When Porsche met Dr. Frankenstein – The Chevy-powered 911!

SEMA SHOW 2014

Over the last few years the ‘stance’ movement has become hugely popular in Europe. It’s not hard to understand why, either. With a nice set of rims, a vinyl wrap and slammed suspension you can make a car look properly cool without too much hassle. In Japan things tend to get a bit more wild thanks to companies like Liberty Walk, TRA Kyoto Rocket Bunny and RauhWeltBegriff but if you really want to see some crazy creations the good old USA is the place to be!

SEMA SHOW 2014

Looking at the super-wide arches above you’d think this kit was the latest offering from the likes of  Toni Rieger (Rieger Tuning), or Jochen Eckelt (JE Design). In fact, it’s a bespoke creation from KW customer and all around Porsche addict Nick Fouskis… who said modifying a car was easy anyway?

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During the day Nick works as a marketing expert for Falken Tires USA, but with the start of his Porsche project it’s safe to say his role was a bit more hands on! From the initial design to the fabrication and filler, Nick put a serious amount of hours into making the 996 unique. In his mind he wanted something different to the hugely-popular designs from Akira Nakai (RauhWeltBegriff) without making it look bad. You can read more about Nick’s bodykit over at Website 911DV8.

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When it comes to lowering your Porsche you don’t just throw on a ‘generic’ lowering kit. Nick needed something with performance and a super high-quality construction. The solution? Our popular KW Variant 3 suspension coupled with KW HLS System.  With the KW HLS Nick can drive the Porsche low on the street and track but if an obstacle like a speedbump appears, simply push the button and HLS raises the Porsche around 45mm.

The KW Variant 3 with it’s adjustable dampers in rebound and compression maximise the Porsche’s handling in every driving situation and gives the 996 more then just a lowered stance. Here you’ll find a cool feature how a KW V3 improves your speed. Meanwhile Nick and his friends from “Race Tech Services” had already started modifying the engine’s power… bye bye German Boxer – here comes American Muscle!

SEMA SHOW 2014

If there’s one way to stand out when modifying a Porsche, it’s by swapping the engine! And seeing as bigger is ALWAYS better in America, it made total sense to put a 430bhp 6.2-litre Chevrolet E-ROD LS3 taken from the 2008 Corvette. For die-hard Porsche Purists the engine swap is more than frowned upon, but with so much tuning available for the LS3 motor at a relatively inexpensive cost it’s the go-to swap for many of America’s top tuners.

SEMA SHOW 2014

So much so in fact that Renegade Hybrids in Las Vegas have already developed a “plug and play” kit for swapping the V8 in Porsche cars! The kits are suitable for many models including the Porsche 996, 918, 928, 944 and even for the classical G-Models – the 911 from 1965 – 1989!

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The cockpit remains relatively untouched compared to the exterior, with the steering wheel and seats supplied from Sparco (Evo Schalensitze) along with accessories from Rennline and Alpine.

SEMA SHOW 2014

The beautiful 19in wheels are part of the “Vintage Series” Design 935 from HRE Wheels. Behind the rims Nick installed a Hawk Performance brake upgrade, and if you take a closer look at the 3piece wheels you’ll see they’re wrapped in FALKEN FK 453 tyres. The Vintage Series reminds us of the classic ‘turbofan’ wheel design used by the likes of OZ, Ronal and Schmidt with even Rotiform now making modern versions too.

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The devil is definitely in the details. Nick even built his own headlights for the Porsche! He took parts from the Infinity Q45 light cluster and mounted them within the original 996 lights for a more modern look.

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To some purists Nick’s Porsche 996 is the ultimate sacrilege, but to everyone else it’s a seriously badass 996 with all the performance to match the exterior! Why build such a crazy car? Why not… this is America after all!

 

Photos KW, Nick Fousekis

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