PORSCHE TECHART 964 RS
The PORSCHE TECHART 964 RS
Here in the UK, the vast majority of aftermarket companies that deal with Porsches engage in servicing and repairs. Only a handful carry out personalisation work in the form of engine and suspension modifications or body styling.
In Germany, on the other hand, while there are plenty of people outside of the dealer network who can look after a standard Porsche, there is also a plethora of tuners who can make your car go faster, handle and stop better and look slightly or radically different according to your taste and the depth of your wallet.
But these tuners tend by and large to have their own areas of specialisation. Raceline-Feustel restores classic Porsches, Ruf concentrates on making the fastest and best road cars while Kremer are the doyen of serious intemational motorsport. In between, DP Motorsport looks after both the speed and cosmetics for road and race cars while Folger and TechArt are, in their own ways, exponents of the art of 'optik tuning' as body styling is known in Der Fatherland.
Folger is well known for some pretty radical variations on the 911 theme, basically centring around flatnose and widebodied conversions which were the rage in the 1980s. Today,the approach to optik tuning in Germany has become more subtle as ostentatious shows of wealth are judged to be anti-social in these hard times. What TechArt does is more geared to this 1990s mood, but that does not mean the results are any less interesting. Far from it. Now everything has to be done for a reason, not just for show, and at the end of the day this can produce a more meaningful conversion that appeals to a broader audience.
At last year's Essen Show TechArt exhibited three cars on their stand, a shocking yellow Carrera RS made even more lightweight with Keviar panels, a wide-bodied Carrera 2 and a modified 968 Club Sport. The blue Club Sport had gone to a new home by the time we got out to TechArt in Leonberg earlier this year, but by this time the firm had put the same body styling on a Rubystone Red 968 Cabriolet.
Weight is the enemy of speed. As Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars once said, 'For speed, add lightness.' When you consider that early 911 s from the mid-1960s weighed around 950kg and that the current lightweight Carrera RS weighs 1250kg, it is easy to see that much of the more powerful 3.6-litre engine's output is used to overcome the greater mass of the new car. The Carrera RS could be even faster than it is.
But what is fast? To the average man in the street, 'fast' means straight line performance, i.e. acceleration and top speed. In reality, that is only part of the story. Kinetic energy increases with the square of speed, so there is much more mass to contend with when you want a car to stop or change direction on the move. Thus, a lighter car will stop better and be more nimble at the same time. In other words, it is faster all round and will handle and grip better as well as putting less strain on components like brakes, tyres and suspension. More than that though, with an enhanced performance envelope it will also be more fun to drive.
Although Kevlar is widely used in Group C and Fl, the material is not allowed to be used for production racing like in the Carrera Cup or other production Porsche races. But there is nothing to stop a customer applying this technology to his road car.
TechArt offer Keviar lightweight panels as part of their huge Porsche personalisation programme.These new panels replace the standard front wings, bonnet and doors, instantly saniing about 30kg. To rebalance the car at speed, the TechArt front spoiler mounted below the stock front bumper reduces lift at the front while the new taller rear wing with its adjustable trailing edge creates more positive downforce. These spoilers were developed in the wind-tunnel at great cost.
The fog lights in the front bumper have been replaced with additional airscoops for front brake cooling. This air intake kit consists of GRP mouldings that exactly fit the holes vacated by the light assemblies. The mouldings hold a smaller projector type light outboard and next to this is a sculpted round intake hole behind which is a flexible but rigid steel-reinforced rubber pipe that leads to the wheel arch plastic inner liner. Here you cut a suitable round hole to allow the tubing to direct cooling air directly to the brake discs. Since TechArt first showed this kit, it has become a hot selling item.
RS owners will likely leave their suspension alone, but for those who want even more sporty handling, TechArt offer a conversion to lower the car a further 4cm. As the lightweight conversion can also be done to any Carrera 2/4, TechArt offer suspension lowering and uprating kits for these cars as well. Completing the visual upgrading process is a set of TechArt 18inch diameter wheels made by ATS. These come in 8J and 9.5J x 18-inch dimensions and use Pirelli P-Zero tyres of 225/40ZRl 8 and 255/35ZRl 8 sizes.
Open the door, and it is astonishing just how light it feels compared even to a stock RS aluminium panel. What hits you in the eye next, however, is an interior that has been totally customised and co-ordinated to the exterior colour. In the case of this shocking yellow car, the black and yellow theme has been carried right through the interior. More weight has been pared through using Recaro A8 racing seats which save 2.5 kg each. These have been trimmed in black leather with yellow leather centres. Carpets are black with yellow leather piping and the black leather covered dashboard has highlights like the instrument surrounds and the horizontal strip where the switches are done in yellow. The steering wheel is also black and yellow and the instruments have yellow script against a black background. But even if you find the colour scheme a little garish, you cannot argue that the Kevlar instrument panel surround and lower dashboard area is not pretty. Walnut wood in sports cars is a silly idea, and while this may be just okay in a 928 S4, it looks tarty in a 911. The Kevlar panels give the car the right air; that of a serious road racer, and really enhance the purposeful feel of the cockpit. TechArt do this laser cut Kevlar interior kit for all 911s including the earlier small vent 911 SC and Carrera 3.2 models. They also do right-hand-drive versions. The super-light doors also get new internal panels which feature Kevlar patterned inserts to complete the effect.
