For nearly six years, a Porsche 356 built by Rod Emory has been generating buzz. Back then, there were only a handful of renderings that were shared across countless blogs and Facebook profiles. Almost six years later, the story is finally nearing completion…
Henrique Cisneros, Chairman of the Momo Automotive Group, also came across the renderings. Without hesitation, the Momo boss contacted Rod Emory and commissioned him to build the custom Porsche that had been rendered and named the Porsche 356 RSR Outlaw. Rod Emory is the descendant of the legendary “Emory Customizing Dynasty,” which began in the late 1940s with his grandfather’s Valley Custom Shop.
In the 1960s, Rod’s father Gary and his grandfather Neil started working for Chick Iverson Porsche. This is where they discovered their love for German-made vehicles and later built, for example, one of the first “Baja Bugs” based on a VW Beetle. In the 1970s, they switched brands and focused mainly on Porsche models. For over 20 years now, the “Emory passion” has centered especially on extraordinary Porsches based on the 356 — the first production Porsche model.
In recent years, the 356 RSR Outlaw has already been seen in various “body-in-white” stages at different events in the USA — and even then, the raw build was spectacular. The project is now slowly approaching completion. The entire suspension of the RSR Outlaw is essentially a mix of various Porsche components and models: Porsche Carrera (964) RSR hubs with center-lock, matching Brembo brake system, Eisenlohr Racing suspension parts, and Tarrett Engineering sway bars.
For the suspension, they used a KW Variant 3 coilover kit that is independently adjustable in compression and rebound, combined with a hydraulic lift system (KW HLS) on both axles. This allows the “Outlaw” to be hydraulically raised by up to 45 mm on both axles, very useful for dealing with the many speed bumps in the greater Los Angeles area. By the way, for Porsche 356 enthusiasts who want to restore their classic and equip it with modern dampers, we have also developed the KW Variant 2 dampers (registration-free in many countries), which can be used with the original torsion bar springs.
The wheels are Momo Heritage 5 forged wheels, which basically served as the design basis for the current Momo Heritage 6 wheels. On the RSR Outlaw, the black one-piece wheels with five spokes and center-lock measure 7×17 inches at the front and 8×17 inches at the rear.
They are wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R motorsport tires in sizes 245/45-17 (front) and 255/40-17 (rear). The brakes are from Brembo, with motorsport-spec discs, pads, and calipers. Why? That’s easy to explain: the Outlaw has serious power!
At SEMA, Rod’s dad Gary (left in the picture) showed us all the countless fine details and special features of the Outlaw RSR and gave us a crash course in the company’s history. Typical of Emory Motorsports vehicles are the numerous hand-formed aluminum and sheet metal body parts. What’s special about Emory’s 356 builds is not only the world-class craftsmanship, but especially the air-cooled Emory-Rothsport flat-four engines.
These engines are essentially Emory-Rothsport custom-built units based on the 3.6-liter flat-six from the Porsche 964 with dry-sump lubrication. The Americans designed a four-cylinder crankcase and have it cast using the sand-casting method. The camshaft housings are CNC-machined from aluminum. In the past, Emory would disassemble six-cylinder engines, shorten two pistons, and weld them back together.
They also use custom crankshafts and, depending on power and customer wishes, different camshafts. According to Gary Emory, the big advantage is that their engines are fully compatible with original Porsche parts, and they can build them with displacements of 2.4, 2.5, or 2.6 liters. Turbo versions are of course also available. Fuel delivery is handled by a Rothsport injection system, and engine management runs on a fully programmable MoteC ECU.
For the Outlaw RSR with its 2.5-liter flat-four (using Elgin camshafts and 100 mm pistons), they decided to add two Garrett turbos. Boost pressure can of course be adjusted directly from the cockpit via a “boost knob.” Depending on boost level, the air-cooled turbo flat-four delivers between 325 and 375 hp — not bad for a car that weighs under 1000 kilograms.
Fresh air is fed to the engine through intakes behind the doors. At the front is a Radium fuel cell with a catch tank. Typical Outlaw style: the ventilation louvers in the fenders. Magnus Walker, for example, also had similar fender louvers made by Emory Motorsports for some of his Porsches.
Essentially, the 356 RSR Outlaw is not a pure Porsche 356 (B) Coupé, but a 1960 356 body that has been adapted to a Porsche 964 floorpan. The front and rear sections, as well as the removable hood and engine lid, are made of aluminum. The additional fender flares are also aluminum.
We then peeked through the Makrolon windows into the interior, which is fitted with a bolted-in roll cage. But Gary Emory simply said, “Why so shy?” and told us to just open the door. We just shouldn’t drive off…
Unfortunately, the Momo pedals mounted on Tilton pedal arms are not for sale yet they are (still) a one-off. The Momo Sport steering wheel is of course detachable. To mount the Momo Heritage shift knob, the Rothsport shifter was slightly machined on the lathe and given a new thread. The transmission is a Getrag 5-speed (G50/03) from the last 964 generation. Emory Motorsports added a limited-slip differential.
The two bucket seats without headrests are also custom-made. The shells are laminated from fiberglass, painted, padded with foam, and then covered in a striking “fire-engine red” fabric. Cool detail: the plastic side windows also have ventilation slots.
The Momo 356 RSR Outlaw is not meant to just collect dust in a showroom. It will be shown at various events like the “Luftgekühlt” gatherings and even better actually driven.
Maybe we’ll meet the “Outlaw Gang” on our next trip to the USA for a run on Latigo Canyon Road in the Santa Monica Mountains…
