 26 to be built, costing over $1,000,000 each
It’s not possible to get through Monterey Car Week – which happened last week in California – without several mad new reinterpretations of classic Porsche 911s being launched and, lo, here’s one of them. It’s the 1000hp Gunther Werks F-26, a million-dollar homage to the iconic Porsche 935 racing car.
The F-26 starts life as an ordinary 993-gen Porsche 911 – the last of the air-cooled cars reimaginings of which Gunther Werks has built a huge reputation on since it was founded in 2017. The most obvious change in the F-26 transformation is the pumped-up bodywork that pays tribute to the 935. There’s a huge, high-downforce rear wing, dramatically stretched wheelarches, air intakes cut into the rear ‘arches, extended side sills and a completely reshaped ‘slantnose’ front end with fixed headlights – the original’s pop-ups aren’t good for aero – all rendered in carbon fibre.
There’s rather more going on under the skin. beneath the rear engine lid is Gunther Werks’ signature 4.0-litre, twin-turbo flat-six engine – still air-cooled – that’s been co-developed with Porsche motorsport specialist Rothsport Racing. We’d be here all day if we recounted the spec in full, though we’ll note the racing-style flat fan, which draws in twice as much air as a vertical fan. Anyway, here are the headlines figures: 1000hp (986bhp) and 750lb/ft of torque.
That’s quite a lot in a car that weighs just 1200kg. And drives the rear wheels only. Through a six-speed manual gearbox. Safe to assume the driving experience is going to be intense. Not that the F-26 is completely untamed.
Double wishbone front suspension replaces the 993’s original MacPherson struts, there are adaptive dampers all-round, motorsport-grade ABS and traction control, an LSD, plus huge 295/30R18 front and 335/30R18 rear tyres wrapping Turbo Twist magnesium wheels. Gunther Werks has even gone so far as stretching the car’s wheelbase, moving the rear wheels back 30mm to improve the centre of gravity. And the rollcage increases the body’s rigidity by a staggering 200%.
The F-26’s interior hasn’t been neglected, either. The finely crafted scheme of bare carbon, leather and Alcantara you see in the pictures is best taken as a demonstration of the no doubt limitless possibilities. A Porsche Classic stereo with Apple CarPlay features here.
Gunther Werks founder Peter Nam said: “The Slantnose is a bold icon from Porsche’s past. The timing felt right to reimagine it with modern craftsmanship and engineering. It’s our way of bridging nostalgia with next-gen performance for the modern driver.”
Just 26 examples will be built – hence the name; the ‘F’ evokes American fighter jets – with a starting price of $1,570,000. Form an orderly queue.
Graham King is a Senior Staff Writer on the Bauer Automotive Digital Hub, working across CAR and Parkers
By Graham King
Senior Staff Writer for Parkers. Car obsessive, magazine and brochure collector, trivia mine.