Hang on, let me get this straight: over 1,000 bhp in an old Porsche 911? Correct. The Gunther Werks F-26 pairs a 4.0-litre air-cooled Mezger flat-six — still two valves per cylinder — with twin Garrett turbos for 1,067 bhp on E85 and about 880 bhp on pump fuel, in a car that weighs roughly 1,350 kg.
Power goes to the rear wheels alone through a six-speed manual. Top Gear calls it one of the most explosively fast cars they’ve driven — consuming gears as fast as you can throw them, with frantic flat-six gnash and intense turbo fizz that recalls the old 935 racers.
Limited to 26 examples and built in Huntington Beach, the F-26 gains 250 percent more rigidity than a stock 993, double-wishbone front suspension, Brembo CCMR ceramics, magnesium wheels, and a carbon body. Rothsport Racing develops the engine; Gunther Werks backs the car with a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
“This is a deeply, wonderfully thrilling machine to drive. Just treat it with respect,” Top Gear concludes — rating the F-26 a 9 and positioning it as more hardcore, motorsport-linked companion to the restomod world, not a lesser alternative. From $1.57 million / £1.16 million.
Photo: Greg Pajo · Source: Top Gear, F-26 first drive