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When Iby from Speedwells decided to sell his beloved Supras and finally secure the dream of owning a Porsche 997, most people that know him were pretty shocked, mainly because he is known as one of the Europes Supra kings, you only had to see his red turbo example to see why, immense is an understatement, so as we know the beloved Supras were sold and the Porsche 997 was purchased, but not a normal 997, nope this is Iby were talking about so it wouldnt be a basic chassis it had to be the turbo example, nothing else would cut the mustard. He looked long and hard for a red example, which is extremely rare in turbo disguise, but a clean black example was located as talked about in previous posts, and we have known for a long time its not a colour that Iby liked, so we always knew a change was on the cards, we are just amazed it took over a year to make those changes, but November 2018 it was taken off the road for a major power upgrades and a colour makeover.

Porsche 997 GT3R > Turbo-R

We will be discussing the power upgrades, in another post as we have quite a lot to talk about as there has been a few headaches in the upgardes and build, but as they say its all come out in the wash, and the car has surpassed the stock 500 hp and has been drastically increased, to stunning effect, more on this topic at a later date. Now onto the comstetics of this overhaul, with so many colours being discussed over the last few months, white, blue, grey to name a few, even a burnt orange was a serious consideration, but it always came full circle to gloss red, which is what Iby wanted from day one for his 997R conversions and we must say what an inspired or should I say spectacular choice, as I personally always showed lots of selfish negativity when a colour change was discussed as I do love the black on black look with this 997 GT3R conversion, but I also don't mind admitting when I am wrong and on this occasion I was, the red shows just how wide the GT3R conversion is, all of the 7 feet width actually looks wider, its shows all of the wonderfull R body details too, the front fender vents now pop, the grills front and rear, the rear bumper side grills all stand out and boy of boy the width of this beauty is just incredible.

MSL Customs working their magic on the Speedwells Porsche 997 Turbo-R

For a few months paint was discussed, but Iby decided against that option because he wanted the base car to remain a factory colour, so after a chat with Shabs at MSL, the job in hand was given to the MSL custom crew, these boys are local business based in Birmingham 5 mins from speedwells, which is great for a collaboration of this magnitude and we must say they have done an incredible job, the workmanship is of the higest quality with beautiful details all around the car. The front splitter and canards have been finished off with PPF so that now matches the rear enagine cover and spoiler, the wheels have been repainted in a matte and gloss black combination with gold hardware, with the front lights, rear light lenes and DRL's all coming in for a touch on tinting, the rear side intake vents are being replaced with carbon GT2 style intakes with the slate grey stripes from front to rear finishing off the attention to the details, with the car about to be finished this week we can't wait to get behind the lens and get some shots of this beauty. Get in touch with us for more details on our full carbon fibre GT3R aero conversion for your 997 chassis, we can supply, or arrange supply and fit, as well as suuplying various other parts, bespoke Bilstein coilover suspension for the GT3R conversion, as well as megnesium or aluminium forged 3 piece wheels, adjustable control arms, various designs of engine covers and rear wing set ups, exhausts and the super wide Michelin tyres.

Full VAD // Speedwells photoshoot coming soon.

 

We can honestly say we have no idea where Iby gets time to work on his projects as well as the hectic workload of working life, with the Porsche Turbo R undergoing some serious engine modifications which should see it pushing out the best part of 700bhp + with the new Turbo & ECU upgrade not to mention all of the other goodies the engine has been treated too, it should now have the huge performance to match those aggressive but stunning looks, let’s face it the 997 Turbo in factory form isn't slow by any means, so just imagine with an extra 200 + HP, this is going to be one incredibly brutal Porsche 997.

To complete the rest of the upgrades, with a fresh enhancement to the suspension being completed, with a bespoke set of Bilstein PSS10 coilovers that have been built to GT3R specification, such a fantastic addition to how this 997 will look & drive, all being well it should be sitting on the Bilstein stand at the Performance show at the NEC Birmingham in January 2019, so if you haven’t seen this car in up close and personal we strongly suggest you head to the show, it will be worth it just to see this beauty.

Not content with one project car on the go Iby also has the Datsun 280ZX and a few months back we did a blog post on the start of the build, and we are happy to report it has progressed a little further, it has sat around for a while whist the GT3R has got most of the attention, but with a slot booked in at Perfection Midlands body shop, the ZX was treated to some extremely sexy paint work.

The interior of the shell was treated to some matte black, with a nice contrasting gloss red on the roll bar, it’s a combo that looks amazing against the all new pearl white paint work which has been lavished on the external panels, and believe us when we say pictures don’t do this finish any justice.

With the Datsun painted the next job will be to treat the underside of the shell to some extra protection and then Iby can start to add the suspension set up and get the Lexus V8 Turbo engine sitting where it should be, as well as fixing the extended riveted over fenders in place, after they have had their coat of gloss black paint.

Its great seeing this build take some shape, and we will of course be sharing the build progress over the coming months, this is going to be one serious looking Datsun, with form and function.


In the space of a couple months we have a total of four Speedwells blown out wide bodies being constructed, we have already discussed in detail Sean Reid’s beautifully prepared Porsche Slate Grey example, which is not far off being finished, its one we were desperate to photo-shoot before the weather turned, but Sean has been really busy with work and trying to get the car finished, so we may not see this stunner until the new year and winter is over, disappointing but this happens with most long term builds.

Sean Reid and his Speedwells Wide Body Supra in Prep

Sean Reid and his Speedwells Wide Body Supra in Preparation

Our second build belongs to Nizam Chowdury from County Durham, we haven’t been privy to this particular build, but we are reliably informed it is going pretty well, so no doubt we will report on this build as we get more news in, its a home build so one we are always keen to show case.

Next Level Automotive Speedwells Supra Build

Speedwells Supra, Sitting waiting to be caressed with paint, at Next Level Automotive

Our third build is our crew from the Netherlands, Next Level Automotive, these boys have just impressed us no end, as per our last blog post they pretty much fitted the kit within 4 days to perfection, the install has now been primered and will be left for 3 to 4 weeks before the guys hit the body fineness stage getting it ready for paint, thats a stage we are really looking forward to seeing.

Our fourth and final build is Thomas Larsen from Denmark who has just started to mock fit the rear end of the bumper and rear quarter panels, getting them perfected before they get bonded into position, as we have found out Thomas is a bit of a perfectionist and this build is being done at his home, so it’s going to be caressed and no doubt will be panel perfect before it heads in to the paint shop, it looks like this will be a long winter build and one we are going to follow closely as Thomas looks for the perfect fitment, as with all these types of builds panel fit and panel gap is paramount, a factor that Thomas is extremely keen to get spot on, which is a credit to how he is approaching his build, and as this is the first of its kind in the Scandinavian market, we are pleased to find some one so meticulous in their detail.

Thomas Larsen from Denmark, build in progress of his Speedwells Wide Body Supra, the first of its kind for the Scandinavian market.

We are extremely lucky to have so many builds happening at once, all striving to build the best wide body Toyota Supra, it one car that seems to be growing in popularity once again with the level of enquiries we have on the aero pack on a weekly basis.

For more details on the ultimate enhancement for your own Supra, get in touch with us today, come and join the world’s most desirable Supra team, Speedwells.

 
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Rose Hill Industrial Estate
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Market Drayton 
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TF9 2JU


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Unit C21
Rose Hill Industrial Estate
Rose Hill Road 
Market Drayton
 
Shropshire
TF9 2JU


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