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The R programme for the Porsche is a pretty special race car, we have always preferred the look over the RSR look, it’s the more wider aggressive look and in 997 guise we didn't think it would get any better, that was until Porsche decided to hit us with the very latest 2019 spec R package for the 991 chassis and boy oh boy it’s pretty spectacular.

When the R was first released for the 991.1 it was nice but for us the 997 was still a better look, when the did the upgrade for the 991.2 in 2016 it really grabbed our attention, so much that we added the aero to our line-up, but we still preferred the older 991.2 R look, but with the all new release of the 2019 R package Porsche have just knocked it straight out the part … its quite phenomenal.

This R has taken on a completely different look to the older 991 generations, with a complete make over from front to rear, and we absolutely love the vents that adorn the top of the front fenders, as well as the rear quarter inlets and the rear bumper is just sublime, Porsche you have done it again and created yet another master piece.

In true wide body fashion, the conversion consists of the usual parts:

Front bumper, bumper canards, front floor with splitter, front fenders, side skirts, rear quarter panels, rear bumper, rear diffuser, rear ducktail engine cover and the optional rear wing assembly.

There are all the extra parts available like the flat bottom floor, light weight carbon cup doors, Kevlar arch liners front and rear, carbon roof, carbon front vented bonnet.

This is one 991 we cannot wait to put together, get in touch with us for details on this amazing aero conversion for your Porsche 991 chassis.

 

The 8th & 9th of November will be a couple of days we remember quite fondly, as two builds that we have collaborated on took to the track in anger and we are pleased to say they did pretty well.

We have discussed David Haagsma on a few our our blog posts over the past few months as we have been watching his GTR come to life, Scott over at Sicchops being the man responsible for updating the look for the 2018 season fitting our aero kit and totally transforming the look, and with David's finishing touches we couldn't wait for him to hit the track and he didn't disappoint.

Considering its a new look its also a new set up, same amazing engine spec built by the GTR gurus SP Engineering, but a new JRZ suspension set up, along with new RPS Carbon brakes, and other bits of carbon aero to enhance the wider look David came 4th overall in the Super Battle class, and considering there is over 80 cars, thats pretty impressive, we are really looking forward to seeing the car back out in February 2019 next year when it competes at Circuit of the Americans ( COTA)

David Haagsma Nissan GTR GT3, 4th overall at Buttonwillow Raceway

Another one of collaborations to hit the track which we must admit came as a bit of a surprise, albeit a nice one, the Sleepers Speed Shop Porsche 997 GT3R belonging to Chad Kobayashi, being driving at Buttonwillow by Tommy Contino, who managed a very respectable 7th in class.

We supplied the aero kit for this particular build back in January 2017, and its one we are quite fond of, the fact that we got to work with Len Higa the owner of Sleeper Speed Shop in California was a big pull for us as the company just ooze quality, and the fact that Len is so highly respected, so its always going to be a very special Porsche to us, the fact that Chad has just the very best in the way of parts on this 997 Turbo-R its the pinnacle.

Porsche 997 GT3 R Bi-Turbo Sleepers Speed Shop

Sleepers Speed Shop Porsche 997 GT3R Bi-Turbo, Buttonwillow Raceway November 2018

Rear Shot of the R aero clad Porsche 997 Turbo, Sleepers Speed Shop

Front of the R aero clad Porsche 997 Turbo, Sleepers Speed Shop

We offer these aero kits for both the Nissan GTR and the Porsche 997 Chassis in various engine configurations, the 997R styling kit is only available in light weight carbon fibre, where as the Nissan GTR aero kit we manufacture in carbon fibre and also GRP, although our GRP is a woven cloth over the old school matt strand, so still a light weight and super strong product without the premium price of carbon.

Our parts for these conversions are extensive, we have our own JRZ or Bilstein suspension that is built to our own specification, big brake upgrades for the serious HP hunters as well as custom exhausts, which includes full bespoke inconel systems, wheels are another product we offer with forged aluminium, forged magnesium, with a magnesium and carbon fibre hybrid wheel also available for the customers looking for the pinnacle super light weight wheel product.

Get in touch with us if you like the look of any of these conversions for road or track use, we can supply all the parts to build as well get these cars put together, we work with a highly skilled teams that love nothing more than building these stunning creations.

For the UK market we have the Speedwells 997 Turbo-R thats under going some serious modification to not only the colour change but the power output too, so thats one to watch out for early next next, and we are also looking to get our own BMW Z4 GT3 V8 back on track, watch this space.

 

We Are a huge fans of the Porsche brand, it’s a brand we have always had a real affection for, dating back to the late 70’s and early 80’s with the wonderful Kremer 935 K3 & K4 of Erwin Kremer and his brother Manfred, we just have a fondness for the 911 chassis in general, in all engine configurations, but our personal favourite at the moment is the 997 chassis, it just has the right mix of the 911 of old, with stunning driving characteristics.

Back in early 2013 we built our version of a road going 997 RSR based on the 997 Turbo chassis, some parts of the build we loved, , but some we loathed like the fit and finish and quality of the out sourced RSR aero kit, it was terrible, as were the rather over sized wheel choice, we just got some of the finer details wrong, the design of wheel was spot on, but the 20" size and the finish was just a huge fail,

but as far as producing Europe’s first ever turbo RSR road car based on the Turbo model certainly had the desired effect of global recognition, the car had mixed reviews and reactions but the main thing was the car had plenty of people talking about it, which is why we build cars, the the main criticism the size of the chosen wheels, but we managed to rectified slightly by painting the wheels matte black, which certainly toned it down and helped with the overall look.

