Tag Archives: 911

News

Porsche 911 GT3 Manthey Kit: Track-Day Royalty Gets Its Crown

In the world of track-day toys, few production cars see as much real circuit mileage as the Porsche 911 GT3. For many owners, it isn’t just a weekend car—it’s a lap-time weapon. But Porsche knows its customers well, and for the most obsessive among them—those chasing tenths, shaving seconds, and living for split times—there’s a new, sharper answer. It’s called the Manthey Kit, and it pushes the already ferocious 992.2 GT3 deep into GT-racer territory.

The upgrade isn’t cosmetic marketing fluff; it’s a ground-up performance overhaul. Porsche and Manthey’s engineers have tackled everything that matters on a racetrack: downforce, suspension, braking, and stability. Consider it the Weissach Package’s overachieving cousin—hungrier, meaner, and laser-focused on lap times.

And those lap times speak clearly. The kit-equipped GT3 circulated the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6:52.981, slicing 2.8 seconds off the previous Manthey-equipped model despite damp autumn conditions. That’s not evolution—it’s a full send.

Aero: Downforce With a Capital D

The GT3 is already a downforce monster, but the Manthey Kit turns the entire underbody into a single aerodynamic philosophy. Porsche extended the turning vanes under the car by a full meter—to a massive 1.5 meters—creating a broad pressure skirt that sucks the GT3 to the tarmac with ruthless efficiency. Even the luggage compartment floor is now covered to form a completely smooth aero surface.

Up front, a newly extended lip, revised diffuser fins, and side flaps stack on more bite at high speed. Out back, the swan-neck wing grows wider, gains a Gurney flap, and uses enlarged, inward-curved end plates to squeeze optimal airflow. A longer-finned rear diffuser boosts downforce without the usual drag penalty.

Then come the rear carbon aerodiscs, which don’t just look like Le Mans cosplay—they shave drag and complete a fully integrated aero package.

The results are brutal:

  • 355 kg of downforce at 285 km/h in road mode
  • 540 kg in circuit mode (track use only)

That’s race-car territory. No extra drag. Just more grip. Everywhere.

Suspension: Built for Kerbs and Commitment

Track-day driving isn’t just about aero—it’s about how the car reacts when aero isn’t enough. Here, Porsche and Manthey developed a four-way adjustable coilover suspension, designed specifically for circuit punishment. Riders can tune rebound and compression without tools, and the spring rates rise moderately—10 percent at the front—matching the new higher downforce loads.

The payoff? More mechanical grip, better stability through quick direction changes, and real confidence when clattering over kerbs at speed.

Lightweight forged wheels—20-inch front, 21-inch rear—cut unsprung mass by six kilograms and come in three finishes. Braided steel brake lines sharpen pedal feel, and optional PCCB-specific racing pads give serious fade resistance.

This is the GT3 re-engineered for endurance stints, not Sunday drives.

Styling and Extras: Track Toys, Tastefully Done

For owners who want the look to match the lap time, Porsche offers a suite of visual goodies: illuminated carbon sill trims, white Manthey door projectors, colored aero wheel discs, and race-style tow straps (red, black, or yellow). Carbon front air outlets and rear intakes complete the motorsport vibe—though, naturally, some pieces must be removed before heading back onto public roads.

Nordschleife Proven, Notary Certified

Porsche treats the Nürburgring as its proving ground, and the Manthey GT3’s lap time was run by reigning DTM champion Ayhancan Güven—no novice. Even on a partially damp, slippery track, the car delivered a blistering 6:52.981. Both the new and previous Manthey GT3s ran on optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R rubber, and the time was officially verified by a notary.

Güven was clear: the new kit transforms the GT3’s cornering capability. “The significantly higher downforce and optimised suspension make the car very easy to control and provide the driver with even more confidence,” he said. Better weather, he noted, could have unlocked an even quicker lap.

Manthey boss Nicolas Raeder echoed him. After a year of wind-tunnel work and thousands of kilometers of European circuit testing, he believes there’s more time on the table—and plans a repeat attempt in better conditions.

Porsche’s 911 GT3 already occupies rare air: one of the few road cars that feels built primarily for racetrack joy. The new Manthey Kit takes that ethos and turns the intensity up several clicks. More downforce, more grip, more stability, and less lap time—it’s the purest expression yet of Porsche’s track-day philosophy.

For the lucky few able to unlock its potential, the GT3 Manthey Kit doesn’t just sharpen the car. It transforms the experience. And at the Nürburgring, the stopwatch is already applauding.

Source: Porsche

Restomod

Theon Design 911 Restomod Is a Masterclass in Air-Cooled Perfection

Singer may have lit the fuse on the modern Porsche 911 restomod movement, but the fire has spread far and wide. Across the Atlantic, a handful of British builders have emerged as serious players in this rarefied art form—and Theon Design is leading that charge. Its latest creation, the result of 18 painstaking months of craftsmanship, may just be the Oxfordshire firm’s finest work yet.

