2 days ago
Fortunately, Here's A Restomod Porsche 911-Alike I Tried Earlier
Theon's near-$1m hyper-modded Porsche 964 - but you have to look closely...
Sometimes the Gods of Diaries, Deadlines and Travel Delays conspire to create the perfect storm of logistical implosion resulting in the need for that excruciating call.
"Aarrgghh. I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it there," was the cringer to Oxfordshire, UK, -based Theon Design, which specialises in re-thinking and then enhancing one of the automotive greats: Porsche's 911 (964).
On offer was a drive in Theon's most powerful, lightest 964-based Coupe commission to date. Built for a US customer over the course of 18 months, the F1 grade carbon-Kevlar bodied two-door in Azzuro Thetys Metallic, combining a 421bhp naturally-aspirated flat-six with a kerb weight of just 1,150kg (2540lbs), promised spectacular performance, as you might expect with a power-to-weight ratio better than that of the 992.1 GT3 RS.
Fortunately, I'd driven one they'd made earlier...
It's
This is as close as you'll ever get to hands, feet and backside being indirect contact with the road ... More surface
A 964 Jim, But Not As We Know It
Theon, which, as per intellectual property and trademark legal requirements, has to follow strict guidelines as to how it terms its cars, stressing it has no connection with the Porsche brand; it sources donor 964s and then, to coin the cliché, re-engineers them according to customer wants.
And some of those wants yield some pretty special cars. On top, they look like 964s. Underneath (cliche alert #2...) they're state of the art, science and engineering.
On the face of it, and assuming you don't come across a 964 every day, and few of us do, they look like very nice 964s. Period cliché fans might witticise it's a 964 Jim, but not as we know it.
Because once you've done a tour of a Theon-designed car the detail differences and enhancements add up. Most of those visible enhancements involve fractions of an inch or a few millimeters difference: the space between headlamp and front fender, the slightly bigger wheel and tire size, the location of a fresh air vent in the panel surrounding the rear window.
Details everywhere, and nowhere. Look carefully for visible detail, but the real differences are ... More under the carbon fibre bodywork.
What You Don't See Is What You Get, Really Get
But the less-visible changes are where the big improvements lie:
Donor 964s, either sourced by Theon or provided by the customer, are first stripped back to bare metal before being rebuilt from the ground up with full RS seam welding. This transforms torsional rigidity and structural strength.
In the case of the US-bound car, the reinforced platform was then cloaked in a complete F1-grade carbon fibre-Kevlar body, including the roof, blending aerospace and F1 composite technology to deliver a car that's both super-light and exceptionally rigid.
Brakes are carbon ceramic, suspension straight out of high-end 2025 parts catalogues and then tuned to suit the car and its likely usage, that usage being determined through a continuous dialogue with the customer.
But it's nuances such as relocation of air conditioning and power steering equipment, and battery, to tweak the balance of the car, that make it a 964 as some of us recall but featuring the sorts of capability extensions to satisfy frustrated generations of 964 fans.
Just as well given the performance potential: the air-cooled 4.0-litre engine, a flat-six motor, Theon's most-powerful to date - produces 421bhp at 7,400rpm, and 330lb/ft of torque at 5,400rpm.
It sits in Theon's super-pared-back engine bay, breathing through motorsport-style open trumpets, with bespoke independent throttle bodies developed with British specialists Jenvey.
A defining characteristic of the 964 flat-six motor is the songs it plays on the way to ... More 7,400rpm-plus.
Upside, Downside
Potential downside? Heavy-metal-band-gig-level racket. Upside? Heavy-metal-band-gig-level racket.
A big part of any 964 driving experience is the noise, but the US-bound car has been fitted with an active switchable exhaust. It has a "closed" mode for town driving or early starts, but a "raucous" open mode for, shall we say, spirited drives.
Rock-band-level racket it may be, but there's little to match a flat-six in full song.
Servicing, meanwhile, is simplified, with a single plug connecting all wiring to the bulkhead, meaning the engine can be dropped out in a matter of minutes: anything beyond basic maintenance on a 964 means dropping the engine. However, Theon can also monitor their cars' systems anywhere in the world, even remotely changing settings to allow for poor-quality fuel.
Theon co-founder Adam Hawley, a former senior designer for luxury OEMs such as BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover and Lotus, is detail-obsessed, often staying into the night analyzing the cars in re-development.
He's always armed with a roll of green tape which he attaches to areas of the car that aren't quite detailed enough, or for when he has a light bulb idea moment for a further mod or change.
While adding up to more work and continuous improvement tasks for design and engineering staff, it all adds up to the cars being optimized for fast road use and the occasional track outing, he says.
The Porsche 964 Theon-style. A showstopper from every angle.
So, What's It Like To Drive?
I'd earlier driven a 400bhp, slightly heavier Theon-modified 964. It's a car you'd love or hate.
The haters would be those who drive or passenger in a modern-day digital capsule, divorced and insulated from the sensations of enthusiastic motoring.
But the Theon 964 is the closest thing to having your hands, feet and backside directly in contact with the road. These cars are communicators. And the more you know about what's going on through the contact patches, the more enjoyment.
The authenticity of the noise might even be frightening to those unfamiliar with the almost sentient sound emissions of the flat-six, especially as, just when you think it can't rise to another visceral level, it does as it passes through peak torque at 5,400 rpm, then peak power at 7,400rpm.
Handling? Go-kart. Acceleration? Horizon-introductory: startling and relentless.
Price? From around $1m (£750,000).
Desirability? Do you really have to ask?
