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When Iby from Speedwells decided to sell his beloved Supras and finally secure the dream of owning a Porsche 997, most people that know him were pretty shocked, mainly because he is known as one of the Europes Supra kings, you only had to see his red turbo example to see why, immense is an understatement, so as we know the beloved Supras were sold and the Porsche 997 was purchased, but not a normal 997, nope this is Iby were talking about so it wouldnt be a basic chassis it had to be the turbo example, nothing else would cut the mustard. He looked long and hard for a red example, which is extremely rare in turbo disguise, but a clean black example was located as talked about in previous posts, and we have known for a long time its not a colour that Iby liked, so we always knew a change was on the cards, we are just amazed it took over a year to make those changes, but November 2018 it was taken off the road for a major power upgrades and a colour makeover.

Porsche 997 GT3R > Turbo-R

We will be discussing the power upgrades, in another post as we have quite a lot to talk about as there has been a few headaches in the upgardes and build, but as they say its all come out in the wash, and the car has surpassed the stock 500 hp and has been drastically increased, to stunning effect, more on this topic at a later date. Now onto the comstetics of this overhaul, with so many colours being discussed over the last few months, white, blue, grey to name a few, even a burnt orange was a serious consideration, but it always came full circle to gloss red, which is what Iby wanted from day one for his 997R conversions and we must say what an inspired or should I say spectacular choice, as I personally always showed lots of selfish negativity when a colour change was discussed as I do love the black on black look with this 997 GT3R conversion, but I also don't mind admitting when I am wrong and on this occasion I was, the red shows just how wide the GT3R conversion is, all of the 7 feet width actually looks wider, its shows all of the wonderfull R body details too, the front fender vents now pop, the grills front and rear, the rear bumper side grills all stand out and boy of boy the width of this beauty is just incredible.

MSL Customs working their magic on the Speedwells Porsche 997 Turbo-R

For a few months paint was discussed, but Iby decided against that option because he wanted the base car to remain a factory colour, so after a chat with Shabs at MSL, the job in hand was given to the MSL custom crew, these boys are local business based in Birmingham 5 mins from speedwells, which is great for a collaboration of this magnitude and we must say they have done an incredible job, the workmanship is of the higest quality with beautiful details all around the car. The front splitter and canards have been finished off with PPF so that now matches the rear enagine cover and spoiler, the wheels have been repainted in a matte and gloss black combination with gold hardware, with the front lights, rear light lenes and DRL's all coming in for a touch on tinting, the rear side intake vents are being replaced with carbon GT2 style intakes with the slate grey stripes from front to rear finishing off the attention to the details, with the car about to be finished this week we can't wait to get behind the lens and get some shots of this beauty. Get in touch with us for more details on our full carbon fibre GT3R aero conversion for your 997 chassis, we can supply, or arrange supply and fit, as well as suuplying various other parts, bespoke Bilstein coilover suspension for the GT3R conversion, as well as megnesium or aluminium forged 3 piece wheels, adjustable control arms, various designs of engine covers and rear wing set ups, exhausts and the super wide Michelin tyres.

Full VAD // Speedwells photoshoot coming soon.

 

Updated: Sep 25, 2019


Our magnesium forged wheel designs are growing at a very fast rate, as demand intensifies for the super lightweight forged material, manufactured and available for road or track applications.

So why are magnesium wheels in such demand, well for a couple of stand out reasons, the strength of the material being one as well as the weight of the product, this along with the reduced unsprung weight is also a huge benefit, with so many more advantages.

They are good at dissipating the energy of vibrations, magnesium wheels improve acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, as the mass of the car and moment of inertia of the wheels is also reduced, tyre and suspension component wear is also drastically reduced, along with braking distances, the benefits of magnesium are endless, with the only negative side being the slightly higher price over a forged aluminium alternative.

Litespeed racing RS5 Forged Magnesium Monoblock wheel design

The Litespeed RS5 wheel above is the latest magnesium wheel design to be launched for road or track applications, shown with here in its 1 Piece Monoblock centre lock configuration for the Amazing Porsche 991.2 GT3-RS, with its 9.5x20 front and 12.5x21 rear set-up, machined perfectly to house the original specially produced Michelin Sports Cup 2 tyres.