You will gain some extra speed from the weight saved by using the Kevlar parts, but there are customers who want even more performance. For them, TechArt will tune the engine to 300bhp with new cams, modified Motronic brain and gas flowed intake tracts which will give the car the ability to get to 100km/h in 5.0 sec with a 287km/h top speed. A further l0bhp can be obtained by using the high-performance exhaust with its 100mm rear pipe.
Fully decked out, the lightweight Carrera 2 is known as the TechArt Sport and you can either order a complete car to this specification or have an existing one converted.
On the road, the TechArt Sport feels subjectively faster. It is sharper and more nimble in its responses and the sound of the big sports exhaust is quite intoxicating. Get the car on the open road across country and its brakes, crisp turn-in and instant and strong acceleration make you feel that you don't want to stop driving. And when you do, you come in on an adrenalin high, still tingling from the sensation of the most direct new 911 that money can buy.
That is certainly the way I felt when I returned to TechArt's new premises which are just a few streets away from their old office. This new purpose built Post-Modem office/workshop/showroom complex cost the firm Dm 4 million, so it is clear that TechArt are pretty serious about what they are doing and very successful at it too. Their client base in Germany and Japan is very strong and they have a fantastic reputation for design and quality.
They are agents for famous brands like Momo, OZ Racing, Recaro, Pirelli, Bridgestone, Yokohama, BBS and H&R, as well as specialising in custom interiors and high-end car audio.They are an authorised Sony agent and make all the custom speaker housings for the German speaker manufacturer MB Quart, for whom they are the worldwide distributors.
TechArt, whose owners are Thomas Behringer and Matthias Krauss, started in 1987, but has gone from strength to strength like few other tuning companies in recent years. They now carry out development work on special interiors for some of the major German car manufacturers as well as individual clients. When I was there, they were working on a special interior for a stretched Audi V8 limousine as well as the classic 1970 Opel Admiral used by the famous German rap music group "Die Fantastischen Vier", The Fantastic Four. Also in the workshop was a new Mercedes - Benz 600SEL having a custom leather interior put in along with a mobile office complete with TV, video, fax, audio and fridge.
Now it was time to take the second TechArt 911 out for a spin. Arguably less hard on the eyeballs than bright yellow, the Rubystone Red wide-bodied car is TechArt's answer to the factory Carrera 2 Turbo-look.
TechArt are a little wary of bonding GRP to metal as, in the long term, cracks can appear and mar the finish of an expensive conversion. Thus, they have chosen the route the factory goes down and use galvanised steel wings that are welded onto the stock shell, properly tinned and then lovingly finished and painted. These wider arches allow the use of 9J and 10J x 18-inch OZ Racing wheels with Bridgestone RE71 tyres in 235/40ZRl 8 and 285/35ZRl 8 sizes.
Handling and visual improvement is gained by using the uprated suspension kit which drops the car by 4cm through the use of uprated dampers and shorter, progressive rate springs. A small front spoiler that mounts below the factory bumper reduces front lift and the brake cooling kit is installed. A strut brace is installed between the front suspension towers and this is covered by a beautifully made leather boot which gives it a finished look.
With the factory Turbo-look cars, new wider front and rear bumpers are used. TechArt overcome the marriage of widths by the clever use of additional GRP parts which bridge the gaps but look like deliberate styling motifs. New contoured side skirts also help to maintain visual coherency.The rear spoiler on this car is the original small one that TechArt designed for the 911.This is another neat add-on that has become very popular in Germany.
This car was built for the owner more inclined towards taking his speed with all the home comforts, and has a beautifully trimmed interior with a high-powered Sony head-unit powering the MB Quart speakers mounted in custom pods in the doors.
Last but not least was the 968 Cabriolet. This car has the fewest modifications of the three with just a small lip spoiler under the nose and a rear spoiler that fits on the trailing edge of the boot-lid. Wheels are a new one-piece six-spoke design in 8J and 9.5J x 18-inch sizes with 225/40ZR18 and 255/35ZR18 tyres. An alternative is three-piece 17-inch wheels. As with the other cars, special interior trim is done to order and a custom stereo system is also available. There is no engine conversion available yet but the high-performance exhaust gives a claimed extra 7bhp and a more sporty sound.
"Our Porsche programme started with the 928 S4 and 9l," explained Thomas Behringer, "and last year we added the 968. Right now, we are working on more new items for the Porsche range including a front spoiler, exhaust, suspension and 18-inch wheels for the 928 GTS." 1993 will be an exciting year for TechArt customers.
Print this page
Introduction | The Cars | Current Stock | Testimonials | Suppliers + Aftercare | Export Info | Non Stock Info
MCP Motorsport 1999/2000/2001/2002 -