Front-engined, twin-turbo V8 Porsche 911 uncovered at Bathurst
A twin-turbo LSX V8 has been shoehorned into the front of a LandCruiser-coloured Porsche 911, making its debut ahead of this weekend’s Bathurst 1000.
Australia’s automotive tuning scene has flexed its muscles in the most unexpected way, with ShowTime’s Gary Reid unveiling a wildly modified Porsche 911 as one of the wildest examples of the sports car out there.
Based on a 996-generation 911, the Porsche sports car has been extensively modified inside and out to provide a truly one-off build, which most notably has seen the engine relocated from behind the rear axle to in front of the driver.
Underpinned by a “race-car front end”, there is now a 7.0-litre ‘LSX’ V8 crate engine under the bonnet, which now also has a pair of turbochargers attached to it, bringing its power output to almost 900kW.
In period, the most powerful 996 911s such as the GT2 made ‘only’ 309kW, with the twin-turbo flat-six sitting behind the rear wheels.
To make sure the power gets to the rear wheels, Reid extracted the eight-speed transmission from a Bentley, which is now operated sequentially.
Rather than route the exhaust under the body – where there are no existing tunnels for it to travel – it now exits through the bonnet, while a cooling system is now situated behind the front seats, protected by a new full-height firewall.
Visually, significant changes have been made to ShowTime’s 933 Twin Turbo, which gets the ‘33’ portion of its name from the group’s traditional competition number.
The handmade aluminium wide-body is striking and relies on later-model 997 911 parts to modernise the vehicle, while it’s also been painted in the same Sandy Taupe finish as what’s available on the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series.
Under the guards sit wide Rotiform 18-inch wheels, measuring 9.5 inches wide at the front and 10 inches at the back.
Inside the cabin there’s now a pair of custom Recaro seats with Porsche’s Pepita fabric design, while two bespoke levers control the gear selection and hydraulic handbrake.
Built in conjunction with Repco, the ‘933 Twin Turbo’ was announced ahead of the Bathurst 1000 this weekend, and will be revealed in full on October 11.