The RS5 will also be available as a 3 piece forged wheel, magnesium centre with forged rim halves or as a 2 piece hybrid magnesium centre and carbon fibre barrel.

all configurations will be available in sizes 18" 19" 20" 21" & 22" sizes with a huge selection of widths, applications and finishes. Get in touch with us for further details on our Magnesium wheel range


Version 1 of the Litchfield LM1-RS

Anthony Gaylard's GTR / LMR-RS  Version 1

If you own one of Nissan finest, tune them or you are just a GTR enthusiast then you will know all about the awe-inspiring LM1-RS belonging to our good friend Anthony Gaylard, 1200BHP of lightweight, stripped out road going racer built for one thing, to go fast as well as a sub 7 minute attack around the famous Nordschleife, yes the green hell AKA the Nurburgring, and last year he did exceedingly well turning in a very, very respectable time of 6.47, to be honest in our opinion any car that run a sub 7 minutes around the ring is a pretty special car, as well as a pretty special driver, because it takes massive balls, lets put it into context of exactly what the Porsche 919 has achieved with the all out record in June this year with a 5:19 time, we like everyone else were flabbergasted, especially done in the celebration of 70 years of Porsche.

Not satisfied with his 2017 challenge Anthony wanted more but knew in its current form it probably wasn't going to go any quicker, the standard OEM carbon body work can only house a certain amount of rim and tyre width when it comes to set up, it really was at its maximum of grip and if you want more you need more contact patch, so at the end of last year it was back into the workshop at ELWELD-FAB to undergo some serious upgrades, and when we say serious we mean SERIOUS, it was to be completely stripped down and transformed in to a completely different looking GTR, faster, more grip, better brakes, as well as being a lot, lot, wider, and with this mind-set it would go a lot quicker than the times set 12 months previously, so with the end of August 2018 pencilled in, it was balls out time, and what we can tell you is version two of his mind blowing GTR is even more immense, sorry we meant insane... in fact it's both.

The beginning of phase 2 of the LM1-RS Build

The one area where the GTR has never suffered is the engine and with 1200 BHP of Lichfield Motors enhancement that has been caressed from its engine so this beast doesn't hang about, especially as its shredded so much weight with the car weighing in at 1425 kg, so the engine will remain as it is, and that’s a good thing as this GTR is brutal..

One area we were surprised to hear of being upgraded were the brakes, its already had 410 mm carbon ceramic with the best Alcon CCX callipers, but believe it or not Alcon make better and for this build Anthony wanted the very best, as it really doesn't get any better than the Alcon GTE set up, the same set up that you see on the Roger Clarke Gobstopper 11 Subaru, or the Aston Martin GTE race car, this is the pinnacle when it comes to brake set up, its immense, this little super lightweight set up will be wrapped around a slightly smaller 380 mm carbon ceramic discs, just on the Callipers alone Anthony is saving 3 to 4 kg per corner, the dedication to shred the weight through fitting the right parts and the material that being used is astonishing. Alcon have also supplied the amazing adjustable pedal box so the seat can be permanently fixed, to say things have got even more serious is a complete understatement, this is an incredible build with the very best parts available that the market has to offer, Anthony is a man on a mission.

Alcon GTE Brake Calliper

Alcon Stoppers, the amazing GTE Calliper

Alcon have also supplied the amazing adjustable pedal box so the seat can be permanently fixed, to say things have got even more serious is a complete understatement, this is an incredible build with the very best parts available that the market has to offer.

Another serious upgrade has been the exhaust system, which we have to say is a complete work of art, as well as all the fabrication work, all put together by the talents of Elliot of ELWELD-FAB, Anthony wanted the wider body work from the GT3 so the decision was to re-route the exhaust system either side of the car within the side skirts, which is the same as the GT3 set up, manufactured from Inconel alloy, this is an F1 grade and specification exhaust set up, it really doesn't get any better, apart from the heat shield that has been fabricated and welded to the exhaust system by the guys at Good Fabrications, who then baked it in the oven for the stunning gold finish that now adorns the full exhaust system, as we said only the best materials for this GTR.

ELWELD-FAB Nissan GTR inconel GTR Exhaust System, Good Fabrications exhaust heat shield

When fitting wider bodywork you will always need a wider wheel and tyre set up, and this GTR is no different, the original plan was to stick with the 19" set up only wider but Anthony did some homework and after a good chat with the technical guru's at Michelin decided on the 325/30R21 Michelin Sport Cup 2 R compound, this tyre is fitted to the rear on the Porsche 991 GT2-RS and has been jointly developed between Porsche and Michelin, so it’s the tyre to have on this particular build, and as the road going GTR already sit on 20 inch the upgrade is pretty straightforward as the profile of the 21" square set up will remain the same as the road set up, the tricky part is to obtain a light weight wheel that would house the 325 tyre, as well as fill the extra 4" of width that the GT3 kit adds to the stock OEM bodywork of the GTR.

