We think it’s safe to assume that y’all know by now that nothing comes out of Retrowerks Garage unless it’s KICKASS! Case in point is the Retro Martini Porsche 911
This car was the very first build at Retrowerks Garage. It originally came to us as the perfect basket case. It had a cheap 935 style body kit, a 3.0L engine from a late 70’s 911 SC that ran poorly, the paint was awful and the wheels were reproduction Fuchs that were grossly undersized, but….. It smelled right on the inside. The interior wasn’t too bad at all, but it is said that there is a certain smell you get from the interior of some classic cars that have a way to connect with you. If you’re a car person, (and we know you are), you know exactly what we mean! This car connected with us on many levels, and so we decided it was time to give this diamond in the rough a new chance at life.
Nothing we do is “cookie cutter”. Every car that comes out of our facility is unique in its own way, never the same as any other, but more importantly, mirroring the uniqueness of, and specially tailored to their owners. There is a certain sense of simplicity to our cars that has gained love and admiration from car enthusiasts all around the world. We simply don’t overdo it. In fact, we like to say that we “under do it”.
Following the “Less is More” philosophy, our cars are built to serve one purpose… Provide an exhilarating driving experience in the most authentic and raw form.
This Porsche, humorously nicknamed “the Hippo” in reference to its small mirrors and wide rear fenders, resembling the small ears and wide hips of a hippopotamus, was stripped to a near bare shell, saving only parts that were deemed fit for re-use.
The body received an ensemble of composite panels including the front bumper, fenders, hood, rear bumper and decklid, and painted in its original black with the front and rear bumpers in Martini red (yes, it is a specific shade of red). Exterior modifications include turbo rear flares, new rear taillights, handmade aluminum rear engine grill, and headlights crafted by our friends at dR Design. The final touch is the Martini livery designed by Retrowerks Garage owner and Creative Director Max Vincenzi.
The interior features a nostalgic yet simplistic flair of the late 70’s and early 80’s. The original carpet was removed in favor of new lightweight, yet plush black carpet. The front seats were left in their original state, being one of the contributing factors of that magical interior smell we mentioned above. They are late 70’s 911 Turbo Sport Seats built by Recaro, retaining their original build tags.
The original dashboard had seen better days, but since we love giving cars and their parts a second chance at life, we decided to rebuild it. The instrument gauges were rebuilt by our very own specialist, with the Tachometer customized to display the Retrowerks logo.
Our cars are built to look awesome and perform as well as they look, and in order to achieve the perfect balance of speed and handling, saving weight is imperative. For this reason, besides the composite bodywork, we deleted a few interior items such as the rear seat backs, rear seat belts, radio, and replaced the factory door panels with lightweight RS style panels and upholstered them in premium leather.
Further to the weight saving theory, did we mention the manual front windows?
Power and weight saving are only half the battle without the proper suspension and brakes setup.
As mentioned, we love to repurpose parts as much as possible, but sometimes we like to go bananas.
The Hippo, features all new suspension. Adjustable coilovers were installed at all four corners replacing the original torsion bar system. But speaking of repurpose, the brakes consist of new cross drilled rotors, with fully rebuilt Brembo 4 piston 930 Turbo calipers powder coated in Brembo red, providing enough braking power to stop smalltown gossip.
On the business end of things, the 911 power comes from a 3.6L motor, sourced from a 1991 Porsche 964. It was an engine that was in dire need of a build that sat on our shelves for a while, and so we did just that. The motor was completely rebuilt, featuring upgrades such as RS cams, individual throttle bodies, and a new engine management system overlooking each of the 305HP delivered to the rear wheels.
We can’t talk about the motor without mentioning the gearbox. To maintain our simplistic approach to building cars, and further save weight, we decided to adapt a 915 transmission to our 3.6L powerplant, but not without fully rebuilding it and adding an ever so useful limited slip differential, and an RSR lightweight flywheel and clutch allowing this little devil to propel forward at a surprisingly fast pace.
All said and done, this 911's overall curb weight, with a full tank of fuel, sits at just under 2400LBS(1088KG), which translates to the closest you can get to direct engagement and connection to the road beneath you without the rug burn on your behind!
