Paul Stephens Autoart 993R
Combining a meticulously upgraded engine and chassis with a 150kg weight loss, this could be the ultimate road-going 993-generation 911
‘IT WILL REV TO OVER EIGHT-THOUSAND, 8-6 if we tune it for purely track work, but for the road we’ve given it a 7-6 red line. It’s plenty for what we wanted to create.’
Seven thousand six hundred revolutions per minute from a naturally aspirated flat-six might sound a bit ‘so what?’ when Porsche’s latest engine will buzz to over eight grand all day long, but from a near 30-year-old car with an engine that can trace its roots back further still? There’s a good reason why Paul Stephens’ grin is as wide as it is when he hands over the key to his latest project.
This engine, this 3.8 litres of air-cooled alchemy, might be the attention grabber when you’re throwing gears at it as you reel in the vanishing point, but it’s only part of the story – a core component of a car that has been created for an individual but could result in a limited run should the interest be there. Which it will be from anyone who tries it.
Its official name is the Autoart 993R. A cheeky name perhaps, but like Porsche’s 2016 ecotywinning 991.1 run-out model, Stephens’ R melds the past with the present: ‘We wanted to create a 911 that, if Porsche was building the last 993 RS today and knew what it was doing for the first 996 RS and wanted to give a flavour of what was to come, the 993R would be it.’ So what is it?
As the needle sweeps around the oxblood red central dial it’s a modern-classic 911 with such a modern twist your head becomes a little frazzled trying to process it all. Your eyes and ears are telling you this is pure air-cooled 911, because at its core that’s what it is: a manual Carrera 2.
‘Losing weight was important, so too improving
the fit and finish,’ explains Stephens, a Porsche specialist for more decades than he cares to remember, a capable racer and someone not new to the Porsche backdating and updating scene. ‘The client had a very clear idea of what he wanted – a 911 he could drive across Europe to race meetings in, but one that was more than up to the task of entertaining him away from the autoroutes. A 993 but 25 per cent better.
‘But he didn’t want a track car: it had to be useable, comfortable, almost daily-driver level. But it also had to be bespoke and show a level of attention to detail that only these projects offer.’ Quite. What’s the point in pulling a car apart if you’re just going to put the bits that weren’t up to scratch the first time around back in?
Refreshingly it’s a narrow-bodied, slim-hipped car. With the rain gutters removed from the roof it looks delicate yet precise. The slim appearance is enhanced by 1990s-style Cup mirrors, while the lack of flicks and splitters and protruding aero devices add to the aesthetic. There’s a rear spoiler, an update on the ducktail not too dissimilar to the one on the new Sport Classic, complete with an opening at its base to feed air to that motor. It has been designed so its leading edge is at the same height as the Carrera’s
original active spoiler when fully extended. Below the rear bumper is the most subtle of diffusers and a pair of round exhaust pipes to keep a factory appearance. At the front there’s a reprofiled front bumper to feed the bespoke air-conditioning system – which is both smaller and lighter than the factory equivalent – and the engine oil coolers and the brakes.
It’s what those coolers keep cool that you can’t escape, however. The engine is a masterpiece and the result of imagination and a willingness to ask ‘what if?’ Such as, what if we used period Porsche Motorsport parts combined with those from later 911 GT road cars? So they did, and the results are quite simply spectacular. It retains the distinct tone and beat of an air-cooled six, a metallic edge that plays out over a deep thrum, but it sounds more precise, tuned to a higher level of detail. There are no lumps in its idle, no hunting for a tickover, only a smooth consistency that reflects the quality of the craftsmanship and materials used within.
Those materials include the crank, bearings and oil pump from the 997 GT3, engine cases that have been boat-tailed and stress relieved, pistons from the 993 RSR and lighter con rods by Pauter. Porsche Motorsport’s solid lifters and adjustable rockers are fitted, so too camshafts machined to Stephens’ own specification. Individual throttle bodies are also used, manufactured by Jenvey and again tailored to suit this engine. It exhales through a modified Cargraphic exhaust and sounds like your favourite piece of music exquisitely played at your dream venue.
It’s also what accompanies this sound that enthrals and excites and leaves you speechless and a bit of an incoherent fool, because the sound is a by-product of the main event, which is 330bhp arriving at a 7400rpm peak, with 265lb ft of torque at 6100rpm (up 58bhp and 22lb ft respectively). Although it’s not all about the peaks, because this engine also has a low-down tractability some turbo engines would be proud to display, pulling smoothly from just above 1500rpm, with each 500pm increment delivering a further layer of intoxicating sound blended with a shot of speed that prevents your eyelids from closing.
