British classic car builder Fifteen Eleven Design is set to transplant the powertrain of a modern Cayman into a 1975 Porsche 914.
The Derbyshire company is an offshoot of the Mellors Elliot Motorsport team which runs a Proton Iriz 5 in the World Rally Championship, and has previously specialised in glamorous restorations including a rare 1962 Maserati 3500 GT Iniezione.
Prior to designing the 914, Fifteen Eleven created a bizarre Ford Escort Mk1 Speedster, which somehow manages to look completely wrong, and yet strangely appealing as well.
For its new Porsche 914 project Fifteen Eleven has taken a base car, strengthened and stiffened its chassis and then installed a wider carbon-fibre body over the top. There’s a clear targa roof, projector LED headlamps and ducktail rear spoiler which adjusts according to driving speed. Inside the car is fitted with Recaro bucket seats and trimmed in leather.
Power comes from a 987 Cayman S. So that’s a 3.4-litre water-cooled flat-six with around 300bhp, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. A stainless steel exhaust freely vents gases. The adjustable coil-over dampers are linked to Cayman derived suspension, and Brembo four-piston callipers are fitted. Finally, the 18-inch Fuchs alloys are fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.
Fifteen Eleven boss Chris Mellors says, “Our vision is to re-create classic cars into modern-day restorations which anyone would be proud to drive and the Porsche 914 will be just that. It has an impressive specification that should address the pitfalls of the original, whilst giving owners many technological advantages of today’s engineering and manufacturing processes.”
The 914 will be built to order in left or right hand drive, but prices have yet to be announced. We like the Porsche 914, so much so that Hagerty US made it one of the 2020 Bull Market selections, and while we’re never likely to shy away from extra power or a tasteful resto-mod, we haven’t quite made up our minds about this one. What do you think?
Via Hagerty US
