Greg James
Mercer Island, Washington Model 3.2 Carrera Year 1985
Acquired 2008
Model 993 Turbo
Year 1997
Acquired 2016 Like most Porsche enthusiasts, I enjoy reading about cars that are modified and turned into machines that eclipse their stock brethren. A couple of months ago I wrote about the Pacific Northwest R Gruppe. The club is large, and very active. One of the members, Brooke Stabbert, had an Irish green car that caught my eye. During a subsequent chat, I discovered that for lack of a better description, it was – for all practical purposes – a DIY Singer. I say that with a bit of reservation: the car is obviously not as polished as a Singer, and lacks the high-end bespoke interior or the $400,000 custom. However, when Stabbert described the car, its engine and the way it was meticulously set up with performance in mind, it sounded like a Singer, minus the interior finish. Stabbert was also willing to let me take it for a spin. Game on.
As I got in the driver’s seat, I was excited. I’ve driven plenty of 911s over the years. Several, including my own 993 Turbo and a 2016 Turbo a friend owns, are fast-responsive cars to be sure. But how was this 1,040kg, 371hp R Gruppe lightweight going to drive compared to my own 1,500kg, 410hp 993 Turbo? The answer quickly became obvious: like night and day! After getting a feel for the clutch and gearbox, Stabbert told me to “get on it a bit”, so I did. The first thing I noticed was the instantaneous throttle response. To say it revved quickly would be the understatement of the year.
The car was like ‘lightning in a bottle’ when I hit the gas, and unlike any car I’ve ever driven. 371 horsepower and 430Nm of torque pushing just 1,040kg combined to create acceleration best described as forcing you back in your seat with authority. In short it was planted, visceral, explosive, tractable and a hell of lot of fun! I drove the car for about 20 minutes, and while it was not an all-out track assault, I did manage to get a good feel for what a focused and disciplined approach to building a very fast lightweight 911 can yield. It was a truly impressive car. Kudos, Brooke!