Each time you take a higher gear you’re reminded of Stephens’ encouragement to enjoy this engine at its 7-6 max, but every time you find yourself changing up early. With time five-thou becomes five and half. Then you squeeze another five hundred and grab the next gear as the needle sings to 6000. You tell yourself that next time you’ll be brave and wait until 7000, but you can’t – at six-five your bottle goes. Eventually you find whatever it is within yourself, along with a suitable road, to let this engine sing to its limit. And then it happens. You’re consumed by a wall of noise and that sense that few things come close to the sensation of being in command of an internal combustion engine being allowed to do exactly what it was designed to do.
When said engine is connected to a car that’s had every area attended to with the same level of detail, the experience from behind the Momo wheel becomes even more all-encompassing. More engaging. More thrilling. Because not only has every last gram that wasn’t deemed necessary been removed, resulting in a 1220kg wet weight – 150kg lighter than the car it’s based on – but at each corner is a Tractive adjustable damper, with every bush upgraded to match.
‘It took a bit of effort to get the dampers where we wanted them,’ explains Paul. ‘There’s a perception that you can simply bolt them
on and plug them in and away you go, but we actually spent a week with Center Gravity to set the car up and develop the five settings to where we wanted them.’
Those requirements were essentially for a fast-road set-up, but one that works across multiple surfaces so the driver doesn’t have to constantly switch settings (which is done via a neat switch positioned at the base of the A-pillar in the footwell). And like the engine there’s a smoothness and sense of togetherness from the chassis. It flows over poor surfaces with a confidence totally unexpected of a car this age, compliant and breathing with the road. And once you feel and understand that there’s such a wide operating window you begin to push harder, build a rhythm and lean on the grip of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres.
There’s still that 911-looseness and light touch in the very early stages of turn-in, but then the weight builds as the nose hunts for the tightest line, you feel your hips rotate with the centre of the car and the rear glide round ready to deliver as much power and torque as you wish to the tarmac. Its responses are Lotus-like, deft and delicate but flooded with feel and interaction. How the Wavetrac diff manages the load is seamless, precise in its execution so as not to unsettle the car or distract you, adding to the synchronicity that flows through the R. It’s a car you want to drive. And drive. And then drive some more. And carry on driving until the owner calls and asks for it back.
When you’re not driving it you’re poring over the details, the obsessive work that went into putting the car back together once the shell had been seam welded, the sunroof removed and filled and the bonnet replaced with a Porsche Motorsport aluminium item, saving eight kilos.
‘Look at a 993 interior; it’s solid but the panel gaps are a bit of a joke and it weighs so much,’ explains Stephens. Which is why every interior panel is new, made to the same design as the originals but in a composite material that means they are not only lighter but the fit and panel gaps are fingernail tight. Aluminium is used for the controls, from the switches to the stalks, and the instrument cluster has been tidied up, with the afterthought switches Porsche had fitted during generation updates all ditched.
The wiring loom was also stripped to its bare essentials, with even the interior lights in the headlining removed to allow for no wiring to run higher than necessary in the car. There’s no glovebox lid, or centre console – a nod to the original Carrera 2.7 RS – and the carpet is thinner and covers less sound-deadening material. The electric windows and central locking have also been removed, so too the interior door handles, replaced by a loop of seat-belt strap to open the door and a handle modelled on an S1 Elise’s to pull it closed.
The attention to detail is fastidious, in this case even down to the rear seats being replaced with shaped storage areas perfectly sized to hold a crash helmet on each side, and the front luggage compartment being redesigned and repackaged using lighter materials.
Surely there must be something to sit in the negative column? I’m not a fan of the 996 GT3 RS 18-inch wheels, but as Stephens points out, the customer is and he’s paying, and if I was picking up the bill I could select something else, a nice BBS split-rim perhaps.
So how much, then? Restomods don’t come
‘It’s a car you want to drive. And drive. And then drive some more’
cheap and rarely with a fixed price due to their bespoke nature. They often look expensive next to examples of the models they are inspired by too, and the 993R is no different. A 993 Carrera RS commands at least £250,000 today, while to create a car like the one you see here you’ll need a good 993 Carrera 2 manual, which will cost north of £70,000, on top of which you can expect to pay a minimum of £100,000 to turn it into an R. Yet spend a day with it and it’s hard to see why you wouldn’t commission one if you have the means to do so.
Engine Flat-six, 3.8 litres
Power 330bhp @ 7400rpm Torque 272lb ft @ 6100rpm
Weight 1220kg (275bhp/ton) 0-62mph c4.5sec (est)
Top speed 175mph+ (est) Conversion price £100,000+
+ Engine, chassis and attention to detail
- It might be a one-off
evo rating ★★★★★