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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.

 

We can honestly say we have no idea where Iby gets time to work on his projects as well as the hectic workload of working life, with the Porsche Turbo R undergoing some serious engine modifications which should see it pushing out the best part of 700bhp + with the new Turbo & ECU upgrade not to mention all of the other goodies the engine has been treated too, it should now have the huge performance to match those aggressive but stunning looks, let’s face it the 997 Turbo in factory form isn't slow by any means, so just imagine with an extra 200 + HP, this is going to be one incredibly brutal Porsche 997.

To complete the rest of the upgrades, with a fresh enhancement to the suspension being completed, with a bespoke set of Bilstein PSS10 coilovers that have been built to GT3R specification, such a fantastic addition to how this 997 will look & drive, all being well it should be sitting on the Bilstein stand at the Performance show at the NEC Birmingham in January 2019, so if you haven’t seen this car in up close and personal we strongly suggest you head to the show, it will be worth it just to see this beauty.

Not content with one project car on the go Iby also has the Datsun 280ZX and a few months back we did a blog post on the start of the build, and we are happy to report it has progressed a little further, it has sat around for a while whist the GT3R has got most of the attention, but with a slot booked in at Perfection Midlands body shop, the ZX was treated to some extremely sexy paint work.

The interior of the shell was treated to some matte black, with a nice contrasting gloss red on the roll bar, it’s a combo that looks amazing against the all new pearl white paint work which has been lavished on the external panels, and believe us when we say pictures don’t do this finish any justice.

With the Datsun painted the next job will be to treat the underside of the shell to some extra protection and then Iby can start to add the suspension set up and get the Lexus V8 Turbo engine sitting where it should be, as well as fixing the extended riveted over fenders in place, after they have had their coat of gloss black paint.

Its great seeing this build take some shape, and we will of course be sharing the build progress over the coming months, this is going to be one serious looking Datsun, with form and function.

 


The 8th & 9th of November will be a couple of days we remember quite fondly, as two builds that we have collaborated on took to the track in anger and we are pleased to say they did pretty well.

We have discussed David Haagsma on a few our our blog posts over the past few months as we have been watching his GTR come to life, Scott over at Sicchops being the man responsible for updating the look for the 2018 season fitting our aero kit and totally transforming the look, and with David's finishing touches we couldn't wait for him to hit the track and he didn't disappoint.

Considering its a new look its also a new set up, same amazing engine spec built by the GTR gurus SP Engineering, but a new JRZ suspension set up, along with new RPS Carbon brakes, and other bits of carbon aero to enhance the wider look David came 4th overall in the Super Battle class, and considering there is over 80 cars, thats pretty impressive, we are really looking forward to seeing the car back out in February 2019 next year when it competes at Circuit of the Americans ( COTA)

David Haagsma Nissan GTR GT3, 4th overall at Buttonwillow Raceway

Another one of collaborations to hit the track which we must admit came as a bit of a surprise, albeit a nice one, the Sleepers Speed Shop Porsche 997 GT3R belonging to Chad Kobayashi, being driving at Buttonwillow by Tommy Contino, who managed a very respectable 7th in class.

We supplied the aero kit for this particular build back in January 2017, and its one we are quite fond of, the fact that we got to work with Len Higa the owner of Sleeper Speed Shop in California was a big pull for us as the company just ooze quality, and the fact that Len is so highly respected, so its always going to be a very special Porsche to us, the fact that Chad has just the very best in the way of parts on this 997 Turbo-R its the pinnacle.

Porsche 997 GT3 R Bi-Turbo Sleepers Speed Shop

Sleepers Speed Shop Porsche 997 GT3R Bi-Turbo, Buttonwillow Raceway November 2018

Rear Shot of the R aero clad Porsche 997 Turbo, Sleepers Speed Shop

Front of the R aero clad Porsche 997 Turbo, Sleepers Speed Shop

We offer these aero kits for both the Nissan GTR and the Porsche 997 Chassis in various engine configurations, the 997R styling kit is only available in light weight carbon fibre, where as the Nissan GTR aero kit we manufacture in carbon fibre and also GRP, although our GRP is a woven cloth over the old school matt strand, so still a light weight and super strong product without the premium price of carbon.

Our parts for these conversions are extensive, we have our own JRZ or Bilstein suspension that is built to our own specification, big brake upgrades for the serious HP hunters as well as custom exhausts, which includes full bespoke inconel systems, wheels are another product we offer with forged aluminium, forged magnesium, with a magnesium and carbon fibre hybrid wheel also available for the customers looking for the pinnacle super light weight wheel product.

Get in touch with us if you like the look of any of these conversions for road or track use, we can supply all the parts to build as well get these cars put together, we work with a highly skilled teams that love nothing more than building these stunning creations.

For the UK market we have the Speedwells 997 Turbo-R thats under going some serious modification to not only the colour change but the power output too, so thats one to watch out for early next next, and we are also looking to get our own BMW Z4 GT3 V8 back on track, watch this space.

 
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Art...Some people collect it, We like to build it
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