Fast forward to late 2017 when our buddy Iby from Speedwells had sold his pair of beloved Supra’s and was looking for a change, and wanted to build another show stopper, after seeing our GT3R aero kit from a couple of our recent 997 builds we collaborated on, Sleepers Speed Shop in California and Scribante Racing in South Africa, he just wanted to build a pure road version of the R, but it had to be based on the Turbo chassis, nothing else would do and seeing that both of our last collaboration builds were both Turbo base cars, off he went in the hunt for the Turbo.

We haven’t discussed the build in detail and we didn't show the base model he managed to source, but that is with good reason, the engine was well looked after and strong as you would expect of a Mezger Turbo engine as they are renown to be the best, strong and robust, but as we speak Iby in on the hunt for even more power, if you know him you know that anything less that 700hp just doesn't float his boat, so the engine is out and is busy being cleaned, whilst swapping and upgrading everything that moves, new ECU, new hybrid Turbos, new stainless steel performance manifolds, uprated intercoolers,

etc, we will get full performance overhaul listed in a future post when we feature the new look for 2019 but the good news is all the mods should see the best part of 700bhp or more by the time he puts it back in the car.

The body work of the base model, Iby knew that he would be replacing the majority of the bodywork,

everything apart from the doors and the roof would be discarded and looking what he took off the car it was a blessing, we really do applauded his vision. The car belonged to Dragon Performance, looking at the Fastcar feature, it was their demo vehicle, fitted with a one off bespoke hand made aero kit, which was all made out of metal, it was all removed within an hour of being back at the Speedwells HQ and we estimate between 30 to 40 Kg of weight saving once the car was relieved of all the splitters, scoops, air pockets, spoilers, now don't get us wrong we are all for car modifying, but we can honestly say it was ridiculous, we are trying to understand the thought process of ,firstly building something like that and secondly deciding to add all that excess weight to the car, were sorry but what a mess and a mess that unfortunately ruined the Techart bumpers that were hiding underneath the hideous Frankenstein creation.

With all the parts discarded that wouldn't be needed it was time to see what needed to be done, Iby has built numerous cars before so his fabrication skill set is on point and it wasn't long before the kit was all mocked up and on the car, wheel specs measured, suspension sorted, and all of the little modifications needed for the larger tyres that would be fitted, the biggest job of all was moulding the rear quarter panels with the turbo vents, getting then all hooked up to the air channel that feeds the gulps of air to the intercoolers, we still think this is the coolest rendition for this build, with every build taking a different route when it came to the side air vents, the Turbo air vents are by far the best to look at, obviously extremely functional, so you get that wonderful Turbo look in a super wide “R” conversion, it just gives it that authentic road OEM look, albeit that much wider, well over 7 foot wider to be more precise. With the aero kit fitted and in place it was time to make all of the small adjustments, and then off to the paint booth, with Taj from Perfections Midlands laying down the Porsche Basalt black finish, which was finished to an extremely high standard, which is what we have come to expect from Taj, his paint skills are just superb, with a hint of how good he is you only have to refer to the name of his company.

Speedwells Porsche 997 GT3R Road going Bi- Turbo Under Construction

The conversion has been finished off with some extremely trick suspension parts, all adjustable with a special coilover kit manufactured for us specifically for this conversion, with separate reservoir and lots of adjustment so the car can become a track beast at the turn of a few clicks of the suspension.

The exhaust has also been upgraded to a full bespoke X pipe stainless centre exit 3” hybrid system, with a new set of Litespeed racing super lightweight concave RS5 replacing the 6 spoke VAD CR-Evo wheels that were fitted originally, sized we went with 10.5x19 front and 14x19 rear, with much larger tyres over the stock turbo set up, 265/35R19 and 345/30R19 Michelin cup 2 have been used and the ride quality and handling are exceptional as we reported in our previous blog from the Players Classic show.

We get asked on a regular basis if the aero kit will fit the other 997 non turbo models, the kit will fit every model, C2, C4, along with the wider S chassis as well as the GT2, GT3, we must admit to being quite keen to see this aero kit fitted on a 997 Cabriolet, it would take a small amount of adjustment adapting the rear quarter panels at the top leading edge, but completely doable and a must for 2019.

Porsche 997 GT3R Bi-Turbo

Speedwells Porsche 997 GT3R Bi-Turbo

Back home, outside the Porsche centre in Solihull Town centre

Porsche 997 Turbo GT3R

So what is next for the UK’s best looking street 997 Bi-Turbo, well the colour is set to be changed along with the wheel colour, we are privy to the colours in question, (has been swapped a couple of times)but have been sworn to secrecy until its launched to the world in 2019 once it’s out of hibernation.

This is one build we have been privileged to be involved with, its helped us get over the previous RSR mistakes we made with the first attempt, and this build is just better on every level, this one id just beautiful in every department, as we knew it would be, just impeccably put together with methodical precision, which is just how it should be when building a car of this calibre.

The "R" road programme for the 997 is becoming quite a popular conversion globally with us taking on an American partner to get the cars built for the USA market, as well as having our own Gen 1 & Gen 2 RSR carbon aero parts, we have every look available for the 997 chassis, with development for the 991 chassis now well under way 2019 cant come quick enough.

To view the full gallery of the UK first road going Porsche 997 GT3R Bi Turbo click the link below

 
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