At the heart of this Ice Green Metallic masterpiece is a powerplant worthy of a standing ovation. Theon’s engineers have built an air-cooled, 3.8-liter flat-six that breathes through independent throttle bodies and spins out 407 horsepower at a stratospheric 7,600 rpm. Torque peaks at 293 lb-ft (397 Nm), delivered with the kind of immediacy that only individual throttle butterflies can provide.

Those numbers alone might not scare a modern 911 GT3, which enjoys a roughly 100-hp advantage, but the Theon weighs in at a featherweight 1,150 kilograms (2,535 pounds)—a staggering 312 kilos (688 pounds) lighter than the factory GT3. Add in a five-speed manual and rear-wheel drive, and you’ve got an old-school driving experience distilled to its purest form.

And then there’s the noise. Theon’s adjustable exhaust can whisper through the village or wail like a banshee on a Sunday blast, depending on your mood and proximity to the local constabulary. A semi-active TracTive suspension keeps the car composed no matter how pockmarked the road, while a built-in lift kit spares that sculpted nose from steep driveways and unkind speed bumps. Brakes are lifted straight from the 993-generation Carrera RS, and custom 18-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber keep the classic silhouette planted and poised.

Every Theon begins as a bare-metal 911 shell. The company reworks and strengthens the chassis with fresh seam welding before clothing it in carbon fiber panels that mirror the original’s curves but shed precious weight. The result, finished here in a shimmering Ice Green Metallic with Polished Eclipse Chrome accents, looks as if it just rolled out of Stuttgart in a better alternate universe.

Inside, the craftsmanship borders on obsessive. Recaro CS seats with carbon fiber backs sit amid a sea of gray Alcantara and bespoke leather. The gauges are reimagined yet familiar, while a stealthy Alpine head unit feeds six Focal speakers—modern sound discreetly hidden in a cabin that still feels gloriously analog.

Of course, exclusivity like this doesn’t come cheap. Theon’s commissions start at £420,000 (about $564,000), and that’s before you even source the donor car. But for the lucky few, this is less about cost and more about curation—about owning a machine that captures the soul of the air-cooled 911 and reimagines it for the modern world.

Singer may have started the movement, but Theon Design proves the symphony of the classic 911 is far from over—and in the right hands, it might even sound better than ever.

Source: Theon Design

News

Time Travel in Light Yellow: Porsche 911 S/T, Then and Now

Some stories in the automotive world refuse to die. They sit dormant, buried in barns or archives, waiting for the right hands to bring them back to life. The Porsche 911 S/T is one of those stories—two generations, five decades apart, now reunited under one roof in the same shade of Light Yellow, paint code 117.

The Lost Racer

The year was 1972, and a Porsche 911 2.5 S/T stormed to a GT class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, wearing starting number 41. It was lean, loud, and purpose-built for endurance racing. But glory is fleeting. By the mid-1970s, the same car—once a champion—was last seen at a race in Riverdale, California, piloted by Don Lindley. After changing hands a few times, the trail went cold.

What resurfaced decades later in a barn near San Francisco was devastating: a twisted shell of rust and bad repaint jobs, a far cry from its Le Mans-winning prime. How the car went from victory lane to near oblivion remains a mystery.

The resurrection began in 2013, when a Swiss collector tracked down the carcass and shipped it to Stuttgart. The Porsche Classic experts in Zuffenhausen disassembled the remains piece by piece. They rebuilt the body using original gauges and drawings, fabricating missing parts from scratch. More than 1,000 hours of craftsmanship went into realigning and restoring the body alone. After two and a half painstaking years, the car emerged in 2016 exactly as it had in 1972: Light Yellow paint, race decals, and the number 41. This was no tribute car. It was the real thing, reborn.

The Modern Echo

Fast-forward to 2024, and the S/T badge has returned, but this time on a road-going special edition celebrating Porsche’s 60 years of the 911. Lightweight, manual-only, and powered by a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six screaming to 9,000 rpm, the new S/T is a purist’s dream.

The Swiss collector who owns the original wanted more than just a showroom piece—he wanted continuity. Enter Porsche Sonderwunsch, the in-house program for bespoke builds. The mission: recreate the 1972 Le Mans winner’s spirit in a modern package.

That meant one thing above all else: paint it Light Yellow, code 117. This wasn’t easy. The pale shade hasn’t been part of Porsche’s palette for decades, and applying it evenly over the new car’s carbon components required a level of craftsmanship more akin to restoration than production. Yet, like its ancestor, the car emerged flawless.

Finished with forged magnesium wheels in Darksilver, black brake calipers, and a stripped-back black interior, the 2024 911 S/T is the perfect bookend to the restored racer sitting beside it in the garage.

Past Meets Future

Together, the pair tells a story few marques could script. On one side, a legend reclaimed from rust and neglect, saved by Porsche Classic’s obsessive attention to detail. On the other, a modern interpretation that proves Porsche hasn’t forgotten its roots, even as it builds cars with 9,000-rpm engines and carbon fiber panels.

Both cars are survivors in their own way. One cheated death to live again. The other refuses to let driving purity die in an era dominated by electrification. And both stand united in Light Yellow—code 117—a shade that now represents not just color, but continuity.

Source: Porsche