Elweld-Fab Inconel Exhaust Construction, with some neat fabrication

In our new range for 2018 we have added forged Magnesium wheels, we did consider running carbon fibre barrels, but the heat that these brakes will generate as well as the pounding around the Nurburgring, we decided a light weight magnesium was the better option, we just had to make sure it was light and strong, so a 2 piece wheel with the RS5 centre from our partners at Litespeed was the design of choice, and at Just under the 11 kg for a 12.5x21 with a huge negative offset front and rear, we have managed to get the wheel weight down using a magnesium centre, with so many other amazing advantages of forged magnesium wheels, rotational inertia being another huge factor, as well as heat dissipation.

The last two weeks of this build has been extremely stressful for all involved, the Litchfield crew have worked tirelessly get not only one but 2 cars ready for the Nordschleife assault, and meeting the guys for the first time this week, we can understand why they have the monopoly of the GTR market, as these guys are just leagues ahead, they really have set the quality bar very high, and they are a credit to our industry, leading by example, and testing their remarkable products not just on the road but the track too, we have felt very privileged to be involved in this build, and it’s a build that will be seen and admired all over the world.

Gentlemen please take a bow and enjoy the track time in this epic machine, with the vision of this completely crazy but infectious Aussie, from looking at our render which he has now made a mind blowing reality, Kudos my friend.

Anthony Gaylard Nissan LMR-RS GTR GT3, Specification list 2017

Full Momentum Motorsport chassis build

FIA Cage as per the GT3

Litchfield Sport engine 1200 bhp

Borger Warner Turbos 7163

Cams/head work

Inconel Manifolds with 6mm ceramic wrap and 1mm Inconel foil wrap.

Powerflex (it’s the best of everything they have, I don’t know engines lol))

Dodson full box and extreme clutch Chris Tullet Twin 3 inch side exit with 6mm

ceramic wrap and 1mm stainless foil wrap.

Litchfield Race Intercooler

Litchfield Race Radiator

Aircon Delete kit Race Alternator

Full fire extinguisher kit

CCX Ceramic Brakes

Ohlins TTX

Motec M1 ECU

Motec C187 Dash Display and Logger in custom carbon mounting

Motec T2 Telemetry

Motec PDM KeyPad

Motec PDM

Bosch M4 GT3 ABS

Bosch WDA (Single Wiper)

Tilton Pedal box

Nismo GT3 carbon Flat floor

Nimso GT3 Complete carbon doors

Nimso GT3 carbon Hood

Nismo GT3 carbon Bumper

Nismo GT3 carbon Dive plans

Nismo GT3 carbon Splitter

Nimso GT3 carbon wing

Nismo GT3 carbon mirrors

Custom Full carbon rear QTR panels.

AMS carbon boot

AMS carbon Roof

Lexan rear and qtr windows

2015 headlights

Tilletts carbon seats

Custom Elweld diffuser

Custom ELweld side entry rear ventura

cooling with 4 radiators for Engine/Transmission/diff/fuel.

Custom Elweld venting at the front for Intercooler/Brakes/Air-intake/diff

Ray G25 wheel and Dymag Boxstrom 7Y Michelin cup 2

2018 LM1-RS 2018 upgrades

Full GT3 carbon fibre aero, with 2017 rear bumper / light panel and Diffuser

Alcon Adjustable peddle box

Alcon GTE brakes 380 mm Ceramic Discs

Inconel side exit exhaust system

New side vents and aero down force overhaul

Litchfield Motors Paint Protection system, including full repaint

12.5x21 Forged Magnesium 2 piece wheels, with Titanium Hardware

325/30R21 Michelin Cup 2 R compound / Pirelli Trofeo R

The LM1-RS under construction at Litchfield Motors

Light weight carbon quick release doors, full GT3 carbon fibre aero pack, custom air intakes for optimum down force, Full FIA roll cage, all meticulously put together

Ready to terrorise on the road and track.

 
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James Road
Tyseley
Birmingham
B11 2BA
Art...Some people collect it, We like to build it
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