This Company Wants to Revive the Porsche 904. But Not How You'd Expect
Head to any modern concours event, and you’re bound to encounter a fleet of Porsche 911 restomods. Singer in one corner, Tuthill in another—Bisimoto, Canepa, Rauh-Welt Begriff scattered across the lawn. In short: 911 restomods are everywhere.
A slightly more difficult endeavor is finding a Porsche restomod not based on the 911. While there are a few exceptions to the rule, most builders stick with the 911 because that’s what buyers want—and because parts are easy to come by, given that the sports car has been in production for more than 60 years.
But one company wants to break the mold. The newly formed Aerfal Automotive aims to resurrect the legendary 904. Given that original 904s are incredibly rare—and that a donor chassis will set you back at least $1 million—Aerfal’s founder, Daniel Robledo, is taking a different route.
Rather than shelling out seven figures on an original 904 chassis, Aerfal wants to turn the 914—a much easier chassis to acquire—into a version of the iconic racer. The renderings pictured here are based on the 914 (which you can see if you squint hard enough), but they do an otherwise decent impression of the 904.
"The chassis will come from a 914 donor," Daniel tells me over email. "[It will] get cut and reinforced thanks to a study done by Multimatic in order to retain the VIN."
For horsepower, Aerfal is working with Cosworth on a bespoke flat-eight engine. To refine the car’s dynamics, Aerfal partnered with one of its supposed competitors: renowned Porsche specialist Tuthill. The build will also incorporate off-the-shelf parts from brands like Brembo, Michelin, and BBS.
Inside, Aerfal promises a premium throwback cabin. Robledo tells me that the interior will be heavy on titanium detailing, along with details like a Momo steering wheel, vegetable-tanned leather, and beeswax-treated surfaces. There are also plans to collaborate with a “prestigious watchmaker” for both the instrument dials and a matching chronograph timepiece included with each car.
It should be noted that the project is still in the very early stages. So far, Aerfal has only produced the renderings pictured here, and the company is still finalizing supplier agreements for many of its components. Still, Daniel says the company has enough pieces in place to begin production—and will be ready to start taking pre-orders soon.
But the question remains: How did this relatively far-flung idea come about in the first place? Daniel explains:
'After visiting Tuthill in the UK to purchase an engine from them, [they] showed me around an original 904. Since I love designing and manufacturing analog things, and restomods are the right approach to a new analog vehicle, it felt like the perfect thing to do.'
If Daniel and the Aerfal team can successfully bring this stunning 904 restomod to life, it could be a refreshing change of pace in the increasingly crowded Porsche restomod scene. At a minimum, it will at least stand out amongst a sea of 911 builds at the next big concours event.
